In late March, Bruno, the longest-term resident at Columbus Humane‘s partner facility was adopted — but now, the organization is investigating the mystery surrounding his death.
“Our investigation into Bruno’s death began on June 30th when we acquired Bruno’s remains for a necropsy evaluation,” a spokesperson told NBC4. “We are still waiting on the results of the necropsy to be able to determine the cause of death.”
Rumors are swirling on social media as to the circumstances of Bruno’s death, however, none have been confirmed by Columbus Humane at this time.
Bruno, a pit bull, had been at the Ohio shelter on and off since 2019, often being returned for reasons out of his control. But now, the dog doesn’t have the chance anymore to find the perfect home.
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It’s unclear now what happened to Bruno — but the surrounding community has expressed concern about whether the proper vetting procedures were followed in terms of examining the man who adopted him back in March.
“I pray Bruno’s death makes you look harder into the families you adopt these dogs out to,” one commenter posted on the rescue’s page. “It takes a few minutes to look people up on the court’s website and do some social media checking. I mean you have all the info right in front of you. Make that adoption pending and call on some volunteers to go out and do a home visit.”
While it’s unclear whether a home visit was conducted, it is not uncommon for rescues to do so to ensure that the home the dog is going to is safe and capable of caring for the pup.
Columbus Humane, which is a partner agency with the Franklin County Dog Shelter & Adoption Center, said in a social media statement:
“As the agency is actively investigating the circumstances around Bruno’s death, Columbus Humane can share only that our Humane Agents are awaiting autopsy results to determine the cause of death. Please know that we take all reports of animal cruelty seriously and we are reviewing the facts in this case carefully.”
The post continued:
“While we continue our investigation, we ask our community to show compassion for those impacted by these recent events. Please extend compassion to caregivers, volunteers, staff, families and our community as a whole. Let’s work together to make Columbus a humane place for everyone to thrive; animals and people alike.”
Sweet videos posted to Franklin County Dog Shelter’s Facebook pages show a happy, playful dog. How could this have happened?
A peaceful protest in honor of Bruno and the fight for his justice is taking place near the shelter on July 18, according to a social media post. We hope to update our readers soon with the results of Bruno’s necropsy.
H/T: NBC4
Featured Image: Franklin County Dog Shelter & Adoption Center/ Facebook
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