Joelle Warren, GUEST COLUMNIST Published 6:00 a.m. ET Jan. 31, 2020 | Updated 9:37 p.m. ET Jan. 31, 2020

Need more cuteness in your life? Brother Wolf Animal Rescue is seeking foster support for kittens in the Asheville area.

Dogs and cats are being euthanized at Brother Wolf at an alarming rate and the community is outraged. The new leadership is using terms like warehousing and aggression as a fear tactic in an attempt to justify their actions in the public eye. Animal rescue professionals, like myself, have heard these excuses before.

The term warehousing was first noted in the late 90's when a couple of 'rescues' were busted with hundreds of dogs living in filth, stacked upon one another, with neither physical nor behavioral needs met. That realization became the fuel to reform animal sheltering. California even passed law during this time period, deeming it illegal for any shelter to euthanize a pet that had a rescue group willing to save them. Leaders in the movement created the path for transparency and accountability. Dogs and cats housed in shelter and rescue facilities were to be given the fivefreedoms:

Freedom from hunger and thirst; Freedom from discomfort; Freedom from pain, injury or disease ; Freedom to express normal behavior; Freedom from fear and distress.

BWAR was created with these concepts in mind.

Background: We know change at Brother Wolf Animal Rescue is hard. Here's why it's necessary

In 2008 in Hendersonville, a group called All Creatures Great and Small, was busted for warehousing pets. Animals were being co-housed with little to no medical care, fighting, breeding, and some even died. It was sad and disgusting. Many area rescue groups, including BWAR, pulled animals from this facility when it was shut down by the state and helped several animals escape the horror.

I do not believe animals at Brother Wolf are being warehoused. Warehousing pets is when you have given up on providing enrichment for them. It is not simply determined by length of stay. Warehousing is when you have given up hope. Its a term to hide behind when youve run out of creative solutions to save pets and you no longer possess the experience or resources to advocate for them.

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During my eight years as the Director of Operations at BWAR, animals were given every chance at life. We had a behaviorist on staff, sometimes more than one, that trained a team of dedicated volunteers. We provided the most at-risk dogs with their own enrichment team. These volunteers trained, walked, hiked, played with and took the dogs on appropriate outings. This is how we kept the dogs from experiencing kennel stress or going kennel crazy." We also had highly trained adoption counselors that knew what to look for in potential adopters.

They counseled them on ways to set up their newly adopted pets for success and discussed management strategies to overcome behavior challenges. We also provided post-adoption behavioral support from our behaviorists for dogs with various issues, including bite histories. In my time at BWAR, there was not a single time that any liability issues arose regarding the marginal dogs that were adopted.

I will acknowledge that this strategic programming did not completely eliminate the fact that some animals could not be rehabilitated. Some dogs could not handle shelter life, and didnt have rescue or sanctuary opportunities. Some had aggressive tendencies that made them unsafe to be handled by staff or other experienced people.I had to make this decision only three times in eight years.Seventeen dogs have been killed at Brother Wolf in less than a year.

Opinion: This is why Brother Wolf made a tough decision for 2 Asheville dogs

More: Brother Wolf signals mission change, shift away from animals with history of aggression

You must remember, BWAR is a limited intake, private facility, built and supported by our community. With this comes the luxury of time and space. The animals entering their care were promised every chance at a live outcome. I do not feel that the 90% No Kill statistic applies to limited intake facilities. They have the ability to select which animals enter their system and choosing to euthanize healthy dogs for manageable behavior issues is like scoffing at the 1,979 open intake, no-kill municipal shelters which have fought tooth and nail to save over 90% of the lives entering their system.

Katarina Brown, right, poses with Zurich.(Photo: Courtesy photo)

In January alone, eight Brother Wolf dogs have been killed. For weeks prior to these recent deaths, the animal rescue community rallied together to see if we could save some of the dogs that were in danger. I asked to take Zurich, who had an adopter, a former staff member, whom Zurich loved. I asked for my rescue, Mountain Pet Rescue Asheville, to assume full liability of Zurich. I offered to hire a behaviorist to work with the adopter and said I would be her mentor, helping with any back up care needed. I was refused. I pled to personally adopt him and work him in with my pack, two of which are BWAR dogs with similar behavior issues. Again, no. We asked for the evaluations from the alleged multiple certified behaviorists, who supposedly deemed these dogs un-adoptable and were never provided this information. Another dog, Piper, had a previous employee of the BWAR behavior team that wanted to adopt her, but her plea was declined.

This is not conscious sheltering. This is unnecessary killing. This is turning your back on the community that built and supported you. People understand the need for behavioral euthanasia when there are no other options. Adopting out dangerous dogs into the public is not a tenet of no-kill, and that is not what we are asking for. We want answers. We want a chance. And we keep getting denied and ignored as animals are being killed. This dismissive behavior, is why the community is so upset.

Joelle Warren(Photo: Courtesy Photo)

The main tenets of the no-kill philosophy are transparency, open dialogue, honest and genuine communication, with consideration given to partnering rescues and those with experience.

Terms can be discussed, expectations addressed, along with follow-up and support. Additionally, foster and volunteer programs, pet retention resources, and spay/neuter education is what is needed to explore every option for a viable, live outcome. This is how responsible animal rescue is done.

Joelle Warren co-founded Brother Wold Animal Rescueand is a native of Asheville.Warren left the organizationin 2015 andwenton to co-found Mountain Pet Rescue Asheville.

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Why Asheville animal lovers are outraged over Brother Wolf's euthanasia rate | OPINION - Citizen Times