City of Amarillo responds to recent photo from Animal Management and Welfare (Graphic Content)

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The City of Amarillo is responding to a post circulated by the the Department of Animal Management and Welfare showing a dog that appears to have significant amounts of blood

Animal Welfare was called out to an aggressive dog at a local church that serves the homeless population, the animal had a history of biting and aggressive behavior towards people on the property. Officers took the animal into the shelter and began to immediately locate its owner. as per policy a picture was taken of the animal and posted online which had significant amounts of blood on its neck after fighting a catch pole. after the claim period had expired the dog was euthanized January 13th.

The response online was fast and swift with animal groups across the city demanding answers.

The city issued a response including the following:

“The top priority at Amarillo Animal Management & Welfare is the safety of the public and the animals in our care,” said AMW Interim Director Rob Sherwin. “AMW responded to a call for help to address a very dangerous situation involving an animal that was a threat to others. AMW takes the safety of animals in our care seriously, and the injuries this particular animal sustained were the result of its aggressiveness to others.

“Public safety will always be a top priority for Amarillo AMW.”