Animal rights advocates descend on Rushville

This story comes from the Rushville Republican - 12/5 - on the Rally

Animal rights advocates descend on Rushville

It may have been 34 degrees outside, but that didn’t hinder a handful of individuals from making their voices heard outside the Rush County Courthouse Wednesday afternoon.

Protesters gathered on behalf of Gabby, the dog from the Rushville Animal Shelter who was found alive in a freezer four days after she was allegedly euthanized, as well as for Jamie Glandon, the assistant animal control officer who blew the whistle on her own shelter and has since been suspended with pay until the completion of an investigation conducted by the City of Rushville.

Representatives from Adopt-A-Dog, Inc., who read about the situation on the Internet, came to show their support for both human and puppy, as well as for all animals at the Rushville Shelter who have been mistreated or miseuthanized.

“I’m here to help change the way things work in Rushville for the animals,” protester Taylor Priest said. He carried a sign that read, “Welcome to Rushville. We kill animals here, just not very well.”

“I heard about it on the Internet, and I was angry and distraught. Something needed to be done. I hope the mayor takes advantage of the help being offered to him by rescues everywhere in order to reform the way dogs are treated at the hands of this shelter.”

Priest’s group, Adopt-a-Dog, Inc. of Liberty is a 501 c(3) in its 11th year of animal rescue. Its volunteers drove to Rushville in a rented RV to get the word out on the inhumane killing of animals in shelters.

“Why don’t they have rules in place already about euthanization?” Adopt-a-Dog representative Tiffany Gabbard asked. “And now, the poor girl trying to make a change is being crucified. This isn’t about who makes what look bad, this is about the animals at that shelter and the changes that need to be made.”

Eslynn Davis of the Liberty and Cincinnati area organized the protest. As a volunteer for numerous animal welfare groups, including CARE (Companion Animal Rescue Effort), Davis took offense to the events at the local shelter.

“The euthanization of healthy animals in the United States must end, and this is just another prime example,” she said. “People must buy into the philosophy of spaying and neutering their animals so that situations like this do not continue to happen.”

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