FLORENCE, Arizona — A dog named Target that lived through explosions in war-torn Afghanistan couldn't survive a brief stay at an Arizona animal shelter.
The shepherd mix was featured on "The "Oprah Winfrey Show" and local media for her heroics in Afghanistan, got loose from her owners on Friday and was put down on Monday after spending the weekend in a county shelter.
An unidentified employee at the Pinal County facility was placed on administrative leave after euthanizing the female shepherd mix by mistake, county Animal Care and Control officials said.
"I'm heartsick over this," Ruth Stalter, the county animal control director, said in a written statement. "I had to personally deliver the news to the dog's owner and he and his family are understandably distraught."
Yeah, you read that right. We're supposed to feel sorry for the county animal control director. Because it's all about her.
While in Afghanistan, this war-hero dog frightened a suicide bomber inside a military base and potentially saved dozens of soldiers' lives.
The dog was treated like royalty by U.S. troops, who brought it to "safety" in the U.S.
But what the Taliban could not kill, Animal Control in Florence, Arizona did.
And why? The answer is here: Beyond the Blue Solution of Dog Shelter Death.
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3 comments:
What a horrific thing to have to cope with, I feel so sorry for him and his family. What a needless, senseless shame. Those people responsible should feel haunted forever.
Dogs aren't pieces of meat, most found are usually someone's pet that mistakenly got loose. More care should be made to make sure something like this doesn't happen. Even happening once, is one too many times.
To survive all she did only to have her heroic life ended by buffoons is more than tragic.
When it comes to a shelter, a person has to act on a worst case scenario. Did the dog have any ID at all on him? What about the chips they always exhort us to get? I wouldn't assume the shelter was closed for the weekend, I would have called to check or driven by. The dog owner also has to accept some responsibility in this ghastly turn of events.
Agreed! Collar with tag is the #1 way dogs get home. A microchip is a poor second choice, but they are good for the life of the dog and should be mandatory. A tattoo is a good thing too. And finally, there is exactly what you said: pound on the doors of the local shelter, and post pictures of your lost dog everwhere, from dog parks to coffee shops, patrol car windows, trash men, dog walkers, at local schools etc.
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