DAUPHIN COUNTY, Pa. — A Facebook group formed in support of Pursuit, the four-year-old American bulldog mix that was set to be euthanized by the Humane Society of Harrisburg Area, is staying quiet on his current whereabouts.
Some claim to know where the dog is and say he is safe, but his location needs to be kept hidden for his safety.
This comes after a volunteer took Pursuit from the Humane Society of Harrisburg on Monday amid a crowd of protestors and police.
Demonstrators had gathered Monday morning in response to the shelter’s announcement it would be euthanizing Pursuit due to behavioral issues.
Early Monday evening, the Humane Society released a statement saying:
“The Humane Society works tirelessly to find loving homes for all animals placed into our care. We do this because we want them to become pets and live out their years in happiness. For this reason, we never euthanize based on space at the facility or how long an animal has been in our care. Last year, we found homes for 843 pets. This morning, Pursuit was removed from our shelter by a volunteer. Its unfortunate Pursuit was taken from us. We had decided to delay any decision for 72 hours to identify next steps. HSHA thanks everyone for their concern and love for animals. We love them, too.”
The shelter also cited three incidents—one in May 2022, one in June 2022 and one in January of this year—when Pursuit allegedly bit or attempted to bite someone.
After the third incident, the Humane Society says it brought in a third-party trainer who concluded Pursuit was not safe to adopt.
The Humane Society of Harrisburg Area was back open to the public on Tuesday, after being closed on Monday.
After our calls and emails went unanswered, FOX43 visited the facility and asked a worker at the front desk if we could speak to someone about the situation involving Pursuit.
We were told to contact the organization's director of marketing & outreach, who wasn't in the building.
Shortly after, the director of marketing & outreach sent an email to FOX43 saying: "I wanted to relay that we will not be answering further questions or providing additional information on this."
FOX43 reached out to several area rescues and shelters on Tuesday, but none of those we spoke with had Pursuit.
The Humane Society did report the dog as stolen to Swatara Township police on Monday, but the Dauphin County District Attorney has not filed formal charges against the volunteer who took the dog from the facility.
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