Athens, TN — A dog attack over the weekend is proof that every dog and cat is not adoptable, a local veterinarian said.

Dr. Robert Pitman, who operates The Dog Pound and Cat House for the city and Limestone County, said the 7-month-old pit bull mix bit a 6-year-old boy. Pitman put the dog down on Tuesday.

Pitman spoke last week at the Athens Optimist Club meeting about criticism he has received on social networks for not adopting enough dogs and cats.

“No-kill facilities are a pipe dream unless they restrict what they take,” Pitman said. “There’s a reason dogs like pit bulls are tied to railroad stakes with log chains by owners.”

The pit bull mix that bit the Athens boy over the weekend was chained. Athens police animal control officer Paul Tucker said the boy was visiting family on Seventh Avenue.

“His cousins were going to feed the dog, and the boy snatched the food and ran up to the dog house to feed the dog himself,” Tucker said. “The dog jumped from the house and bit him on the neck and lower jaw. He had to get stitches and the bottom layer of his teeth removed.”

Tucker said the owner does not face charges, but police did take possession of the dog and had it put down for the safety of the neighborhood.

“It was a freak accident,” Tucker said, “and with dogs like this, you can’t just run up on them.”

Pitman said he takes in about 5,000 animals yearly from the city and county and adopts 1,000. Unsocial, dangerous dogs and feral cats are euthanized.

To help control the dog and cat population, the city and county have annually contributed $5,000 each for a spay and neuter program for those on Medicaid. Pitman said that pays for about 130 spay and neuter procedures.

“I usually run out of that money by August and September,” he said.

“According to the Humane Society, one feral cat and her offspring can be responsible for 470,000 cats in six years, so every one we fix makes a difference.”

Cats hard to adopt
Pitman said cats are hard to adopt because many come to the shelter with leukemia, respiratory infections or are feral and cannot be tamed.

He said the pound does what it can on a $140,000 a year budget to adopt as many as possible.

“I’ve been criticized for not giving animals to rescue groups at a discount, but I learned we were being taken advantage of with that,” Pitman said. “They would say they would get the animal fixed at their own vet, and then I see the same animal months later with a litter.”

The cost to adopt is $92, and all animals adopted are spayed and neutered.

For information about adopting, call the pound at 256-233-1515.