Last Friday, Big Island Dog Rescue put a litter of six pups and their mother on an Alaska Airlines flight to a shelter in Oregon.
Since it began operating in February, the rescue has helped alleviate burdened Big Island shelters by placing more than 90 dogs with mainland adoptive organizations. But it could be the last shipment that BIDR performs for awhile, under a new moratorium that the Hawaii Island Humane Society has put in place governing its adoptions to such rescue organizations.
Big Island rescues on Monday received a letter from HIHS temporarily suspending adoptions until a uniform protocol is put in place which spells out legal responsibilities, contracts and other guidelines for how HIHS and the rescues interact. Under the plan, rescue organizations wishing to adopt animals and place them in homes or other shelters must first fill out an application and be approved by HIHS.
The society’s executive director Donna Whitaker said Monday it needs time to review policies and practices for transporting pets in light of increased collaboration with rescues over the past few years.
“The Board of Directors and I hope to have this resolved within the next few weeks,” Whitaker said in an email responding to an inquiry by West Hawaii Today. “HIHS has placed animals with three rescue groups and the number of animals leaving HIHS for transport and adoption elsewhere has risen.”
“When animals are changing hands through rescue groups, sometimes multiple times, and are transported to other states or countries, Hawaii Island Humane Society must have rigorous protocols in place to assure humane animal treatment and compliance with local, state, federal and in some cases international laws,” Whitaker said. “It’s not only appropriate, it’s our responsibility.”
Two West Hawaii rescues say they are being penalized for doing their job too well, adopting out and finding homes for animals which they say HIHS ends up euthanizing instead.
“Instead of appreciating us, they look at us as a threat because we are doing a better job of adoption,” said Debbie Cravatta, founder of Kohala Animal Relocation and Education Service.
“I’m not a competitor. All I want to do is save lives,” she said. “Their euthanasia rate is off the charts.”
KARES recently adopted out 62 HIHS dogs in a three month period, Cravatta said. Far too many animals are put under before homes can be found for them, she said.
Tasi Autele, founder of BIDR, has sent 75 HIHS dogs to mainland shelters in a little more than five months. Autele has lined out a network of seven shelters in the Northwest capable of taking more than 200 dogs a month. The humane societies are clamoring for animals and have the potential to reduce to zero the number of adoptable Big Island dogs that are euthanized, he said.
“This situation is becoming ridiculous, really indicating HIHS would rather euthanize dogs they are going to put down than relinquish them to rescues that are trying to help them,” Autele said.
“They should be giving us all the dogs we can take,” Autele said.
The friction between some rescue organizations and HIHS over euthanasia rates are long-standing. Ginger Towle, president of the West Hawaii Humane Society, said its time for people to work together in the best interest of the animals.
“No good deed goes unpunished,” she said. “You have a lot of conscientious people at the Humane Society and all they do is get hit. I appreciate that other people want to help, but they need to know there are rules.”
Towle — whose non-profit organization is separate from HIHS — said the rescues have nothing to lose by a system that provides more clarity on where animals are being placed.
“You can’t just have people come in and say, ‘I’ll have six puppies,’” she said. “You have to know where they’re going. If they’re going to mainland shelters, let’s hear more about who they are.”