Hi Everyone,
Nick and I want to address the recent tragedy that occurred regarding Oreo and Rocky. As you can imagine, it is one of the absolute worst things that could possibly happen as an animal caretaker and especially as the directors of a sanctuary. A core part of our mission is to provide a loving and safe home for animals in need, and the fact that Oreo's life was cut so short, and in this traumatic way, is just unbelievably devasting for everyone. We want to address some of the things being said in the comments on our post and also address what steps we are taking moving forward in light of this recent tragedy.
Rocky has been with us at the sanctuary for close to 2 years. He came from a shelter and we don't have any information on his background or circumstances prior to ending up there, other than he was an owner surrender and we think he was mostly kept tied up outside for the majority of his life prior to his surrender. That being said, he does have behavioral issues and can be unpredictable. What makes this situation so devasting for us is that neither Nick nor myself thought this kind of behavior was even a possibility while we were all out there together, so it was incredibly shocking and horrifying. Like I said, Rocky has been with us for nearly two years and has been around other cats, chickens, ducks, rabbits, turkeys, etc.(always supervised) and has never exhibited behavior that I would characterize as overtly aggressive around them. He is curious and playful, but also unpredictable - which is why we never allow him free, unsupervised access to the yard if other animals are out.
Just minutes before the incident, he was sitting right in front of a hay bale that Oreo was sitting up on, looking at her seemingly calmly while nick was right by his side, supervising and watching over the situation - he was not whining or barking or growling or showing any signs of aggression. Shortly after that moment, Nick picked up Oreo and placed her inside the catio where Russ was hanging out. He did not close the door to the catio, which allowed the cats continued access to the yard. Rocky was by his side as he continued on with his chores. Nick walked over to the trash can and I asked for his help emptying the vacuum. When we walked back to finish what we were doing, I saw Oreo laying lifeless on the patio and Rocky standing next to her, looking down at her body. While we can't be sure exactly what happened, Oreo felt comfortable enough to exit the catio, and based on her injuries it appears likely that Rocky grabbed her and violently shook her, causing her death. She was not mauled or mutilated. If you were here when it happened, you would have seen, as we did, not a "vicious" dog, but what appeared to be a dog confused at her lifeless body as he gently nudged her with his nose. You would have seen how he bowed his head and tail when he was reprimanded in an unguarded moment of anguish and horror when we realized what transpired, and how his spirits seemed down the rest of the day as we were obviously upset at his actions, even if he didn't totally understand why.
We're not dog experts or behavioral specialists. I've had a handful of dogs throughout my life, nearly all of which have lived with cats for some portion of their lives. I have a hard time reconciling the comments about Rocky's "strong prey drive" and his "viciousness" being made by people who have never met this dog or who have no idea what his personality is like beyond a very limited interaction or a few social media posts. It's really easy for people to give their opinions and their read on a situation that they know very little or nothing about it. There are a lot of people declaring that we knew Rocky was aggressive and we still allowed him access to animals he might go on to hurt. But what I really want to express is that if we thought this was even a remote possibility, we would have never turned our backs on him. As the caretakers of Rocky, who are with him all day, every day, and have seen him in various scenarios and situations around the sanctuary, and know his behavior better than anyone, we miscalculated and made a poor judgement by allowing him a few unguarded moments while the cats still had access to the outdoors. And for that, we take full responsibility. We love Rocky in all his complexity and flaws. He would have benefitted from earlier intervention and it's possible that would have made a difference in this situation, and for that we are deeply regretful. We hope that our supporters, followers and critics understand that we are deeply sorry that this tragedy occurred and we are heartbroken and devasted that Oreo had to suffer as a result of our actions. It is a burden that will forever lay heavy on our hearts.
As far as steps we are taking to address the situation moving forward, I will outline them below:
Moving forward, we will operate under the assumption that Rocky poses a threat to farm animals and he will never be allowed access to an area where any sanctuary residents are present unless he is physically restrained on a lead.
We will have a secondary lock on all gates that lead out to the main animal area. Even though our other animals aren't granted free access to the yard, we feel this additional security is necessary in case an animal somehow gets out of an enclosure.
We are no longer allowing visitors or volunteers into the house to use the restroom. This will decrease the potential of leaving the gate unlocked and Rocky the possibility of getting out. We hope to find a workable accommodation for guests and volunteers that need to use a restroom, but our priority is keeping the animals safe.
We will be working on establishing a dog run area with fortified fencing and direct access from the house that is separated from the main patio to further reduce the possibility of any unintended animal interactions.
We are taking immediate action to find a suitable dog behavioralist to help us work through some of Rocky's issues.
We know this situation is deeply troubling, especially for those who are so committed to protecting animals. One thing we absolutely will not do is give up on Rocky or blame him for our actions. The calls to rehome him or end his life are not viable options for an organization dedicated to advocating for animals. We hope that this gives everyone a better understanding of the situation and the steps we are taking moving forward to ensure the safety of all the residents at the sanctuary.
Sincerely,
Rachael & Nick
2nd Street Hooligans Executive Directors