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TURBO IS DEAD HE WAS KILLED ON JULY 2, 2020.

Senior (7 years old) Turbo was dumped by his owner and found himself at Modesto shelter during the global pandemic. Turbo spent 4 months at the shelter, with almost no time outside, in his kennel, surrounded by noise and fear. He had three (3) rescues wanting him, however, the shelter would not release him. He was failed by his owner and the shelter system.

WE DID ABSOLUTELY EVERYTHING we could have possibly done to help you. We wanted you to run in the grass, feel the Earth (not concrete), with your paws, feel the Sun on your face, and see your cute ears flopping in the wind, and your nose sniffing the air, and your heart finding love that you craved so much. WE ARE HEARTBROKEN TO HEAR THAT YOU ARE DEAD, BECAUSE THE SHELTER MANAGEMENT DEEMED YOU "VICIOUS." 🛑PLEASE WATCH THIS VIDEO. DO YOU SEE A VICIOUS DOG? https://youtu.be/Ic5nSxekRLg Playing fetch with staff! 🛑PLEASE WATCH THIS VIDEO. DO YOU SEE A VICIOUS DOG? https://www.dropbox.com/sh/9r0m8odp3ym0p0b/AACTb2n27lqNjI9O5z4tOZFga?dl=0 Our trainer took this video (testified at the court that Turbo is not vicious). Per the trainer, Turbo loves pets and sits, per command. Good boy. ❗Turbo is NOT a "vicious" dog. He is a very unfortunate dog that ended up in the shelter during the global pandemic and had an isolated moment of misunderstanding with one staff member. Period. Instead of: 1) Giving Turbo to rescues; three (3) rescues were willing to take him and agree on any safety terms required for release. 2) Receiving up to $50,000 over the next 3 years for the shelter's animal enrichment programs (e.g. staff training to avoid future "Turbos", part-time trainer to access/evaluate scared dogs in 700s [relief to staff], spay/neuter in hotspot areas were the majority of the shelter intake comes from). 3) Developing POSITIVE PR, story to share about the shelter-rescue community cooperation and mutual work through challenges during the global pandemic. ❌SASA management did the following: 1) KILLED Turbo, who was abandoned by his owner, spent ONE HUNDRED TWENTY DAYS patiently waiting for help; demonstrated good behavior with staff while he was waiting for the court decision. He wagged his tail everytime staff was taking him outside. 2) WASTED thousands of taxpayers $$$ on legal proceedings; while losing thousands of $$ offered as part of the settlement (see above). 3) Generated more NEGATIVE publicity for themselves, including this: https://www.facebook.com/542143755850088/posts/3374676182596817/ (Deleted by staff due to the barrage of messages from upset public). ℹQuick Facts About Turbo: 🔶️Intake: Turbo was found as a stray, abandoned by his owner. On March 2, 2020, on intake, Turbo was marked 'Green' by staff; it means he was friendly and healthy. He was placed in an adoption gallery and was available for the public. Per staff/volunteers, he was taken in the play yard, he knew how to sit and shake for treats. 🔶️Incident: March 28, 2020, Turbo and another unneutered male were allowed to fence fight and the shelter handler (alone, with no support from other staff, which is against the shelter policy) lost her balance (admitted to in the testimony at the hearing on 5/1/2020) and spooked Turbo. The only harm that came to her was a scrape on her ear not requiring stitches and the doctor released her to work the same day. Note 1: Turbo (approx 60 lb) was about 1/4 of the "victim's" weight. Note 2: Turbo had no previous other incidents on his record. The shelter deemed Turbo a "vicious" dog and made him unavailable to rescue. SASA stated that they are not going to release Turbo to rescue and gave him the only option - to go to court as a "vicious" dog. 🔶️Rescues: Three (3) rescues stepped in to help Turbo: (a) Saddle Mountain Dog Rescue in Washington State, (b) DogTown Rescue in Texas, and (c) South County TailWaggers Rescue in NorCal. Rescues have adequate resources available and were going to agree to safety terms required for Turbo’s release. 🔶️Legal proceedings: Between April and July, SASA spent thousands of $$ (tax payers $$) on Turbo-related proceedings. Following the May 27, 2020, Court Order to kill Turbo, Turbo's attorney filed the notice to appeal, which was dismissed by the court on June 17, 2020. The legal route expired. The shelter director promised to keep Turbo alive, while Turbo's attorney worked on the writ and the rescue support team worked on the settlement agreement. Regardless of all these efforts, Turbo was killed on July 3rd or 4th, 2020. ❗ WHAT'S NEXT? ️We continue our mission to save Modesto shelter animals/support the shelter. Our rescue community is strong and resilient. ❗We would like to establish "TURBO MEMORIAL FUND." Hopefully, everyone who donated towards Turbo would be willing to transfer their pledges to the Fund. The Fund would support independent trainer assessments and evaluation of fearful dogs located in isolated 700s block; animal behaviorist/trainer utilization, transport, etc. I will be reaching to everyone who donated towards Turbo ($2,000 total) to see if the donors are willing to transfer their donations to Turbo Memorial Fund. There are some other positive plans in the works too! Stay tuned for updates! TURBO DIDN'T DIE ON VAIN. TURBO WILL CONTINUE TO LIVE THROUGH EVERY DOG THAT LIVES THE SHELTER ALIVE. RIP and PRAYERS ARE HELPFUL, BUT TURBO AND OTHERS NEED ACTIONS!! BLESS ALL OF YOU FOR BEING THERE FOR TURBO

Turbo's Legal Documents

Turbo's Story

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