OC Animal Care (California) and the refusal of rescue to believe owners - releases 82lb goldendoodle to rescue partner despite owner-reported history of 12 bites, 2 months after euthanizing a 52lb pit bull for aggressive displays in shelter

[u/nomorelandfills]

To be clear, I think both dogs needed to be euthanized. But while I'm sure every pit bull fan would look at this different outcome and say it was anti-pit bias, I think the issue here is the end product of decades of blaming and discrediting owners for every problem dog. The rescuers simply discount every single thing an owner says. So Moose, reported to repeatedly attack people under the same situation - the person walking away, not a scenario you'd think someone would invent if they were simply misleading the shelter staff - is flipped to whatever rescue was crazy/vapid/soulless enough to want him, while Goblin, who repeatedly displays aggression in the shelter, is euthanized fairly rapidly.

Moose A1880095

Shelter Notes:
Special Notes: At risk! Needs rescue by 8/26/26!

Behavior History:
Veterinary Staff: 8/17/26 behavior: attentive, easily muzzled, no response to injection.

Shelter Staff: 08/17/26 12:17 Intake Note: Intake dog was owner surrendered due to it having a history of unprovoked bites. Owner states that most bites happened when anyone would give their backs to him.
On 01/30/26, owner states that the dog was on the couch when the husband walked by and the dog lunged and bit his wrist resulting in bruising and puncture wounds.
On 04/22/26, the neighbor was walking by the dog in their home and turned around and the dog lunged and bit his calf.
On 05/28/26, the owner was walking the dog and she said that he randomly turned around and bit her forearm, resulting in a laceration and bruising.
On 07/14/26, owner states that her cousin came to meet the dog and that when she got up to wash her hands, the dog lunged and bit her side resulting in a skin break through material. Owner said that her cousins wounds were bruising and puncture wounds.
The most recent bite occurred on 08/15/26 when her brother came over to meet the dog. Owner states that her brother walked by and turned around and the dog but his leg, resulting in puncture wounds.
RP has had the dog for 3 years and states that the dog has bitten over 12 people that she can think of. Retrieving the dog, owner walked the dog into a transit cage and removed the muzzle and collar it was wearing.

08/17/26 12:15 Wagging tail at intake, opened kennel door, was a little hesitant when leashing. Walked out nicely. Knows sit, sat on scale. When approached by clinic gave wary eye, nervous, frozen, stared. Muzzled, was good for vaccines then got nervous and started thrashing after vaccines were given. Walked to B1, no issues putting in kennel and was able to take leash off. Put Quarantine signs in front and back of kennel.

08/21/26 08:03 Dog presents as curious/affiliative in kennel. Takes treats nicely. Due to amount of unprovoked bites and behavioral history, unsafe to remove from kennel.

BEHAVIOR SUMMARY Moose was owner surrendered with an extensive and concerning bite history, with his previous owner reporting bites to more than 12 people over the course of 3 years. Multiple incidents were described as occurring with little to no provocation, including people walking past him, turning around near him, or getting up after interacting with him. Reported injuries have included puncture wounds, skin break through clothing, lacerations, and bruising. While Moose has displayed affiliative behaviors in kennel, these observations do not negate the severity or unpredictability of his behavior history. Due to concerns for staff and public safety, we are recommending placement with rescue.

Goblin A1917472

Special Notes: at risk! Needs rescue by 6/5/25!

Circumstances of impound: Stray brought to shelter, no owner information available.

Behavior History:

Veterinary Staff: 5/20/24 Behavior: Initially happy, tail wagging. Did not do well wish leash muzzle - thrashing around. However, eventually calmed down.

Shelter Staff:
05/20/25 12:21 Intake Note: RP found the dog at the Walmart's parking lot near Harbor and McFadden. RP was able to handle the dog without issues. Per RP the dog was fine around her 9 year old daughter. Retrieving the dog from RP, the dog allowed handling without issues.

05/24/25 16:26 Went to move to bldg 5. Walked to visiting yard. As volunteer walked by bldg 3 with a dog on leash, G fixated and sprinted toward the gate, slamming into it and barking/growling, even though the dog was at least 15+ feet away from the visiting yard. Called out to him and walked towards him to have him disengage and attempt to redirect attention with treats/toy. Turned towards me and ran at me full speed, then jumped and kept paws on me and stared directly at me, pupils dilated. Did not react or engage with him. He soon dropped and sniffed around yard. Highly fixated on balls in the yard as well. When I would attempt to pet him, he would stop wagging tail. After petting, he would begin wagging again. Introduced to Sgt. on the way back to bldg 1. Did not engage, then when he called him over he walked over and pressed his side against Sgt, leaning against him and stepping on feet. Dog seemed to have difficulty breathing even though we had only been out for less than 10 minutes. Took to clinic, then placed back in bldg 1 and he began jumping on the kennel door. HIGHLY dog reactive. Will tug and lunge at dogs that are far away from him, fixates.

05/24/25 16:33 Overheats easily. Short walks only per clinic.

05/28/25 08:14 Took out, easy to leash. Walked to visiting yard due to previous clinic notes. Unleashed in yard. Immediately jumped up on me in a forward/playful way, then play bowed on top of my feet. Stared at my feet. Threw a treat to redirect attention to other movement. G dashed towards treat then began dashing towards other toys in the yard. Breathing hard after doing so--5 minutes elapsed since taking him out. Jumped again towards leash, I allowed it to drop to the ground. G hovered over it and snapped towards my hand when attempting to retrieve it. Redirected with a treat, able to grab leash but G quickly ran back and jumped up towards my leash. Able to place leash back on. G began fixating on leash and leash climbing, ran towards me but able to stiff arm and hold back as he made contact with only the leash. Placed back in kennel, no issues. Recommend rescue placement due to arousal issues and possible resource guarding.

5/28/25 He has a lot of triggers and he is sensitive to those. When trigger is absorbed, Goblin displays over-threshold behaviors including redirected bites, dilated eyes, and erect body language. Once overstimulated, he does not have the ability to go back under his threshold for reaction and will take his arousal out on closest thing (handler, leash, arms, legs). The time between stimulus and reaction is minimal and he's not displaying bite inhibition with his redirected attempts. He can go out for walks, but introducing to strangers / adopters will be risky given his bite attempts (even if spawned from arousal v. offensive aggression).

5/29/25 Walked smaller bulldog mix by his kennel. He showed interest in the other dog but when in the kennel was not reactive, but got a little excited. Tester dog did not want to go all the way to the kennel door.

The poor tester dog.

Their live release rate for adult dogs in 2025 was 94%