GRANITE CITY, Ill. – A woman in charge of an adoption center saved one of her former canine residents after he was sent to be euthanized.
Debra Crisswell runs Pound Pets, an adoption center in Illinois near the Missouri border. In 2016, she adopted a dog named Zeke out to a man who had passed reference checks and home visits.
The owner signed a contract agreeing never to sell, give or transfer Zeke to anybody but Pound Pets. On Sunday, though, Crisswell received a call from the local humane society saying Zeke had been turned in by somebody requesting they euthanize him.
“They requested he be euthanized because he got into a fight with another dog,” Crisswell said.
The humane society called Crisswell because Zeke’s microchip traced back to her. She offered to rescue the dog, but was told she couldn’t.
“They refused to give him to me because they said I wasn’t the owner,” she said.
Crisswell said she called the dog’s owner and learned from a family member he was in jail. She said the owner’s grandmother turned Zeke in Sunday.
“He does not deserve to die because he got into a fight,” Crisswell said.
KMOV contacted the woman Crisswell said turned Zeke in to the humane society.
“I don’t want to see the dog be euthanized, I couldn’t handle it any longer,” the woman said. “If I would have known she wanted it I would have called her first.”
Crisswell said the humane society eventually allowed her to pick up Zeke.
The humane society said it does euthanize dogs upon request. In this case, officials said it took multiple calls to figure out who owned Zeke.
The organization wants to remind people to make sure the dog you’re adopting gets along with other pets.