HSYC In The News
Prairie dog turned in to Humane Society
By Erin Gladden Fort Mill Times
(Published September 26‚ 2002) - FORT MILL TOWNSHIP--The Humane Society truly does take in animals of all shapes and sizes.
One of its newest residents is a prairie dog that used to be someone's pet. However, the wild nature of the prairie dog eventually emerged, and the owner brought the prairie dog to the Humane Society, said Janet Richardson, development director for the Humane Society.
"They [pet stores] get prairie dogs by taking them out of the wild as babies," she said. Richardson added that prairie dogs are caught by sucking them out of a hole as babies. Richardson added that prairie dogs are not even bred domestically.
Richardson said the Humane Society is trying to find a home for the prairie dog at a zoo. Richardson said if they are unable to place the prairie dog in a zoo, they will release it back into its natural habitat. They're desert dwellers who burrow into the ground.
Richardson said releasing the prairie dog back into its natural habitat would require rehabilitation on the animal's part,
Because they are taken from the wild as babies, Richardson said, prairie dogs never learn how to behave in the wild.
Richardson stressed the Humane Society is not looking to place the animal in someone's home.
"It's an animal that's not meant to be a pet," she said.
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Adoption hours at the shelter in Fort Mill are 1pm - 4 pm Tuesday through Sunday.
Adoption hours at Petsmart in Pineville are 11am - 5pm Saturdays and Sundays.
