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'Gay' dog finds home after being dropped off at kill shelter

BY Jamie Skorheim  on January 31, 2013 @ 11:43 am (Updated: 12:39 pm - 1/31/13 )

gay dog
This dog dropped off at a kill shelter when his owner thought he was gay, has found a new home. (Image courtesy Facebook - S.T.A.T. Saving The Animals Together)
It was a happy ending for a dog facing death after his owner dropped him off at a kill shelter because he was "gay."

George Rider, the operator of the Tennessee Rabies Control Center, tells KIRO Radio's Luke Burbank Show that the dog has been adopted by a new owner after media interest brought attention dog's plight.

The dog's previous owner dropped the dog off at the shelter, as Rider understands it, because the dog mounted another male dog.

Rider says this behavior isn't unusual for dogs.

"Dogs will hunch certain items, and other animals, and they have been known to hunch people. That don't necessarily mean they're gay," says Rider. "It means they either want to show dominance, or an over display of affection, or just a random maybe wanting to mate."

The dog's story resonated with so many people that when he arrived to work Thursday, Rider says his voicemail was full.

There was also a person waiting outside to adopt the dog. Rider says the dog has been saved and has found a new home, but there are plenty of other animals at the shelter that don't have such a unique story and are still potentially facing death.

"We're space driven and when you have a high volume of animals coming in you definitely have to make room for other animals, unfortunately," says Rider. "We have several good dogs down here that really do need homes."

When asked if he'd be tempted to make up interesting back stories to drum up attention for some of the other dogs, Rider says he's found it's best to be as honest as you can with potential owners. In any case, he says the added attention on the shelter from this "gay" dog will likely have a residual effect on a few of the other animals.

"Anytime that we get publicity to move a great animal from the shelter, it's always a positive thing."

Jamie Skorheim, MyNorthwest.com Editor
Whether it's floating on Green Lake, eating shrimp tacos at Agua Verde, or taking weekend drives out to the Cascades, she loves to enjoy the Pacific Northwest lifestyle as much as humanly possible.
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Comments (17)


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  • Oly80 wrote...
    way to go 'people in the south'
    January 31, 2013 11:33 am
    you managed to out-bigot yourselves again.

    at least the dog found a new home.

    ...what idiot doesn't know that MOST dogs, male and female, will try to mount ANY dog in many different situations!?

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  • kato1967 wrote...
    Life imitates South Park
    January 31, 2013 12:19 pm
    They should have dropped him off at Big Gay Al's Big Gay Animal Shelter.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • cigarfan wrote...
    The South...............
    January 31, 2013 1:21 pm
    Be glad you live on the LEFT coast ;)
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  • HLC wrote...
    I wonder.
    January 31, 2013 1:36 pm
    Did the dog bark with a lisp? That would be a sign of a gay hound.
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  • soo purletiv wrote...
    @ HLC
    January 31, 2013 1:46 pm
    That's good stuff!
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  • soo purletiv wrote...
    And I quote:
    January 31, 2013 1:44 pm
    The dog's previous owner dropped the dog off at the shelter, as Rider understands it, because the dog mounted another male dog.

    Rider says this behavior isn't unusual for dogs , but he left out that this is also typical of gay men... :-)

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  • messiah101 wrote...
    My dog when I was a kid
    January 31, 2013 2:23 pm
    Would hump everyones leg and it was a female but part COCKer spaniel.Also if you got down on the floor on your hands and knee's you were going to get humped.I believe it was porn that did that to her
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  • soo purletiv wrote...
    @ messiah101
    January 31, 2013 3:05 pm
    One has to wonder why you would get down on your hands and knees knowing your dog would hump you? ;-)
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  • messiah101 wrote...
    soo p
    January 31, 2013 5:38 pm
    THats MY secret and between me and my pooch soo p. Don't you have family secrets?
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  • Snout wrote...
    I had a dog that preferred furniture.
    January 31, 2013 2:34 pm
    making her a chezbian I suppose.
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  • DesertRez wrote...
    Hmm
    January 31, 2013 3:46 pm
    Maybe spraying gays with a water bottle will turn them straight? Where is the Gay Whisperer?
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  • longwayhome wrote...
    Tennessee?
    January 31, 2013 6:55 pm
    Banjo music..... Gay house pets, now I've heard everything. And republican voters wonder why their party lost.
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  • Rangerhawk wrote...
    Tennessee?
    January 31, 2013 8:35 pm
    That would be Al Jazeera Gores state. The dog, like Al, just showing his true colors.
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  • Oly80 wrote...
    al gore aside...
    February 1, 2013 7:06 am
    it's still the south.
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  • dexterjibs wrote...
    cheesuz, the left jumped on this silly story
    January 31, 2013 10:09 pm
    Be glad you live on the left coast because of this? How stupid. No one on either side of the politcal spectrum takes this story seriously. get a life lefties.
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  • Oly80 wrote...
    again...
    February 1, 2013 7:07 am
    TO ME this isn't a left, right thing. it's just the bigoted south. plain and simple. and YES, i'm glad i don't live there.
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