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Facebook campaign saves “gay” bulldog’s life

A bulldog returned to a shelter by his owner for being "gay" was rescued by Facebook users one day before he would have been euthanized.

 

Jordan Valinsky

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Posted on Jan 31, 2013   Updated on Jun 2, 2021, 2:21 am CDT

An American Bulldog mix was saved from going to heaven after a boisterous Facebook campaign.

The dog’s life was in danger after his owner returned him to a Tennessee shelter because the owner believed the dog was gay. The 39-year-old woman returned the pooch after she found it huddled over another male dog, the shelter wrote on Facebook.

“He [was] hunched over another male dog so his owner threw him away bc he refuses to have a ‘gay’ dog!” wrote a good samaritan who goes by “Jackson TN Euthanasia” on Facebook. “Even if that weren’t the most assinine [sic] thing I’ve ever heard, its still discrimination!”

The Facebook post started a rallying call asking visitors to save the “gorgeous dog,” since it was a day away from execution. Users responded by sharing the pooch’s picture more than 4,300 times and leaving more than 1,300 comments.

Commenters were notably outraged at owner’s actions with one person suggesting to “horse whip the owner.” A chorus of calls from other users offered to rescue the dog, but it was Stephanie Fryns who suggested she was going to take action.

“I am adopting this big boy first thing in the morning,” wrote Fryns early Thursday morning. “He will be neutered/ htwm tested/ and vetted. He will be temperament tested and then placed in a rescue verified and approved home.”

Animal rights organization Saving the Animals Together (S.T.A.T.) confirmed the dog was rescued Thursday, but didn’t name his new owner.

Photo via S.T.A.T./Facebook

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*First Published: Jan 31, 2013, 2:17 pm CST