The MSPCA has come under fire by the public for its decision to put down a dog.
The four-year-old Staffordshire cross, named Hughie, was put down last week after reportedly suffering from ‘kennel-stress’.
Hughie had been with the society since he was around nine months old and the decision to destroy him was made by the MSPCA’s euthanasia committee, which is made up by a qualified clinical animal behaviourist who is registered with the Association of Pet Behaviour Counsellors, the society’s vet and three members of staff.
A statement from the MSPCA said the decision to put to sleep Hughie was made ‘entirely on animal welfare grounds’.
It said: ‘It is always a difficult and sad time for the staff at the society when a decision is taken to euthanase one of our animals and it is never a decision that is taken lightly.
‘The society’s euthanasia committee met formally and made the unanimous decision to euthanase a dog that had been in our kennels for several years.’
The MSPCA has come under fire by many on social media after the announcement was made last week.
One Facebook user wrote: ‘I was always proud of our ManxSPCA because unlike their counterparts elsewhere, they never put a good pet down. It is sad that no outside help was sought for poor Hughie.’
Another user posted: ‘This is not good, they must not have wanted it any more. Who cares how long a dog is with you? A shelter is a shelter.’
However other Facebook users said the MSPCA would not have made the decision unless it was affecting the animal’s welfare and quality of life.
One user wrote: ‘The MSPCA rarely put a dog down and when they do they’re absolutely devastated. These people are around these dogs everyday, the specialist is trained and the vet, whoever they were, wouldn’t put the dog down unless it was for welfare reasons that decreased the dogs quality of life.’
Another posted: ‘It’s a fantastic place for animals and the staff. I don’t believe for one minute that the MSPCA were acting on anything else but humane reasons. He was lucky, if he had been anywhere in the UK I’m sure this would have happened long before now and only on the basis on time there.’
General manager of the MSPCA Juana Warburton said it was a difficult decision for the society to make.
‘It was a deeply deeply hard and trying thing we have done.
‘Speaking to people and trying to explain to people what we have done has been really useful for all of us.’