An Alabama animal shelter had to adjust its hours Tuesday due to an impromptu rager ― thrown by one of its resident dogs the night before.
“We will have a slight delay this morning due to a Husky throwing a party last night in the lobby,” said a Facebook post from the Colbert County Animal Shelter in Tuscumbia. “Front desk computer is destroyed along with files and paperwork. He somehow let 2 dogs out in the back also.”
The post included several photos of the chaotic scene in the lobby. One image showed the husky, named Titan, staring out of the glass portion of an entrance door. The shelter’s director, Charles Speegle, can be seen in the reflection, smoking a cigarette as he takes the photo.
Speegle was the first to arrive at the animal shelter that morning and told HuffPost that when he saw what was going on behind the door, he thought: “You know what? I’m going to light a cigarette.”
The shelter director was floored that Titan had apparently been able to “jiggle” open the door of his own kennel before freeing the two other dogs.
“It’s almost impossible, but he got out,” he said.
According to Speegle, Titan had been surrendered to the shelter by a family that found him too much to handle.
“He probably missed home or missed his family,” the director said. He added that huskies tend to be extremely intelligent and “if they get bored, they’re destructive.”
Fortunately for Titan ― and the shelter’s material possessions ― the dog didn’t have to stay there for long. Publicity from the now-viral Facebook post led to his speedy adoption by “an experienced husky family,” Speegle said. In fact, Titan even has a new look-alike adopted sibling.
One of dogs Titan sprang loose — a male named Kruger who was rescued from an animal cruelty case — has also been adopted following news of the kennel-break. Titan’s other accomplice, a shepherd mix named Rex, was still at the shelter and looking for a home as of Thursday morning.
Speegle said that all the positive attention Titan’s story has received, along with the happy ending for the dog, amounted to a bright spot for shelter workers amid a stressful period.
“This shelter is severely overpacked. We are almost triple capacity,” he said, adding that adoptions have been low recently and he knew of many animal shelters in “dire circumstances.”
“This is a big morale booster,” he said.