The National American Bulldog Rescue Association (NABRA) in the US has offered to take two American bulldogs from the SPCA in Bermuda and place them in good homes.

Meanwhile, an SPCA volunteer from Bermuda has volunteered to pay for the dogs to get to the US.

The SPCA, however, is hesitating - and is reportedly still considering euthanasia as an option.

SPCA Inspector Dr. Charles Whited said: "No official decision has been made as of yet. We have been offered a few alternative suggestions that we need to investigate."

"We have three options," said SPCA chairman and head of the Bermuda Veterinarians Association, Dr. Andrew Madeiros.

The first, he said, is local adoption - which was not looking promising as the SPCA has been trying to get the dogs adopted for four months.

The second, only to be used as a last resort, is euthanasia.

And the third, said Dr. Madeiros, is exporting the dogs overseas to a group like NABRA - an option that "we've never considered before".

The Royal Gazette ran a story yesterday quoting Dr. Madeiros as saying that he was not surprised at the low level of interest shown by the Bermudian public in adopting the two dogs, Sensie and Rizlah.

He also put forward the idea that euthanising the dogs, which have been taking up space at the shelter for four months, was better than attempting to hold on to them or send them overseas to NABRA (mistakenly identified as the American Bulldog Association, ABA) in the US.

He told The Royal Gazette that Bermuda had to accept responsibility for "its own problems," adding the move would be similar to sending problem children away, palming the problem off on someone else instead of solving it at home.

The suggestion, as well as Dr. Madeiros's character assessment of the two dogs, Sensie and Rizlah, has however unleashed anger and confusion amongst volunteers at the shelter.

One volunteer at the SPCA contacted The Royal Gazette yesterday about the story. "I felt that Dr. Madeiros did not give an accurate assessment because he did not solicit information from the volunteers who do spend time with the dogs," she said.

Regarding the assertion that the female bulldog, Sensie, is "extremely fearful of everything", the volunteer replied: "That is absolutely untrue".

Though Sensie was nervous when she was first brought to the shelter after being "horribly abused" about four months ago, the volunteer said she is now friendly to strangers and other dogs.

As for the male dog Rizlah being "extremely aggressive towards small dogs and cats", the volunteer, while admitting that Rizlah is indeed somewhat cat-aggressive, said that he is "not (aggressive) with other dogs".

Jodie Spectre, a volunteer with NABRA, said Rizlah's tendency towards cat aggression was normal: "A Chihuahua would chase a cat. Especially if they haven't had any exercise in a while."

A second volunteer from the SPCA who wished to remain anonymous linked the SPCA's views regarding Sensie and Rizlah to an overall "lack of passion" for the animals at the shelter.

"Few dogs have beds," she said, adding dogs are lying on concrete that is "permanently wet.

"If the public did that they'd have their dogs taken away by the SPCA," she said.

The problem, the volunteer said, is not one of money.

"They wanted to build a volunteers' shower... a volunteers' social room... we said `no, spend it on the dogs'," she said. "The people on the board just seem to need a great big kick up the butt."

Dr. Madeiros, however, stands by his assessment. He told The Royal Gazette last night that the SPCA had brought in an independent official, well-known Bermudian dog trainer Vincent Madeiros, to do a temperance test on the dogs. Vincent Madeiros is not an employee of the SPCA, nor is he related to Dr. Madeiros.

The results of that test, expected by today, combined with other information, will likely be used to decide the dogs' future.

"Maybe the report will say they are good for adoption," said Dr. Madeiros. "I would love to be proven wrong."

NABRA's Ms Spectre, who has spoken at length with several of the volunteers at the local SPCA - including the volunteer who is willing to arrange and pay for the dogs to be sent to the US - seemed confused as to why exactly the SPCA was unwilling to send Sensie and Rizlah stateside.

When asked about the NABRA option, Dr. Whited agreed it was an option. However, he echoed the statements made by Dr. Madeiros about the ability of the female, Sensie, to travel.

"We have to keep the dogs' best interests at heart," he said.

"We have not spoken officially (to NABRA)," said Dr. Madeiros, adding that the only information NABRA had about the dogs was from the volunteers.

One volunteer said: "It is ridiculous".

Pointing out that, as far as she knows, the SPCA calls itself a "no-kill shelter", she stressed that this would be a poor policy decision, especially when there is someone willing to pay for the dogs to go overseas to NABRA.

"The SPCA relies a lot on volunteers," said Dr. Whited. "But a lot of them are very unpracticed in what they are saying.

"It is unfortunate as they are putting the SPCA in a very awkward position... Not one of these volunteers has come forward and said, `we will take these dogs home with us'."

It was Dr. Madeiros and Dr. Whited's opinion that if the dogs were to be removed from the controlled and professional environment they are currently in, they could regress to behaving as they did when they were first surrendered to the shelter: "a potential risk to people and other animals."