Man tells Beaufort County shelter: I’m abandoning old dog because ‘I have a life.’

Brodie, an 11-year-old lab-dachshund mix, was dropped off Tuesday with Beaufort County Animal Services because his owner travels frequently and was not interested in caring for the dog, shelter staff said.

When the man was told the shelter was at capacity and only has room for strays until next week, the man threatened to let the dog run wild, shelter staffer Stephanie Brumley said.

“He said, ‘I dont know what you want me to do, I have I life,’” Brumely said of Brodie’s former owner, who she described as having “zero regard” for the dog.

“We try to work with people and give them options (when the shelter is at capacity), and most times people work with us,” she said. “But from time to time, people won’t work with us and just want to get rid of their pets.”

Animal services director Tallulah Trice said dogs Brodie’s age have a particularly difficult time adjusting at the shelter.

“The stress is hard, especially for an older dog,” she said. “We always try to educate people that (leaving elderly dogs at shelters) isn’t the most humane thing to do.”

A Facebook post about Brodie on the animal services page garnered hundreds of interactions by Tuesday afternoon.

Staff at the shelter “explained to the owner that senior animals do not thrive well in shelter environment and uprooting him would be cruel,” according to the post. “We also explained there was a possibility he could be euthanized.”

Brodie was transferred to the Hilton Head Humane Association Tuesday afternoon.

For more information about Brodie and the county’s pet adoption process, contact animal services at 843-255-5010.

This story was originally published November 21, 2017 at 2:09 PM with the headline "Man tells Beaufort County shelter: I’m abandoning old dog because ‘I have a life.’."