© 2025 Connecticut Public

FCC Public Inspection Files:
WEDH · WEDN · WEDW · WEDY
WEDW-FM · WNPR · WPKT · WRLI-FM
Public Files Contact · ATSC 3.0 FAQ
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Dog lovers question Springfield shelter's decision to euthanize Rottweiler

A sign for Thomas J. O'Connor Animal Control and Adoption Center.
Elizabeth Román
/
NEPM
A sign for Thomas J. O'Connor Animal Control and Adoption Center.

An animal shelter in Springfield, Massachusetts, is being questioned by local pet advocates who said they euthanized a dog who could have been given to a different organization.

In December, the Thomas J. O'Connor Animal Control & Adoption Center said a young Rottweiler was too aggressive to be adopted. That's according to two local dog lovers who said they located a rescue organization in New York State willing to take the dog and work with it.

They said they notified the shelter repeatedly but heard nothing until several days later, when they were told the dog was dead.

Kristina Ruhland, who lives in Agawam, said she contacted the director of the facility, Lori Swanson, who told her the dog had viciously attacked her during a behavioral assessment.

Ruhland filed a Freedom of Information Act request and got a video of the assessment.

"There's no attack in the video," she said. "That's a puppy who has no manners. I'm not saying that this dog should have been adopted out to the first person walking into the facility. But euthanasia seems like quite an impaired judgment call," she said.

Swanson and Helen Caulton-Harris, the city's commissioner of health and human services, who oversees the facility, both declined comment. In an e-mail to Ruhland, Caulton-Harris said she has sent the video to an independent behavioral canine expert for evaluation.

Before joining New England Public Media, Alden was a producer for the CBS NEWS program 60 Minutes. In that role, he covered topics ranging from art, music and medicine to business, education and politics.

The independent journalism and non-commercial programming you rely on every day is in danger.

If you’re reading this, you believe in trusted journalism and in learning without paywalls. You value access to educational content kids love and enriching cultural programming.

Now all of that is at risk.

Federal funding for public media is under threat and if it goes, the impact to our communities will be devastating.

Together, we can defend it. It’s time to protect what matters.

Your voice has protected public media before. Now, it’s needed again. Learn how you can protect the news and programming you depend on.

SOMOS CONNECTICUT is an initiative from Connecticut Public, the state’s local NPR and PBS station, to elevate Latino stories and expand programming that uplifts and informs our Latino communities. Visit CTPublic.org/latino for more stories and resources. For updates, sign up for the SOMOS CONNECTICUT newsletter at ctpublic.org/newsletters.

SOMOS CONNECTICUT es una iniciativa de Connecticut Public, la emisora local de NPR y PBS del estado, que busca elevar nuestras historias latinas y expandir programación que alza y informa nuestras comunidades latinas locales. Visita CTPublic.org/latino para más reportajes y recursos. Para noticias, suscríbase a nuestro boletín informativo en ctpublic.org/newsletters.

The independent journalism and non-commercial programming you rely on every day is in danger.

If you’re reading this, you believe in trusted journalism and in learning without paywalls. You value access to educational content kids love and enriching cultural programming.

Now all of that is at risk.

Federal funding for public media is under threat and if it goes, the impact to our communities will be devastating.

Together, we can defend it. It’s time to protect what matters.

Your voice has protected public media before. Now, it’s needed again. Learn how you can protect the news and programming you depend on.

Related Content