Sad outcome for everyone

[Catherine]

I think this happened in a small town with a small animal shelter. They probably don't have the resources to hire someone to work with dog behavior and assess it. I think everyone was expecting too much of the dog. It was still living in a shelter and was out for a walk with a stranger. Asking it to meet other people and dogs in a strange building was really too much.

The dog might have had aggression issues or it might have been overwhelmed by its circumstances.
It is like the food aggression issue. I would expect a dog to show some aggression about its food in a shelter situation. In a normal home setting the dog could be quite well behaved.

I think your local shelter is wise to let people walk a dog in a designated area while they get to know it.  I would think it is a bit frightening for a dog to be taken away to a strange place by a complete stranger.


I presume the Lewiston Humane Society is going to review its adoption procedures. Although the person who took the dog out did agree to not contact other dogs and still did it.  Having a designated dog walking area would be safer.
I think what happened was preventable.