'Heartless' animal sanctuary who put down two dogs hit back after public backlash

A ‘selfish and heartless’ animal sanctuary has hit back at criticism after putting down two Jack Russell dogs.

Easterleigh Animal Sanctuary said the dogs had been with them for a number of years after a number of unsuccessful rehomings due to biting, LancsLive reported. They faced a strong online backlash on Facebook after their decision to euthanise Jack and Marty but it has issued a strident defence of the action, saying that staff and visitors were not safe around the animals.

It also said that the dogs could not enjoy a good quality of life while living in kennels long term due to a lack of interaction there.

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In a lengthy statement, trustees for the sanctuary said the dogs frequently bit staff members and were very different to the "cute, cuddly dogs" which were seen in heartwarming social media posts. Instead, they said the animals were unpredictable and that those running the sanctuary were in a "no win" situation.

Attention was drawn to the death of the dogs in a Facebook post which accused the sanctuary of a "selfish" and "heartless" decision in putting the dogs to sleep and questioning Eastleigh's commitment to its "no kill" policy. The post was shared more than 200 times and sparked anger among animal lovers.

In response, the trustees said the decision to put Marty and Jack down was made by majority vote and done after a final attempt to get the dogs rehomed. They also said that both animals had been with them for a number of years but had never been taken by a member of the public.

They said: "Both of these dogs were in the care of Easterleigh Animal Sanctuary for several years. Over the years our animal welfare