Roberto and Tina Jaimes say their dog, Boxy, pushed open a gate at their Chandler home a week ago Sunday and got out of the yard.
The 8-year-old shepherd mix didn't get far before getting picked up by Maricopa County Animal Care and Control officers.
"Uh yeah, it was there, and we were excited because it was there," Roberto said when he found out Boxy was at the shelter.
On Tuesday, his wife went to pick the dog up, but was told she couldn't pay the $237 release fee by check. The shelter wouldn't accept the check because her name wasn't on it.
"We don't have the cash at the moment, so I said I am going to pay any expenses by Thursday or Friday, so we'll come back for the dog," Roberto said.
Jaimes says he went to the shelter Wednesday, but too late in the day, and the facility was closed.
When the family finally went to pick Boxy up Friday, they learned the dog had been put down.
"We went there twice. We claimed him, and still they ignored us as if they didn't care about the dogs," Tina Jaimes said.
Now the family is heartbroken over the loss.
"We can't imagine life without our dog. We've had him ever since we were little, and then for us to have him taken away unfairly, that's just something we don't want," she said.
Animal Control checked their records for us and confirmed Roberto's wife was there Tuesday, but didn't have any further contact with the family until Friday.
Their policy is to hold dogs for three days.
Jaimes says he didn't know they would put Boxy down and has advice for anyone with an animal that ends up at the shelter.
"If they lost a dog, try to find it right away," he said.
soricobob posted at 5:45 am on Fri, Aug 10, 2012.
To think, this business was recently pleading for money because they couldn't feed their animals, and I sent them money. I made the same mistake with HSAZ. I feel like a jerk, but they won't get anymore from me!
Airborn posted at 10:00 pm on Thu, Aug 9, 2012.
"'Uh yeah, it was there, and we were excited because it was there,' Roberto said when he found out Boxy was at the shelter." Anyone who refers to their dog as "it" does not love their dog. To them, their dog is an "it", not a member of the family. Boxy went missing on Sunday. No one went to the pound until Tuesday. If they cared about their dog, why did they wait 2 days to go to the pound? Tina tried to pay the fine with a check. She said she didn't have any cash. If it was a good check, she could have gone to the bank and cashed it, then returned to the pound and paid the fine with cash. Must have been a bad check. Tina went to the pound on Tuesday, Roberto went to the pound on Wednesday, neither of them went to the pound on Thursday. By Friday their dog had been at the pound for 5 days. I would not be able to sleep at night if I knew that my dog was in the pound for even one day! They were negligent dog owners. I only feel sorry for Boxy, who lost his life. But I have to wonder what kind of life he had. Did he live a life of loneliness all by himself in the backyard, and is that why he pushed the gate open, because he wanted to escape the life that he had? And how was it that he was able to push the gate open? A responsible dog owner would have made sure that the gate was secure. I'd like to know what time of day it was that Animal Control picked him up. No dog should be in the backyard when it's 100 degrees plus.
ArizonaCentral posted at 3:54 pm on Thu, Aug 9, 2012.
I think there is a valid claim for a Civil lawsuit against the city, they obviously have proof she was there, and claimed the animal, even the fact that they failed to notify her after knowing it was hers that it would be put down, I bet she did give them her name and number. A dog is a family member, wrongful death would be appropriate. File a claim against the city, bring it to a Jury trial, see how many people they pick feel for her loss
pokey0507 posted at 11:44 am on Thu, Aug 9, 2012.
I am heartbroken for these people. Maricopa County needs to rethink their policies. First of all, are you kidding me about the money. Their dog was a family member. It sounds like their intentionus were good to get the money to these yahoos. I pray that those people at the shelter never have to endure that kind of pain because right now it's obvious that they don't care at all. I am in tears over this.
confused10 posted at 10:43 am on Thu, Aug 9, 2012.
I feel so sorry for this family, I think Maricopa County Animal Care and Control are very heartless and need to really care about what they do, This family tried to get their dog/friend and did not have the cash , I think they should have held the check until they came back with the cash like they said they were going to do and attempted to do but the hours of the facility suck and I have seen these people do not care. I pray to god one of my animals ever gets out .
Dale Whiting posted at 10:05 am on Thu, Aug 9, 2012.
Sounds like "loss of consortium" to me. Since the pound is a governmental agency, the suit must be brought within a year and 6 months notice of intent to sue must be given. The Jaimes have six months to get something started.
Editors, keep us informed!
Engaged Voter posted at 10:02 am on Thu, Aug 9, 2012.
"Pay the extortion fee or we'll kill your pet!"
At the very least, Maricopa County Animal Care and Control needs to take the word CARE out of their name, since they couldn't care less.