Keep an eye out for Dawson, the curious rescue canine who managed to escape a West Virginia animal shelter after hours and is still missing without a home.
According to the Huntington Cabell Wayne Animal Shelter in Huntington, West Virginia, the shelter realized on Monday, Jan. 5, that the brindle-colored dog had escaped the facility by opening his cage and unlocking the shelter’s front door.
“This is NOT AI, though we wish it was,” the shelter captioned a Facebook video of Dawson’s disappearing act. “This guy is much smarter than he looks. Not only did he get out of his locked kennel, he managed to UNLOCK THE FRONT DOOR and leave!”
In the footage, the large dog uses his paws to open his kennel, then walks to the shelter’s front door and unlocks it with his mouth. After turning the lock with his teeth and tongue, Dawson pushes open the front door and walks out into the night.
Unfortunately, while the shelter has received a few leads on Dawson’s location, the dog remains missing.
Huntington Cabell Wayne Animal Shelter asks anyone who thinks they have seen the 40-pound dog to call 304-696-5551 or 304-544-5891.
The shelter also revealed that it has heard from several people who saw its posts about Dawson’s escape but chose to insult the organization instead of offering help.
“This is really hard to write,” the shelter shared in a January 7 Facebook update. “The videos of Dawson escaping the shelter have gotten more than 4 million views, been shared about 85,000 times, and received 8,000 comments. Many of those comments say it’s AI or that it was staged. That’s not true.”
“Many comments blame our shelter for being a terrible place with poor conditions. That’s not true. We’re trying,” the shelter added, noting that it fights to be a no-kill shelter, which often means struggling with overcrowding.
“We get thousands of strays and surrenders every year. Thousands,” the shelter explained. “We had an amazing adoption event just a week ago where adoption fees were waived, and we found homes for 184 animals.”
The shelter stressed the need for community support: “Imagine how much better things would be if even half of the people who shared the video donated just $1. Yes, please keep sharing it. The more people who see the video, the better our chances of finding him.”
“But at the very least, more people will learn about how overcrowded and underfunded animal shelters are, and how much need there is for their support,” the organization concluded.
If you have any information about Dawson’s whereabouts, please contact Huntington Cabell Wayne Animal Shelter at 304-696-5551 or 304-544-5891.
https://people.com/west-virginia-shelter-missing-dog-after-pet-opens-cage-unlocks-door-and-escapes-11880983