I am incensed, outraged and really really mad. I’ve called the Daily News, I’ve called Channel 2, I even called the State Veterinarian and now I’m blogging.

I received a call this afternoon stating that the Mayor of Houston had directed the police department to go out to Houston Animal Control and shoot all of the animals out there. My sources confirm the total number of dogs killed were four, not the initial two that were originally thought.

There were 4 dogs and 4 cats who met their end today. Six of the cats found their way out of there and will go into rescue; the other 4 were shot, along with the 4 dogs. By the time I found this out, there was little to no time to figure a plan of action.

One of the dogs was aggressive; one was an older Black Lab, estimated to be between 5-8 years of age. He was a happy dog (as happy as you can get in a kennel), and bounced around, excited to see anyone who paid him any attention. By the time I called around (approximately 30 minutes) and found someone who was interested in giving him a try I was told, “It’s too late, he’s already dead”.

My sources tell me the Houston Mayor didn’t want to ‘waste’ the money by taking the animals to the vet to be humanely euthanized, even though I understand the vets give them a substantial break in price. I was told the Mayor used a city vehicle to hand deliver a grant up in Fairbanks vs sending it FedEx and the money he spent on this wasted trip would have more then covered the cost of euthanasia…and then some.

Adoptions in Houston are only a handful, and over the years myself, Sue and other rescue groups have taken in dogs and cats as we have room, but we also have to deal with all the unwanted animals in our own community. By taking a giant step backwards and shooting these animals when there is a vet right down the street is unacceptable. These animals deserved compassion when it was their turn to die, not yanked out of a kennel and executed then their bodies put into garbage bags and directed to take them to Mat-Su Landfill to be dumped.

I hope other people are as outraged as I am over this barbaric and back woods method of killing these animals. Call Mayor Roger Purcell at (907) 892-6869; fill his e-mail box with your concerns at rpurcell@houston-ak.gov. You can send an email to all members of the city council at: CityCouncil@houston-ak.gov. A reporter from the Daily News called me; he said the Mayor denied giving the directive. My response was “You honestly think that the police officer would have taken it upon himself to make the decision to go out to animal control and kill these animals? I don’t think so; the direction would have come from a much higher level.” Sounds to me like he is back peddling. It's one thing to man-up and admit you decision, it's another to blame your subordinates.

If all my ranting and raving does nothing else except prevent the next unfortunate animals that end up at Houston Animal Control from being shot, then that’s a start. I know, from experience, that you cannot save them all, there are just too many stupid people out there that don’t care, but someone has to be the voice for the animals, and right now I guess I’m it. These dogs and cats were already let down by someone who previously owned them, and they deserved a better way to die.