A dog named Target that lived through explosions in war-torn Afghanistan couldn't survive a brief stay at an Arizona animal 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 Monday.
"When it comes to euthanizing an animal, there are some clear-cut procedures to follow," Ruth Stalter, the county animal control director, said in a statement. "Based on my preliminary investigation, our employee did not follow those procedures."
Sgt. Terry Young, the owner of the dog, told The Arizona Republic, "I just can't believe that something like this would happen to such a good dog."
Target frightened a suicide bomber inside a military base and potentially saved dozens of soldiers' lives, Young said.
He said the dog was treated like royalty from then on at the base at Dand Patan, near the Pakistan border.
Young brought Target to the San Tan Valley area southeast of Phoenix in August, when he returned home from his tour of duty.
The dog escaped from the family's back yard Friday. Young put out online notices and contacted TV stations that did reports on the missing hero dog.
A neighbor found Target wandering later Friday, put her in his back yard and called the pound. The dog did not have a microchip or tag.
On Friday night, Young found Target's picture on a website used by Pinal County's dog catchers to help owners track lost pets. Young figured the shelter was closed for the night and weekend.
He showed up at the shelter in Casa Grande to claim his dog on Monday, only to find out she was dead.
County officials say the employee mistakenly took the dog out of its pen Monday morning and euthanized it.
The paper said Young and his family will get Target's cremated remains.
azhippityhop posted at 9:50 pm on Mon, Nov 15, 2010.
[sad) I'm really upset over Target's death. My heart goes out to the family and friends of hers. How can such a stupid mistake happen! I think more attention is needed in checking up on animal shelters everywhere. This should NOT have happened! RIP Target, you made a difference in our world and we thank you for your services!
ladyqueensryche posted at 10:31 pm on Mon, Nov 15, 2010.
I'm outraged at this! What an idiot and unprofessional act of the uneducated "employee" who apparently has no morals or feelings for this kind of behavior. I've also been told that the euthanizations done by someone who male prison inmates work for is inhumane and only gives the innocent little animals just enough of a dose to make them suffer horrifically until death. I can not believe the people that get off on hurting and torturing innocent and loyal animals. This is one reason why I hate people. Animals come first in my book before any person does. People have choices but those poor animals do not. Idiots.
metaphysicist posted at 11:13 pm on Mon, Nov 15, 2010.
[sad] Really terrible. Never should have happened. What is wrong with Pinal County? Are they "that" incompetent?
Had a relative cats destroyed 3 days after he died in Superior. The Animal Control officer said they had no room for cats.
The garage they were using for animal control was horrible. The only cat I was lucky enough to save was in a cage so small he could not move around in it. He just laid there on the cement hardly able to get up, I will never forget it. They even had a pig in a cage in this garage. This was 9 years ago, in 2001. Am wondering if it is any better now. I cried for weeks afterwards. A dead relative, & his cats also destroyed. Animal Control had no real
right to enter his house. They said it was a healh hazzard for the cats. Yet they destroyed them 3 days later. I can only pray they did so humanly. 2001 was a stressful year.
My relative was a world war two veteran with Bronze Star & other metals. A geologist with a Masters from Berkley, CA. He liked living in a old mining town & the geology in the area, he liked the small town, thought it was artistic & quaint, & liked the quite of the desert, as he liked to write. He loved his 5 cats very much, they were like family to him. They had a good sized back yard for them there. These animals did not deserve this. I was hoping to get them into a no kill shelter or find them homes. I did not get there soon enough.
What is with Pinal County?
I feel so sorry for this great dog. Iraq did not kill this animal, but Pinal County, in the good old USA did. What other mistakes have been made? Maybe mistakes are made in other counties too. This one just happened to get caught.
With more & more cutbacks, home foreclosures, people leaving the state, the economy & so on I fear for our pets. I also fear for our own lives, with cutbacks in medical care, & etc... Maybe the terrorists are winning. We are falling apart. Becoming increasingly apathetic & incompetent. God help us. God bless this animal, may her death not be in vein, may we humans learn from this.
metaphysicist posted at 11:21 pm on Mon, Nov 15, 2010.
[sad] Sorry I meant to say this dog survived & served in Afghanistan, my mistake. God help our country.
metaphysicist posted at 11:40 pm on Mon, Nov 15, 2010.
[sad] Was just thinking of something else too, I have heard that those chips may not be as safe as some think. They are chipping all the rescue animals, & at all the animal control shelters. Chipping is still new, personally I would have had second thoughts about chipping my rescue Chihuahua pup, however she came with chip. That is a foreign object the immune system could have a reaction too. I have heard of some dogs getting cancer from it, & having some real bleeding problems afterwards. What if that chip migrates someway to somewhere it should'nt? It will take 20 years or so before we know the end result of all this chipping. Sure would not implant a chip in my body, so why a beloved pet? So much for depending on chips.
How about we start depending on our own brains? That is if we can even think straight anymore, or have any brains left. Did not the God force, the intelligence underlying the Cosmos give us a mind to use? Why don't we use it? Sometimes I wonder, how much more dummer can we get?
azloco posted at 12:43 am on Tue, Nov 16, 2010.
The unidentified employee needs to be euthanized. Oops...so sorry.
I'm sure this dog did more to help the human race in it's few years than this idiot has done or will do in what hopefully are very few years.
Uncommonvalor posted at 1:08 am on Tue, Nov 16, 2010.
I was wondering why the person that euthanized Target was only put on administrative leave, which means when the story quiet down he can return to work without loss of pay. The person that committed this crime should have been discharged, arrested and put on trial for animal abuse.
In the eyes of servicemen that serve with K-9’s during the time of war the animals are consider part of the unit and are well respected.
Dogs have always been used in the time of war and many lives have been saved by their actions. I feel target should received the same burial right as other Hero’s that puts his or her life on the line in the service of their country.
I hope everyone will forward this article to Fox news and e-mail it your friends and family, so we can get an investigation started that will stop a tragedy like this happening again.
WylieDog posted at 3:48 am on Tue, Nov 16, 2010.
I don't think it was a mistake. I think they're just saying it was a mistake to hide the fact that most pounds euthanize strays after 72 hours.
That's what he gets for "figuring", it's like assuming. Pounds are open on Saturdays and it's never safe to leave them there a minute longer than it takes to go get them. And where was her rabies tags and license? Rabies tags have the vet's phone number on it and can give the owners contact info. I've returned many lost dogs home that way over the years. This guy did nothing to protect his dog from having something like this happen.
BorninAZ posted at 3:51 am on Tue, Nov 16, 2010.
This transgression against a canine hero has infuriated me. At the very least, from what I've heard they keep animals for three business days prior to euthanasia and Target wasn't there that long. How can ANYONE who works at a shelter be so lackadaisical in their duties. A TRUE lover of animals would wait until the VERY last second prior to putting an animal to sleep, and would, then still hopefully check and double check that there was no way this animal could find a home.
Being placed on administrative leave is totally unacceptable. This person should be fired and not allowed to work with or around animals again.
Sgt. Young, may you find comfort in knowing that Target thrived on all the love and attention you and your fellow soldiers gave her, she knew she was cared for and she cared back tenfold. I am just so sorry for your terrible loss
chucklereader posted at 6:08 am on Tue, Nov 16, 2010.
they were home since august? why did'nt he chip and license target.....
k33j88 posted at 8:04 am on Tue, Nov 16, 2010.
How many of you bloggers belong to PETA?
metaphysicist posted at 10:09 am on Tue, Nov 16, 2010.
Here "I am" again, no am not with Peta.
Did not realize it was only 3 business days, that is terrible. We must have way too many animals. So when people just leave their pets because they can't afford them, or their home got foreclosed on, they are as sure as dead in three days? No wonder people just sometimes let them loose. These are very , very sad times. Maybe worse than the Depression. People worked to help each other out the more Ithen I bet, bet they even kept their dogs with them, homeless & all. We have lost our humanity. Target might have been better off left in Afghanistan.
There were errors on both sides, Target should have had some I.D. tag or collar with a name on it. I use a sharpy permanent marker, on all the pets collars I have had. Especially if she was outside, even in own backyard. Coming home from war can take some adjustment & down time, but she should have at least had a collar with a phone number written on it. Maybe Dog & Master were sufferring from some tramatic stress or readjustment time. Maybe it takes a few months or more to get it together. A very sad story, makes me want to cry. I just may. Lets please all be more conscious, & careful in the future. We have all gotten too inhumane to our pets, maybe worse yet, to each other. In hard times like this Americans should be pulling together, aware, and at our best using our best skills & potentials. We have to, that is our battle here at home. Lets not lose our hearts & souls along with our minds in this terrible economy, & times of war.
rowdydog posted at 10:14 am on Tue, Nov 16, 2010.
Ask anyone who really knows, the employee is the scapegoat, take a hard look at management!
geckoaz posted at 12:22 pm on Tue, Nov 16, 2010.
This is why AZ needs NO KILL SHELTERS. Actually so do ALL the states, speaking from experience, while living in Ca. I was moving to AZ when my partially blind Chowchow walked out of her gated yard during loading. When we took a break and noticed she was missing, went looking for her and could not find her. Our move was delayed looking for her. Within a week of her missing, the county facility we visited reported picking one up that matched her description. She was hit by a car and rather than contact the owners for treatment, they euthanized her because it was cheaper than them treating her medically. We were so sick. We could not file charges because she had already been incinerated with the others they euthanized and it was "impossible to tell if that dog was ours". We raised her from birth and she was 13 yrs. old. Still makes me sad every Aug. when I think of her. She was licensed and registered with AKA papers as required by Ca. It’s funny; they still call me to re-new her papers! Or to claim a dog I sold to someone else!
Carolyn posted at 3:21 pm on Tue, Nov 16, 2010.
There is NO excuse whatsoever for this having happened. NONE. There has NEVER been a good reason for euthanizing animals within just a few days if not claimed. There is NO excuse for ALL shelters being NO-KILL shelters. The actions by this "pound" were reprehensible, and the person who did this SHOULD have been fired - and WORSE. Had it been MY dog, there would have been hell to pay.
Bob posted at 11:55 am on Wed, Nov 17, 2010.
Poor management, too quick to throw someone under the bus.
rowdydog posted at 3:24 pm on Wed, Nov 17, 2010.
Check on the Department Director if you want to know who is responsible
LadywithBrains posted at 6:37 am on Thu, Nov 18, 2010.
I agree that the Sgt had ample time to properly license and chip his dog, but keep in mind that not all counties REQUIRE microchipping, and many people are reticent to do it because they fear they are hurting their pet. That aside, the "administrative leave" imposed on the offending employee should indeed have been a firing in my humble opinion. A dog lost its life because of a careless mistake, and a family lost a treasured and valued friend. Just running out and getting another dog will not make them whole, nor will any money they might get from a civil settlement. Those angry about the "administrative leave" should also keep in mind that such may be the procedure for the county, and a firing may or may not follow. Just because one employee did not follow the rules, does not mean that the entire department should follow suit. I feel for this family, and especially the Sgt who bravely served our country. I hope he will find some peace in knowing that he gave Target love, and there are many like myself here at home who are on his side and hope that he will get through this ok. Welcome home Sgt!
LadywithBrains posted at 6:39 am on Thu, Nov 18, 2010.
And for those who are saying " *I* would have at least had a collar with my name and number on it around the dog's neck"... dogs have been known to slip collars when escaping from the yard....and none of us know what made Target leave the yard or what happened to the dog after it left. Had it been wearing a collar, the collar may have been caught on something and removed. It isn't like the dog can just pick it up and put it back on.
2belan posted at 5:57 am on Sat, Nov 20, 2010.
WHAT DIFFERENCE DOES IT MAKE THAT THE WORKER WAS TAKEN OFF WORK--IS THAT GOING TO BRING TARGET BACK--I THINK NOT!! THERE'S AN ANIMAL SHELTER IN DULUTH, MN AND THEY DON'T KILL ANIMALS ANYMORE!! TAKE A HINT--NOONE HAS THE RIGHT TO DO THAT TO ANY ANIMAL!! YOU PEOPLE MAKE ME SICK!! HOW DARE YOU!! I'LL BET TARGET DIDN'T REALIZE IT WAS HIS LAST DAY ON THIS EARTH!! IT MIGHT BE MORE OF THE WORKER'S FAULT--BUT THE ANIMAL SHELTER THERE IS IN THE WRONG TOO!! MY THOUGHTS AND PRAYERS ARE WITH THE FAMILY OF TARGET!!