Posted on 08/07/2004 10:00:47 PM PDT by ambrose
Union County shelter director fired after family pet killed
8/5/2004 10:13 AM
By: Associated Press
(MONROE) - The acting manager of the Union County animal shelter has been fired after a family pet was killed by accident.
A swell of phone calls from animal lovers prompted the county health director to fire Maggie Nelson this week, instead of just suspending her without pay.
Health director Lorey White says Nelson didn't follow procedures that would have possibly avoided the death of a golden retriever named Sunny.
The dog was put down last week despite wearing an identification tag listing the owners' address and phone number. Paperwork also showed that her owners would pick her up.
The dog had been in the shelter's custody less than 24 hours. State law requires shelters to keep animals for 72 hours before they can destroy them.
The dog's owner says they arrived to find the dog had been put to death. The owner says Nelson sincerely apologized and her remorse was genuine.
ping.
Ping
Oh, that's OK then.
(Bunch of left-wing busybodies who kill animals "for their own good." We don't want to go where this leads!)
"Sorry" doesn't bring that dog back. Maggie needs to be fired immediately.
I sincerely hope that your post was sarcasm.
Didn't follow procedures? Like, not killing the dogs who have (1) been there less than 24 hours, and (2) whose owners have been contacted and are coming in? *Those* procedures? Jeezus.
I'm assuming this "manager" wasn't the one doing the euthanizing, so presumably she's on the hook for not ensuring the dog was really cleared for the needle. I have to say, though, I'm not sure I would insist this person be fired even for a mistake like this, assuming it was just an honest error. Yes, it's dreadful, but I'm sure an animal shelter that puts dogs to death after 72 hours doesn't exactly require redundant computer checks, signing off by three different vets, and a DNA confirmation before killing dogs. A mistake need not require a single person's gross negligence, I think.
That poor family... I would be devastated if this had happened to my dog.
Why? If I made a huge mistake at work, I'd be fired for sure.
It was actually worse than this article states. The family had phoned the shelter that morning and was told to come pick up the pet at 1:00. When they arrived they were informed of the unthinkable. Their dog was 10 years old. I can only imagine their grief.
Maggie *should* be fired! If my dog ended up at the shelter and I told them I'd be by tomorrow to pick up the dog, I'd expect to pick up a live dog, not a dead one.
Besides the fact that Maggie didn't follow state law and had the dog killed in spite of the law requiring the animal be held for 72 hours.
even following the rules, 72 hours isn't very long. especially with a golden retriever, which are very adoptable animals.
I don't believe this was an "honest error". According to the local paper Nelson was supposed to examine three sets of documents before putting the dog down. Obviously she didn't. And it's North Carolina state law that a dog be held for 72 hours before being killed. I do believe Nelson felt remorse but an honest mistake, no way. Pure negligence.
Agreed. The fact is it's a disgrace.
If the dog was immediately cremated it would be hard to prove that the dog was not sold to other interests and she pocketed the fee.
In my neck of the woods, it's hard for the locals to adopt a dog, because they can be adopted for a lot more money if shipped to San Francisco. I tried to adopt a dog from the local pound, and was turned down even though I have acreage and a secure area for the dog. That same animal was advertised on KSFO about a week later, on their Puppy Love segment. Finally I ended up adopting from a dog rescue org and he is very happy living on a ranch.
I heard also from an informed source that many go to the Universities to be used in experiments etc, and they pay top dollar to the shelters for the animals.
I'm sure the lawsuit will be as "genuine" as the remorse.
I disagree. This dog was wearing tags identifying her owners, there was a note saying the family would pick her up, and she had been there less than 24 hours. There were no redundant checks of any kind, not even a simple one time check. I think she should have been fired.
It's probably time to replace the county health director.
White must be a seasoned bureaucrat. Realizing all the incompetence at the shelter is now putting his own job in jeopardy, he's arranged transfer of responsibility for the shelter to the Sheriff's Department. From now on, employees will be taking orders from the cops.
Last article I read on this stated that a notice was posted prominently on the door to Sunny's cage. It clearly said the dog would be picked up by his owners that afternoon. In spite of this, the dog was pulled from the cage and wasted just hours before the owner and her children arrived to pick up their dog as arranged. This is totally inexcusable.
My cat's collar was stuck around his neck/shoulder for 12 hours today before I noticed. My penance will be to print this and send it to my local shelter! They need to hear that other shelters get fired for mistakes, and they will too if done to my animals! I can do it, but not them!
They wait 72 hours before they kill an unwanted dog, but you can kill your unwanted baby over the lunch hour without any delay.
Sounds right to me (Sarcasm)
I'm no lawyer, so I can't quote the precise definition of "gross negligence," but to be it has the connotation of a passive error -- a sin of omission, not commission. Had she left the dog's crate unlatched, and the dog had run out into the street and been hit by a truck, that, to me, would be gross negligence.
Ms. Nelson didn't "neglect" to do something, she went out of her way to kill a family pet (that most vicious of breeds, an elderly Golden Retriever) whose tags and paperwork clearly indicated that the dog should be spared.
Of course Ms. Nelson should have been fired. It's not a close call. It is unfortunate that her craven superior dithered around for more than a day, and sought to blame the firing on the public's outcry.
It is not comforting to read that Ms. Nelson wishes to seek another job "working with animals." I'd suggest some place far away from Union County, North Carolina. I hope that Sunny's family hits her with a civil suit, and nails her for enough money such that she'll remember her "gross negligence" for a long, long time.
A person losing their job because of a mix up in the pound is way over the top. Yes, it is a tragedy to a family that loves its pet, and the person responsible is probably upset as well. But it a dog, it got away and ended up at the pound and was put down. The owner bears the responsibility.
The pound people typically do a good job caring for our animals. And some money comes from us taxpayers. I could even make an argument that no money should. Where in the constitution does it say that taxpayers should fund an agency to help people who can't hang onto their pets? (Accidentally or on purpose)
Bad things happen in life. Learn to forgive. But perhaps you have never made a mistake. Thanks heaven's it wasn't a doctor or you'd want the death penalty. Or are you one of those who feels animals are more important than humans and wouldn't be so hard on a doctor?
Perhaps animal owners should take full responsibility and the tax payers should quit funding this agency. After all, it is there to bail out individual pet owners when they don't want their pets anymore or if they accidentally lose them... Just a thought.
ping.
White actually wrote a letter of recommendation for her. Unbelievable. Makes me wonder what else is going on in that health department.
By the time they run through the approved hiring list there will be a shortage of dogs.
Where in the Constitution does it say that it applies to LOCAL governments, like the ones which fund animal shelters?
Just another government program I thought I'd throw into the mix for volitilities sake ;) As for the woman director, if she has a history of incompetence, I'd say fire her. But if this was one (very sad) screw-up, I would get on with life. But it is true that local government gives them quite a bit of money. It is a good question to ask; should we fund this?
*Yawn*. It's not possible for you to think of anything else, is it?
I see. Thanks.
A terrible lapse of attention, then.
I'm curious what exactly the paper said, did it specify anything more about the procedures, and the mistake Nelson made?
Actually when I think of dogs, I usually think of food...Masarap!
I actually get a laugh out of the "try to make abortion the point of every thread" posters.
Monroe?
Union County?
Arkansas?
If so,
figures.
People lose their jobs over mix ups. There are such things as standards and accountability.
Nope. North Carolina.
I'm glad the place is going to be run under the Sherrif's department. It can only improve.
Maggie should be put down. *talk amongst yourselves as to whether this is sarcasm*
Working with animals??? That's not a dog pound job where your job is killing them.
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