INTERLACHEN, Fla. — The video attached to this story is from a previous, related report.
On March 1, the Florida State Attorney's Office announced that no charges would be filed against the owner of five dogs which attacked and killed 61-year-old Pamela Rock last August. Officials found that the owner attempted to surrender his dogs to Puntam County Animal Control several times and was not able to.
Now, animal rights group PETA has sent a letter to the Putnam County Board of Commissioners, saying they believe Putnam County's "no-kill" policy caused the attack.
Putnam County's shelter does not euthanize dogs, which means that dogs can be turned away when the shelter is too full. (A kill shelter might euthanize one dog to make room for another, for a variety of reasons.)
The organization called the no-kill policy "inhumane," and said it increases the population of unwanted animals. The letter says that no-kill policies force shelters to turn dogs away to avoid euthanasia "at all cost."
“When ‘no-kill’ shelters inevitably and almost immediately fill to capacity, the animals most in need are turned away, an inherently dangerous and deadly policy that results in the birth of more unwanted animals and potentially fatal consequences when the rejected animals are aggressive,” said PETA Senior Vice President Daphna Nachminovitch. “PETA urges Putnam County to open its shelter doors wide and take its obligation to serve and protect its residents seriously.”
The dogs had previously also attacked a man in February 2022, the State Attorney's investigation showed. The Putnam County Sheriff's Office told the dogs' owner that Animal Control would follow up with him, but Animal Control said they did not receive a report.
READ MORE: What happened during the attack