Alfie’s Story

Alfie had a traumatic start to life. He faced abuse, neglect and had already lived in multiple homes despite his young age.

Alfie was officially adopted and arrived home on August 5, 2023. Alfie was my first dog on my own and from the moment he came into my life he became a beloved companion. Alfie loved stuffed animals, beef jerky, looking out the window, long walks, and making friends at the dog park. He quickly took over my apartment in the best way—my bed became his bed, and I happily slept on the edge. Alfie filled my days with laughter and helped reduce my anxiety. I loved being his person.

Less than three months later, Alfie was taken from me after a bite incident. Being forced to put a terrified and confused Alfie into the shelter van’s compartment, which appeared to be only about two feet wide, was the worst thing I have ever had to do. It was tiny, appeared to be poorly ventilated and completely dark.

I remember asking the officers if they were going straight to the shelter so Alfie could get out of there as soon as possible. They responded with something along the lines of, ‘It depends on how many other calls we have to answer.’ The thought of him being forced to stay in that small compartment for potentially hours makes me nauseous every time I think about it. It reminded me of a wall crypt at a cemetery and the image still haunts me to this day.

For 149 days, he was kept in a small kennel at Denver Animal Shelter without fresh air, human touch, or exercise, under a "do not remove" order from Denver Animal Shelter. Although the shelter claims to provide humane care and foster the human-animal bond, I was never allowed to touch Alfie and could only visit him for 15 minutes, once a week, through bars.

Despite multiple sanctuaries offering to take Alfie out of state, trainers volunteering to work with him, months fighting in court, thousands of dollars in attorney fees, and amazing former foster families advocating for the dog they knew, both the shelter and county rejected every alternative.

Tragically, Alfie was killed at the shelter after less than two years on this earth. After everything else had failed, I thought I’d at least be able to comfort him as he took his last breaths. But Denver Animal Shelter didn’t allow me to be there. Instead of humane treatment being a given, I had to advocate for him to receive a sedative before being killed, just so he could fall asleep—rather than be forcibly restrained, held down, and left panicking in the hands of strangers with needles. He died alone, likely scared, and without anyone who loved him. While Alfie will never get a second chance, but other companion animals still can. Join us in our mission of advocacy, action and accountability.

Thank you for being here,

Magda Farrug