Roanoke Pound Almost Kills Zeus, Blames The Roanoke SPCA. Bill Watson MIA On A Thursday.

Zeus is a black pit bull mix who was found near Interstate 581 about 3 weeks ago.

The family who found him kept him in their home for 4 days. He did well with their dogs and kids.

They wanted to give him every opportunity to be reunited with his owner, and brought him to Angels of Assisi the following Sunday afternoon. Angels of Assisi called Animal Control to report him as a stray, and Animal Control took him to the Roanoke Pound (the entity that receives one million tax dollars a year to provide such services).  

Eventually his stray hold time was up, and the family who found him wanted to adopt him. During his 4 day stay with them, he got along well with their kids and dogs, and they were very fond of him.

On Wednesday, they went to the Pound and asked to see him because they wanted to adopt him. They were not allowed to take Zeus out of his kennel. They were told that during his time at the Pound, he had developed behavior issues. The only way they could adopt this dog was if another rescue group pulled the dog, and they adopted Zeus from that group. 

This is all very puzzling, because the municipalities have told the Roanoke Pound that they are supposed to offer adoptions. At this time, most Pound adoptions are filtered through the Roanoke SPCA. But the family was told that the Roanoke SPCA would not adopt this dog to them, because of his behavior issues.

A possible reason for these behavior issues may be because he was cooped up in a noisy kennel for over 20 days. The Pound does not have a schedule for dogs to get any outside time.

Barbara Dalhouse, Board member of the Pound and SPCA, has admitted in writing that:

"Most pit bulls are sweet, lovable dogs, but they generally do not do well in a confined environment such as a shelter. Furthermore, they are less popular with adoptive families than other types of dogs because of the stigma associated with pit bulls. Therefore, they do not move well at the Roanoke Valley SPCA’s adoption center."


But this particular dog WAS popular with a family who wanted to adopt him. He had the potential to move right on out of the building and into a new home.

On Thursday, the family went back to the pound and asked again to adopt Zeus. This time, he was allowed out of his kennel and was observed interacting with the family. It went well. The Pound Director said she was very comfortable adopting the dog to this family, but she could not because the SPCA had labeled him with behavior issues. We asked her to have the SPCA come back and evaluate him; they would not, because, after all, they had already seen him once.

We asked the Pound Director to please adopt the dog to this family, regardless of the Roanoke SPCA.  She said she could not, because the Pound does not allow adoptions; in fact, they do not even have adoption forms. That is odd, because their own website shows that they do. So far in 2012 they have done one adoption, and last year they did six. Not big numbers, but adoptions nonetheless.

The family begged the Roanoke Pound to adopt the dog to them, the Pound said no. We asked the Pound Director to reconsider the adoption, and she said she could not because Bill Watson, Executive Director of the Roanoke Pound and the Roanoke SPCA,  was off that day.  Perhaps his $100,000 pay check does not require him to carry a work cell phone. Or work on a Thursday.

The Pound Director did have an idea though. Since the dog seemed to know the family, they could "claim" the dog, pay the $250 impound fee, and take him right on home. No worries there, except that the family did not want to lie, and did not have $250 when they were expecting a $95 adoption fee.

We asked the Pound Director how they would prove that the dog was theirs, and she said since they had the dog for 2 or 3 days, it would be considered their dog. (This is actually false as well; the Virginia Code does allow for community members to house stray animals without owning them. Perhaps one day we will have some leadership comfortable citing the Virginia Code Section).

The day progressed, and the Pound Director finally did meet again with members of the Roanoke SPCA. We assume she told them the same thing she told us, that Zeus did very well with the family, and she was comfortable with the adoption. The Roanoke SPCA, (presumably sans Bill Watson, it being a Thursday and all) still refused the adoption.

The family was told Zeus would be killed unless they lied and paid $250, or found another rescue group to pull him.

This morning Zeus was transferred to Angels of Assisi, and he will be neutered, updated on his shots, and microchipped. Then he will go home. His new family is very relieved he was not killed yesterday, and still cannot understand why the Roanoke Pound would not let them save this dog, especially after the Pound Director said she was comfortable with Zeus joining their family.

He looks like a happy boy leaving. Little does he know how lucky he is.

The Roanoke Pound and the Roanoke SPCA, under Bill Watson's lack of leadership, almost killed Zeus.

Although Barbara Dalhouse made it very clear that they are two entities, we have to question it once again:

Are the Roanoke Pound and the Roanoke SPCA two entities, or one?

If they are separate entities, how can the SPCA deny a Pound adoption and potentially kill Zeus?

If they are the one entity, how can the Roanoke SPCA call itself No Kill, yet kill over 3,300 Pound animals last year?

Please enlighten us, Mr. Watson.


If you have had enough, drop these good folks a note. They are the ones who told Mr. Watson he will allow adoptions from the Pound, and would be interested to know that he is not.

Mr. Goodman CGOODMAN@roanokecountyva.gov
Mr. Burgess gburgess@botetourt.org, |
Mr. Lawrence  clawrence@vintonva.gov
Mr. Morrill Chris.Morrill@roanokeva.gov