HARRISBURG, Pa. — Editor's note: The above video is from Feb. 14.
Swatara Township Police announced they will file no criminal charges against the Humane Society of Harrisburg Area volunteer that removed Pursuit, a 4-year-old American bulldog mix that was set to be euthanized by the shelter, earlier this week.
"On February 13 the Humane Society of Harrisburg filed a police report with the Swatara Township Police Department pertaining to a dog named 'Pursuit' that was removed from the property by one of their volunteers," the police department said in a statement. "After conferring with the Dauphin County District Attorney’s office, it was determined that no criminal charges would be filed in this case.
"The Swatara Township Police Department investigation into the matter is now closed.," the statement closed.
Pursuit's removal from the shelter occurred Monday, in the midst of a protest outside the building by those concerned for the dog's welfare.
During the protest, a volunteer, whose name has not been released, went into the Humane Society, retrieved Pursuit, and drove him away in a car, after speaking with police who were on scene.
Swatara Township Police later confirmed to FOX43 the person who took Pursuit was a volunteer of the shelter.
Some members of a Facebook group formed in support of Pursuit claim to know where the dog is and said that he is safe, but would not confirm his location out of concerns for his safety.
The Humane Society released a statement on Monday night which read:
“The Humane Society works tirelessly to find loving homes for all animals placed into our care. We do this because we want them to become pets and live out their years in happiness. For this reason, we never euthanize based on space at the facility or how long an animal has been in our care. Last year, we found homes for 843 pets. This morning, Pursuit was removed from our shelter by a volunteer. Its unfortunate Pursuit was taken from us. We had decided to delay any decision for 72 hours to identify next steps. HSHA thanks everyone for their concern and love for animals. We love them, too.”
The shelter cited three incidents —one in May 2022, one in June 2022 and one in January of this year — when Pursuit allegedly bit or attempted to bite someone.
After the third incident, the Humane Society said it brought in a third-party trainer who concluded Pursuit was not safe to adopt, prompting the decision to euthanize him.
The Humane Society of Harrisburg Area was back open to the public on Tuesday, after being closed on Monday.
After our calls and emails went unanswered, FOX43 visited the facility and asked a worker at the front desk if we could speak to someone about the situation involving Pursuit.
We were told to contact the organization's director of marketing & outreach, who wasn't in the building.
Shortly after, the director of marketing & outreach sent an email to FOX43 saying: "I wanted to relay that we will not be answering further questions or providing additional information on this."