The owners fault? The owners fault the dog escaped yes. Not the owners fault the dog is dead. I mean, they don't put people on administrative leave for "the owners fault"....I think it's a reasonable expectation he had that he could have gotten his dog back alive. Procedures exist for a reason. The employee didn't follow them and has now put themselves and their employer in a stupidly actionable position legally and financially. Stupid or lazy humane society workers are not the "owners fault".

"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."

Lame. A little more effort, please? The shelters in my area are NOT closed on the weekend. I think the owner made a bad decision to assume it was closed. Of course, the employee at the shelter was wrong, but the dog should NEVER have been put in that position.

Owners fault?!?! I dont know how your country works but up here in Canada a dog needs to be sheltered for 12 months before it can be euthanized. This is terrible. Its the fault of the stupid, lazy human society and theyt should be fined for this. Your kind of an ignorant person arent you SPUD?

It's done. It's too late for all the microchip talk, BUT FIRE THIS PERSON.

End of conversation.

IN THIS ECONOMY YOU CAN FIND AN EMPLOYEE THAT WHO CAN FOLLOW RULES.

no collar, no chip, no owner with a brain. What the animal couldn't survive was ignorant owners. Yes, the shelter made a mistake. Sucks to be a minimum wage employee. But the owner made the first several mistakes that led to this tragedy.

I'm curious why the military doesn't require it's dogs to be chipped? The police do.

And did you vote for Sharron Angle??? Only morons can be excused for this
unbelieveable behaviour.

This dog was famous and animal protection is more important that putting down this dog speedily

To imply that the owner is at fault is sad and inappropriate. Yes, the dog should have had a collar with an ID tag at the very least. But I've NEVER heard of a kill shelter euthanizing strays within three days. Most have a 5-12 day window, and one that I know of has a time limit for holding lost/stray animals before they can be put up for adoption. If they don't get adopted, then they are put down. But the process never happens in three days! This is just incredibly sad.

Idaho Spud - As a fellow Idaho Spud, I am very disheartened at your callousness regarding this pet. What an amazing dog. I bet your the type to run over a cat thats in the middle of the road too. Oh well stupid cats right.... There are always 2 or more sides to the story. Dont be so judemental.

The owner isn't blameless. But the shelter also is to blame. Fire the employee. People like to pick sides. The owner already is paying the price. But the worker did a piss poor job that led to a mistake that can't be fixed. Fired. Fired. Fired.

Idaho: the story says the dog was turned in Friday and euthanized on Monday. No attempt to locate the family or even give anyone time to CHECK the local shelter.That's why it's a mistake. Even KILL shelters at least attempt to give the owner time to find the dog.

kewdee

I'm not sure whose comments you have been reading. I'm certainly not blaming the dog. It's the owner's responsibility to take care of their pet. And I also don't know where the cat comments come from. That's just rude.

As far as the remark about the story having 2 sides, I think you're wrong about that too. This story had 3 sides. That amazing dog had a side, unfortunately he couldn't talk to tell his side. The only option he had was to go along with the situation his owner left him in.

Wow, Nick, you're just one cliche after another. And not a single one of them reveals a single thought.

Very sad. A hero has fallen. That dog should be treated with just as much respect as any of our other heroes that die in the line of duty.

The same incompetent employee could have just as easily missed the fact your dogs have micro-chips.

My dog does have a chip, but she does not always wear a collar, as she is an inside dog. She is outside for no longer than 10 minutes to use the restroom, and is 65 lbs. She has escaped under holes in the fence once or twice and I have found them and plugged them. This might have been the first time that the dog escaped from the fence, and he is probably an inside dog, having saved his owner the way he did.

Who is to say his collar didn't fall off? To call this owner badis wrong. No one knows what the schedule of the family was, and it is normal to think the pound might have been closed on the weekend. For the person that found the dog, if he was a neighbor, why in God's name did he not walk the neighborhood first? This is what I do if I find a lost pet! I did it even when I hit a cat in my car that ran into the road in front of me. I went door-to-door to find the family so they would not wonder what happened to their cat.

I would sue the Humane Society. I'm sorry, I am not a sue happy person, but to only give an animal two days to live, and only two days for the owner to find them is negligent. What if the whole family is on vacation? Maybe a lawsuit will make the statement to be more careful in the future.

This is so sad, as I also had my first dog, a Dalmatian escape a friends yard that was watching him when i went on a four day trip to NY. I never saw him again. I don't know if someone kept him, or now, maybe he was euthanized at the pound before I got home. I called every single shelter and posted pictures and went door to door also. I have no idea where he went and I still do a double take when I see Dalmatians today, even though he would be 16yrs, and probably not live that long.

RIP- Target... At least there will be no more pain for him. I am so sorry for the family.

The employee should be fired and never allowed to work with animals again, but why oh why didn't the dog have a collar and tags on? Or a microchip? You just can't assume that shelter employees will be competent: they hire usually at minimum wage or below and don't always get the "cream of the crop" as far as employees go. Or the procedures and policies are messed up, or the shelter is overflowing, etc., etc. A truly horrible story.

This story is heartbreaking. I am deeply saddened and can't stop the tears from falling. Target did not deserve to have his life ended this way.

The employee who did this, in my opinion is beyond ignorant!

My heartfelt sympathy goes out to the family for their loss.

I agree 100% with Idaho Spud. The dog should have never been put in that situation. The guy said he assumed the shelter was closed for the weekend? Dog had no tags or microchip? How easy is it to verify the animal shelter's hours online? Microchipping is very cheap nowadays and an animal should never be without i.d. All 4 of my dogs are chipped and even though they're indoor dogs, they're never without their collars/tags.

If they owner took all the necessary precautions and the dog was still put down by the shelter, then I can say blame the shelter 100%. But that's not the case here. Shelters are overflowing with abandoned animals and they do the best they can with the resources they have. If people were more responsible with their pets, it would make the process so much easier for all involved.

Wow - it's hard to understand how you can make an assumption that the shelter is closed for the weekend and allow your dog (regardless of how heroic it is) to sit in a cage for 2 or 3 days and nights at a shelter while you mindlessly go about your day to day business. As for the shelter, how dare they call themselves a "shelter".

Well America will just have to give this hero dog a Purple Heart just like Lex.

http://www.marinecorpstimes.com/news/2008/01/ap_marinedog_080130/

And did you vote for Sharron Angle???

What does this have to do with the debate? You partisan morons are what is wrong with debate today. Moreover, you have no business maligning anyone's intelligence with your demonstrated lack of it.....

the vons --- It doesn't work that way here; the amount of time a shelter is required to keep an animal varies from state-to-state, and even then there are different regs for different counties, cities, shelters, etc. A lot of it depends on location, size, and funding. A privately run shelter can set their own timelines, but government funded shelters have to go by government guidelines. I live in the South, and no one really checks or inspects the shelters. The conditions of the shelter depend on the staff more than anything else.

Up North, they have fairly strict spay/neuter laws and they are usually pretty well enforced, so their shelters can keep dogs longer. Here, it is impossible. One parish shelter might take in over 1,000 dogs a month; out of those, maybe 10-15% are adopted. Some are euthanized within 24 hours.

Realist 502574: You are right, this employee is beyond ignorant and should be fired. But no worries, TSA is hiring. He'll be perfect for the job.

Given this dog's media publicity for being a dog that saved the lives of our military men, and all the shows that she was on, what was wrong with that neighbor. The dog got loose and a neighbor traps Target in her yard to call the animal control people on a friday night?? You can NOT tell me the neighbors didnt know who the dog belonged to or even her name. This neighbor must have been one spiteful piece of human scum. If the dog is friendly enough to "coral" into your yard, it isnt a stray. There are too many mean, spiteful wastes of good human DNA in our society and this neighbor apparently is one of them. The dog got loose ... big flippin deal. All animals get lose once or twice - they dont usually get killed because of it. They usually find their way home after a few hours unless, like in Target's case, some pervert traps them.

Apparently, Target got loose sometime on Friday and on sometime on Friday before public offices close (usually 4:30 PM) this neighbor was able to trap Target in her yard (making it impossible for her searching owners to find her) and call the pound. Now here, the pound are usually open on reduced schedules (9 am to 12 noon), on Saturdays and totally locked up on Sundays. They also DO not kill on the 1st BUSINESS DAY after catching the animal - usually a week or 2 later, depending on the shelter. The owner usually pays the "fine" and the cost/day of housing the pet. The owner did have reason to believe that they were closed on weekends. The owners showed up on the first reasonable BUSINESS DAY after Target went missing and had checked animal control's website to find her. The dog may have had a collar on and broke free from it - she was a military dog and was trained in many things dealing with war - getting free from being trapped may have been one of those lessons. She may also have had BATTLE WOUNDS preventing her from having a colar on for humanitarian reasons. As far as chips are concerned, they are a $200 expense here and most military personell are NOT paid much, expecially once they have been released from the military. They returned in August (3 months ago). Perhaps they were saving for that electronic chip.

I have 2 cats ... once came with a chip from the animal shelter. We "resuced" her ... a 14 yr old cat that would have otherwise been "put down" because of her age. The other was born in my house ... the offspring of a cat I got back in 1994 who is now "gone". She is now 12 yrs old and does NOT have a chip. I can not see maiming her with an electronic device for no valid reason. She is a happy cat and loves both the indoors and outdoors. She asks when she wants out, and asks when she wants in and usually doesnt leave the yard (we have a lush, treed 1/2 area lot that gets its share of birds, frogs, butterflies etc) and she loves it outside.

A few hours jaunt outside should NOT have cost this dog her life, yet this inhumane neighbor saw it fit to keep both the dog from returning home and the owner from finding her when he went searching for it.

Not only should the irresponsible employee be fired for MISCONDUCT on the job and breaking the law (which is what governs a government animal shelter's procedures), but the neighbor should also be dealt with for theft of a personally owned pet. That neighbor "took" someone's property and denied that person their propery. That is why Target was in the pound in the first place. This neighbor who was outside long enough to trap a dog (a celebrated dog she most likely knew who owned her), yet not concerned enough to at least even watch for an owner searching for the dog is dispicable. When there is a stray one must call the animal control for, it is usually best NOT to approach it, never mind bring it into your yard to "trap" it. A stray will also NOT be friendly enough to trap. This slime of a neighbor should be dealt with as well, not just the employee.

chris-335678, I couldn't agree more.

This is truly a very sad story but I do have to agree that the owner does share responsibility in this incident. : (

First of all, I love animals and specially dogs. We have a loving member of our family that four legs and wags her tail. People need to realize that if you choose to own a pet, it is YOUR responsibility to provide for them, protect and spend time with them to teach the adopted family member what you expect from them.

First of all...An animal that leaves their yard has not been properly trained. I can take ANY dog that runs out of their yard and train them not to run off or leave any predetermined boundary in 2 to 3 days and 10 to 14 days for the real "hard-headed" ones. This exceptional hero of an animal has already proven beyond any doubt that he or she had the want, desire and ability to learn what it was expected from this animal. Sadly, the owner did not take the time to teach this animal what was expected from itself.

Second...How can anyone believe that an animal shelter would be closed for the weekend? Granted, it may not have public access however, animals do need to be fed and cared for every day! Someone would have to show up during this time to preform these chores. If it were my animal that was incarcerated in this facility, I would have been camping out on their doorstep until someone arrived to either retrieve my pet or to tell them that I will return at the approved time when I will be able to do so!

Third... In most municipalitys it is a misdemeanor offense to not having your dogs registered an tagged. This can only be done by the owner of the pet, unfortunately the pet can not do this himself! So, unless the animal was properly tagged and licensed and someone removed the collar (that is why a chip is a good idea now days) then the responsibility falls solely on the newly adopted owner.

I feel really bad about what happened to this outstanding member of society however I feel that it was released to someone who did not have the correct experience to provide correctly for this animal. Adopting an animal is in reality like adopting a child. That is why the child adoption process takes as long as it does because we have to be assured that the adopting parent is reliable enough to provide safely for this child. Like with children, it is the owners that need to be better trained before taking on this responsibility!

Now for the employee at the shelter.... he or she should have been more properly trained as well and until he or she receives such training, they should be immediately terminated until he or she receives such training! I assure you that this person will have learned from this horrible mistake and hopefully will never do this again!

My regrets go out to this wonderful animal and to its newly adopted family.

Idaho: the story says the dog was turned in Friday and euthanized on Monday. No attempt to locate the family or even give anyone time to CHECK the local shelter

How do you envision a shelter attempting to locate a family without a pet having been microchipped or at least provided with an ID tag? They can't & they don't. Or do you have inordinately lucrative shelters in your area who can afford private dog detectives for each of their wards?

Yes, the lowly shelter worker made a mistake. Undoubtedly only one of many animals put down out of order in shelters across the country what with this animal loving population of ours abandoning so many of our non-human charges when the novelty wears off. It's just that this one was a "celebrity" so we're hearing about it. But it's not as though he appeared at the shelter with a golden crown on his head & a neon sign reading "Big Shot...pay special attention" around his neck where an ID tag ought to have been.

If the owner had bothered to provide the dog with an ID tag &/or a chip, they WOULD have called to notify him where the dog was & what their hours were on the weekend. Then again, if the owner who already KNEW where he was, had bothered to pick up the phone & find OUT what their hours were, maybe he could have picked his butt up off the couch from Saturday football & brought the dog back home. Who knowingly leaves their beloved pet in a shelter for the weekend without make a concerted effort to bring them home as soon as possible? Beloved being the key word here.

If either of our two dogs escaped, I would be out searching the neighborhood & surrounding areas on foot & by car the minute I realized it. And if I couldn't find them, I would be on the phone to the nearest shelters checking to see if they had been picked up & leaving my name & number to call if they were. And if I found out they were at a shelter, there is no way in hell I would just kick back & leave them there all weekend. I would be on the phone finding out their weekend hours & begging, pleading & bribing my way into bringing them home after hours if humanly possible.

Then again, both our dogs are chipped & also have ID tags with our names, address & phone # along with the name of our dogs on them so the shelter WOULD have given us a call.

If fingers HAVE to be pointed, yes, that minimum-wage shelter worker made a mistake. But if we have to measure degree of blame here, I'd tip the scales toward the owners who just don't sound to me as though they were in that big of a rush to get their dog back & certainly didn't care enough to protect them with a chip & ID tag...unless of course the dog escaped during a bath while its collar was off which seems unlikely since most owners who would bother bathing their dog usually care enough to give chase & bring them back before they get picked up & hauled off to a shelter to begin with.

The only true & blameless victim here is the poor dog. It had a hard life & it's just a pity that people went to a lot of trouble to bring it to the US for a better life only to have it end up with a family who failed to provide minimum protection in case of loss & couldn't pick up a phone to see if they could bring him back home once they knew where he was.

And don't go throwing out the animal hater accusations at me. I'm not wearing my tag line without reason. Our two dogs are not the only non-human members of our family. There are many more. I've been an animal lover for as long as I can remember...which is from around 2 years of age to the best of my knowledge. Everything from goldfish to turtles, frogs & lizards to cats, dogs & horses as a kid & teenager. And including parrots throughout my adult life & presently. But always dogs.

As far as chips are concerned, they are a $200 expense here and most military personell are NOT paid much, expecially once they have been released from the military.

If you're paying $200 for a microchip you need to shop around because someone is ripping you off. I live in Tx and only paid around $30 for each of my dogs.

3-5 days makes trying to find and owner almost useless. I like the Canadian 12 month deal, but that will never be done here. Still, nothing less than 30 days for a holding period, because sometimes dogs are separated from owners while traveling; or the owner becomes hospitalized. The dog may get stolen and have to escape.

The poor dog, who was a trained companion, must have been so scared.

This is truly a sad event. The person at the pound responsible should be fired. they obviously did not follow established procedures or they would not have been put on administrative leave. There are enough people out there that need jobs that care enough to do their job well. There is no reason to continue to employ this lazy POS who can not even be bothered to follow established procedures. My heart goes out to the family that lost this loving pet. It is made even worse in that this dog had likely saved her owners life and wound up losing hers for no good reason other than the laziness and/or stupidity of a shelter worker.

I also question why this neighbor called the shelter instead of trying to contact the owner. This dog was apparently well know and this neighbor must have a real problem with dogs to do what they did. If you do not care about the animal, just leave it alone, don't puposely trap it so it can not be found or find it's way home and then call the pound. I do not know if charges can be filed against this person for what they did. If it can be shown that they knew who the dogs owners was, there should be a way to charge them with something for what they did to this animal.

If you're paying $200 for a microchip you need to shop around because someone is ripping you off. I live in Tx and only paid around $30 for each of my dogs.

Here in WA, they're around $65 through our vet but available for significantly less through various organizations & shelters as well as events held at pet stores & sometimes in the parking lots outside grocery stores throughout the year.

PS

My parrots are microchipped...five of them anyway, all but the two little ones who are too small for a chip.

chris-335678

Moreover, you have no business maligning anyone's intelligence with your demonstrated lack of it.....

So... voting for Angle amounts to maligning someones intelligence?

Can anyone guess the tea bagger in the room?

CaliTxGirl is right, $200 for a chip is a rip-off. If you are actually active duty military the base vet will do it for much less; I paid $16 for my dog's chip at a base vet, and that was 10 years ago.

BTW, that vet charging $200... he pays $15 per chip. It is injected under the skin in a saline solution, using a syringe and a needle about the size of a blood-donation needle. There is no reason to expect $200 for that, and chances are the vet doesn't even do it... a tech does.

Check with area shelters and rescues; non-profit organizations get a deep discount on the chips and a lot of them will pass that discount on to people wanting their pets chipped.

I can not see maiming her with an electronic device for no valid reason.

Microchipping an animal is in no way "maiming".

I think your comment is heartless and stupid.

F.O. Idaho spurt!!

I guess you're perfect?? Did you NOT understand the words "the employee did not follow procedure" of the shelters remark??

This shelter got caught doing what they ALL regularly do. They pretend they give the animals a chance, but they have a quota and they often kill animals within 24 hours or less if there is any excuse. An excuse can be that the animal is too thin. You and I might expect a lost or stray animal to be thin, but any excuse is better than none.

Just like the SPCA executive who recently left her dog to die locked up in a hot car in the middle of summer. They want your money, so they lie to you. They don't care at all about the animals, it's just an excuse to get tax money and donations.

I've seen the scam run with my own eyes. I NEVER give a donation to a shelter until I have it in writing that they don't euthanize and I've personally seen old animals that have been there for years. Then I donate regularly -- money, food, and toys.

When I get a little older I'm going to buy a farmhouse and be one of those crazy old ladies with 70 cats and dogs.

Wow, Nick, you're just one cliche after another. And not a single one of them reveals a single thought.

Well it wasn't meant that way. It's just people are calling for someone to be fired. The first mistake was the owner losing the dog. The shelter made a second mistake and euthanized it. But those were both accidents. I am sure it wasn't done on purpose and the dog was not wearing it's war medals.

In life many mistakes are made sometimes people die. This will not be the last time this happens I'm sure of that. It's Murphy's Law.

This ruins my whole frigg'n day...no, make that year! There is no more loving, devoted and selfless animal on the planet than a dog, and that includes humans as well unfortunately, your dog will never take you for granted. I have two and they make me feel like the luckiest guy in the world each time I come home.

Read the article Idaho.. The employee didn't follow procedures!!! Even the director gave a statement and affirmed that fact!!!! Are you from Idaho? I've lived in AZ my whole life and had a friend that worked for rabies animal control and the procedure is they are checked in vet ck up, shots, etc.. then they are quarantined for 3 or 4 days and then put up for adoption!! That is how it's done in Arizona!!!!!!! What this employee did was negligent, stupid, and they should no longer have a job for not following the procedure!!!!! I don't know how things are done in Idaho if that's where you're from, but apparently you don't know what the procedures or policies are here.. I am absolutely disgusted about this!!

I'm from Idaho and hope none of you will lump all Idahoans in the same category as this idiot, Idaho Spud-1126196! Most of us have considerably more intelligence and compassion then this jerk, who obviously can't read and is a total a$$hole to boot!

Please accept my apologies on behalf of the rest of Idaho's animal-loving citizens..

I am truly sick to death of all of the LAZZINESS I see daily in and around my life by careless employess and government workers who don't give a sh*t!!! To this complete f**k-up, this was just another day on the job with no regard or care in the world towards these homeless, abandoned and lost creatures of earth.

Just today, I've read about employess not verifying whether or not one is authorized to buy bullets legally at a local Walmart before he went on to kill a child, and there's an inmate in Prospect, CT suing the parents of a victim he killed as the drunk driver of an 80 MPH car for pain & suffering he's endured while in Prison!!!!

WHEN DOES THE INSANITY STOP??

Get yourself micro-chipped and tagged, fool.

Dogs have the intelligence of a 2-to-3 1/2-year-old Human child; depending on the dog breed.

Yes. I can agree with the dog's owner. The loss of a beloved pet sits on its owner's chest like a rock. It isn't a whole lot different than losing a child.

The loss of a beloved pet sits on its owner's chest like a rock. It isn't a whole lot different than losing a child.

...

It's NOTHING like losing a child. You get a pet expecting to outlive it. Yes, it hurts to lose a pet, but comparing it to losing a child is ignorant and insensitive.

RUSHMAN, it is like losing a child... especially for people who cannot have children.

Recycled, how is microchipping a pet maiming? With that reasoning, vaccinations could be called maiming; chipping is done with an injection right under the skin with a needle about the size they use on blood donors.

kc--

This shelter got caught doing what they ALL regularly do. They pretend they give the animals a chance, but they have a quota and they often kill animals within 24 hours or less if there is any excuse. An excuse can be that the animal is too thin. You and I might expect a lost or stray animal to be thin, but any excuse is better than none.

There is no 'quota'. Shelter workers are told that a certain number of spaces must be freed up, and they have to decide who is PTS. They have limited space and resources, so one determining factor is how adoptable an animal is. It sucks, but without more space and resources there is no option; we do not like it but that is the way it works.

I've seen the scam run with my own eyes. I NEVER give a donation to a shelter until I have it in writing that they don't euthanize and I've personally seen old animals that have been there for years. Then I donate regularly -- money, food, and toys.

If the only options are to let an animal starve in the streets or to humanely euthanize it, do you prefer we let them starve?

They don't care at all about the animals, it's just an excuse to get tax money and donations.

Try actually working in a shelter. I have been the one who had to decide who goes, and you have no idea how hard that is and how much it hurts. I have been the one who had to put the needle in the vein and push the plunger, and it breaks my heart every time. And I have been the one holding the animal being euthanized and crying for an animal no one else loves or cares about. Don't tell me I don't care.

yes, this Sgt is also at fault waiting the weekend, but we are not told what the protocol is and why the put that dog down so fast? there is more to story?

For those blaming the neighbor, it is conceivable that they did not know whose dog it was. I know many people who pay no attention whatsoever to news like "hero dog adopted locally." Also, dogs can go a good distance in a short time; the story gives no real clue how far away this neighbor was.

The dog should have at least had a collar and tag. Microchipping would depend on the area; my cats are not chipped because very few shelters in my area have the equipment to read them. Even if I did ever let them outside, a microchip would be of almost no benefit.

As far as I can tell, both the owner and the shelter are at fault.

Rene.... Thanks for the info.

YW; it suck and I hate it, but apparently it isn't too much of a concern in politics b/c no government officials care much, and it is way worse in the rural South.

Example: http://www.franklinsun.com/news.php?id=2612 Please, if you have young kids, don't open it in front of them. This happened in my town; I and a few others started a private rescue and we take in as many as we can from the city holding pens, but since we are privately funded and all of our dogs have to be fostered, we are severely limited in the number we can take in. Plus, we do not euthanize healthy dogs so if they do not get adopted that space is not freed up. One of my fosters has been here nearly 6 months. We do watch the city pens very closely now but there really isn't mush else we can do other than take the ones we can and make sure the pens are kept in acceptable conditions.

This is not the only small town in this area with these problems, but unfortunately the city officials don't care much and won't even listen, much less help. Our new mayor has said outright that he does not like dogs and did not consider this an issue. Well, I don't like teenagers but I don't want them starved and living in filth. He can't see that it isn't a matter of liking or disliking dogs; it is a moral issue. Making sure these animals are kept in appropriate and humane conditions is just the right thing to do.

There is a good network of rescue groups and volunteers but there will never be enough of us. There is even a sort of doggie 'underground railroad' we have been known to use... if there is a clear cut case of abuse or neglect, sometimes that dog will 'disappear'. By the time the owner notices, if they even care, that dog is at least 50 miles away, sometimes more. It really upsets me though... when doing what your conscience and morality dictates is illegal, the legal system is screwed.

And we are suppose to trust their judgment with the Immigration Law?

Only until the point where they mistakenly euthanize an illegal who has neither the proper documentation nor an owner that comes to claim the illegal as property.

Target was my hero.

I really doubt the neighbor knew whose dog it was or that it was a celebrity. I never heard the story before & don't watch Oprah. And I wouldn't recognize who a stray dog belonged to either unless it was one of our neighbors who I've met while they were walking their dog the way most of our neighbors know who our dogs belong to. But a lot of people don't really know their neighbors well enough to recognize their pets. I wouldn't except like I said for the few I've met while they were walking their dogs. And even then, I might not remember. People have busy lives with friends & families of their own to keep up with. A friendly wave & a hi, how are you is about all a lot of people can manage for the neighbors & that's not a bad thing really. We know each others names, those of us on the block, & we're friendly when we meet & will look out for suspicious activity for each other but it's not like we hang out together.

I'd say that a person who saw a stray dog that they didn't know but bothered to rescue it from the street & put it safely in their yard & notify the authorities so maybe it could find its way back to its owners was probably being a good & caring person. I can't believe people just assuming they were some mean & spiteful jerk. Geesh.

Actually, good neighbors do know their neighbors pets. I had my dogs escape one time and one of my neighbors was able to catch them and kept them in their yard til I got home from work. Granted, Target should have had tags or a microchip, but it doesn't excuse what happened at the shelter. All things considered, I prefer the company of my critters to that of the vast majority of people I have had the misfortune of coming across.

No, good neighbors may or may NOT know their neighbors pets. We have so many cats & dogs roaming about our neighborhood from blocks away, it would be impossible to know who they all belonged to. And yes, my four neighbors on either side of us know who our dogs are & have also returned them once when we had monsoon-like conditions here in Washington & the ground a one end of our backyard was turned into such soft mud that our two dogs at the time (they died of age-related problems a couple of years ago so they aren't the same two we have now) dug right under the fence & we investigating that neighbors backyard.

But had they wander a couple blocks away, those neighbors most definitely would not recognize them as our dogs & don't even know us. That doesn't make them bad neighbors. There's a limit to how many of your neighbors you can know personally. The title "neighbor" isn't limited to people right next door or even to your block; we don't even know how far away the neighbor in question lived. It's back to all the absurd assumptions people here are making about the facts of the story.

Like the assumption that anyone, including me most definitely, excused what happened at the shelter. I'm just posting to the facts rather than the emotionally-ladened fictional story others are inventing here.

Don't have too much confidence in the microchips. They tend to float around the animals body and aren't always detectable. Animal Control in my area doesn't even have a microchip reader.

Microchips are pretty reliable. Nothing is 100% & they can potentially dislodge & be missed in an attempted reading, but most chips are pretty stable & quickly read by any vet with the equipment which just about all vets now have. They're certainly a helluva lot more reliable than nothing at all. Which is what Target was given. And I don't know who came up with this "electrical device" idea. It's a syringe like you give an injection with, not a cattle prod! <shaking head>

Probable happens everyday to our ordinary Dogs, Shame how can someone sleep at night after killing dogs all day WTF

Or at least have him spayed.

This actually made me chuckle, I don't know why it wasn't the first thought that came to my mind.

THAT was my first thought!!!

I agree these people have no kind of compassion for animals, stick a needle in there arm and put there hind end down. They need to pass a law to shut down all kill shelters and that any one who ows a animal has to have it spayed or neutered in so many months or will be fined. Its not the animals fault its the people who won't take responsibilty for them. Do you think when they put a animal down they tuck it away nice and neetly. Hell no they take it out back and toss them in barrels or dumpesters for pick up . They need to make a Santuary for animals in every county so they do not have to die. They are voiceless they can not speak but we can for them. Have you ever went on you tube and watched how they treat these animals. They beat kick abue thats before they shove them into a gas chamber thats here in North Carolina. Sometimes it takes 2 times. I hope each one of them get bit and it has rabbies it doesn't matter for there going to put it down any way. North Carolina, Georgia, South Carolina, Ohio, all are nertrious for this. How I hope these people are sued and shut down over this Bull.

"They need to pass a law to shut down all kill shelters and that any one who ows a animal has to have it spayed or neutered in so many months or will be fined."

I agree, and have all dogooders like you pay for it?

And the neighbor who called the pound, plus the owner for not microchipping Target.

Shame on all of them - No Heaven for you! Bad boy(s)!

HA! Thanks for the good laugh.

At least the dog didn't die over there. The terrorists would have eaten him.

I'm quite certain that songbird kid is mentally retarded. Seriously, you want to require anyone who has a pet to spay and neuter their animals? How do you suppose a species is to survive without reproduction or have you yet to learn where babies come from? Throughout your inadequate grammar and barrage of illiteracy I pulled out a few distinct paragons of idiocy.

"They beat kick abue thats before they shove them into a gas chamber thats here in North Carolina."

Seriously? You are aware that a gas chamber would cost a fortune whereas shooting them full of M99 then a potassium by-product is much cheaper and sensible. If your state does this then it just goes to show that it truly is the backwoods hick state that everyone assumes it is.

"North Carolina, Georgia, South Carolina, Ohio, all are nertrious for this."

I'm going to go out on a limb here and assume that alphabet soup there is supposed to say notorious? Even I'm not good enough to guarantee that I'm correct there but hey, I don't speak retard.

I've been to both North Carolina and Georgia (and dreaded each for it's own reason.) Neither of which, while passing through, did I see any sign that said "Butt@!$%#, Egypt home of animal abuse." SO I'm going to again, go out on a limb and say you're full of @!$%#.

"I hope each one of them get bit and it has rabbies it doesn't matter for there going to put it down any way."

Again, go revisit 2nd grade because apparently you can't spell two syllable words now. Rabies is a disease that is thoroughly vaccinated, amongst humans there is less than 10 cases a year documented and of those ten cases about 2 per decade are dogs (most are rats or bats.)

My opinion on the story, blame the owner just as much as the shelter. They homed his "Hero" dog for 2-3 days which is more than the legal time necessary. The only reason that the person was put on leave was because it'd be a PR nightmare otherwise. The owner should have given his dog a collar and a chip. He also shouldn't have sat there with his thumb up his ass when he found out his pet was at the humane society. I guess you people just need a scapegoat though so you can pretend that this dog that barked at a bad guy actually meant something to you. I however am not into self-disillusionment. Now for those of you who wold like to flame me do direct your comments to moulin_rouge_man@yahoo.com because I will likely not check this again.

Shutting down shelters is only the 'tip of the ice berg'. Licenses for breeders should be very strict. Most of them should be shut down. Pet shops in major urban centers should be permanently closed, and people must be directed to shelters if they want an animal.

It is clear that this shelter worker was not doing his/her job and should be terminated for lack of any good sense. The shelter manager should also bear some responsiblity as I am sure this was not the only animal "mistakenly" euthanized after such a brief stay. However, the owners absolutely should shoulder some of the responsibility too. I mean really, how many shelters do you know that are closed on Saturday? When the only outdoor cat I've ever had went missing, I called the shelter, all the local vets and left messages even though it was a Sunday. I called again Monday morning.

While I agree that kill shelters are not the ideal situation, far too many pet owners are irresponsible. Spaying and neutering animals is only part of the solution. How many of you know a family who purchased or adopted a pet just to dump it off after the newness wore off or they realized how much work/cost there is in raising a puppy or kitten? Or how about the completely unsocialized or ferral animals that really are not adoptable. Or those that are in such poor health that using the minimal resources available to rescues/shelters to attempt to save it would be irresponsible? Or those animals that are so neglected or abused that they cannot be socialized?

Realistically, euthanizing some animals is the only feasible economic solution available to most underfunded programs. Sometimes it is the only solution because of the temperment of the animal. Additionally, the current laws governing pet ownership/care are inadequate and often unenforced. How on earth do you expect to impose a spay/neuter fine? A reasonable hold before adopting out or euthanizing an animal that is clearly not ferral SHOULD be required, but reasonable would be maybe 7-10 days. If an owner has not realized their animal is missing within that time frame and been astute enough to contact the shelter, they clearly are not responsible. As far as being out of town or whatnot, a responsible owner would have an equally responsible person watching their pet or have it kennelled, not leave it to fend for itself for multiple days.

I am an animal lover. Over the last 10 years we have taken in, vetted, and rehomed or kept 4 cats and 6 dogs. Plus I have 3 pasture ornaments (horses). All my non-horsey pets have been spayed (I have all girls) and all have collars. Our 3 acres are completely enclosed around the perimeter, and the dogs have about 1/2 acre seperately enclosed area to run and play. The cats are indoor only. My vet and her staff know exactly who I am when I call. In contrast, I had to call the humane society to pick up the neighbor's cat a few weeks ago. They were renters and moved out but left the cat to fend for himself. As heartbreaking as it was, I already have 3 dogs and 2 cats and it would have been irresponsible to take in another. I hope he got adopted, but if not, being euthanized is certainly more humane than a certain death due to predators, starvation or the elements.

The owners obviously were looking for their pet ... even going online to find any c lue of her whereabouts. The foot search would have been futile since their neighbor had trapped the dog, most likely shortly after it got loose, in her yard. The owners could have possibly found the dog shortly after she had gotten loose had the dog not been trapped behind the neighbor's closed fence. Apparently, the neighbor was NOT frightened by the dog, or they would have ran instead of taking the dog and trapping it in their yard. The dog most likely had a collar and broke free from it - it happens all the time. Unless you use a metal choke chain, collars can break or get worn and stretched and the animal can break free of it on occasion.

As far as chips are concerned, when we got the 14 yr old cat, who is a loving 18 yr old cat now, we didnt "inquire" about possibly getting one for our other cat. $200 was the pricetag ... $100 for the actual chip and $100 for the surgical procedure. After they explained both the procedure and the cost, it was "hell no".

And to correct my error above, my cat that was born here was 12 yrs old when we got the 14 yr old one. They are now 18 yrs old (come April, 2011) and 16 yrs old (come Nov, 2011).

What I find amusing is that the newer "18 yr old" cat, a pint sized abysinian, took over my maine coon cat's alpha status the moment she came home from the shelter in 2007. Arial, the main coon, was always the alpha cat, since she reached "adulthood". At that time, we had 4 cats. It was the death of one of those cats (old age) that prompted us to "rescue" another cat. Since my daughter's favorite cat died, we decided to save the life of another cat who would be killed just because she was breathing. That is one of the reasons we got a 14 yr old cat.

Oh brother. Don't be so gullible to believe everything you see on YouTube or anywhere else or what someone tells you. Or generalizing that some isolated incidents make up the bulk of the behavior in a group of people or a trade. We've already got a whole segment of the electorate guilty of that type of thinking & it's getting us deeper & deeper with most every election...as this past one goes to show.

Just what do you think a person will get from a lawsuit against a not-for-profit business that is essentially a charity. Think a little. There's no money there to be gotten.

Most people who work with animals in any aspect of their care from vets to shelters, kill or no-kill, aren't in it for the money. They're in it because they care about animals. You'll find your rotten apples in any barrel, but don't taint the many by the actions of the few.

The fact of the matter is that the shelters aren't the problem. The owners are the problem. We'd most all of us like all shelters to be no-kill shelters. But do you have any comprehension of what the numbers are when it comes to abandoned animals in our country & around the world????? Any idea at all?

There aren't shelters enough or land enough to build them on to provide care until natural death for them all. And there certainly isn't the money nor the volunteers to handle it.

The problem is the over breeding for profit & careless breeding (failing to spay or neuter) of animals & the irresponsible animal acquisitions by people who get pets on a whim without researching the animal (as well as the breed or species) & its care & then abandon them when the thrill wears off or they turn out to need a little work & attention rather than merely providing amusement.

They need to make a Santuary for animals in every county so they do not have to die.

We kill and eat animals everyday! But that's okay? But don't kill doggies.

Tell that to the Viet Nam vets.

Since the person didn't follow procedure in the 1st place, he/she should be FIRED.

If everyone that did not follow proedure at their job was fired that would be all of us. It was a mistake not on purpose.

I disagree; I don't think the employee should be fired right off the bat. Every employee has messed up a policy or procedure at some point.

If the employee feels remorse and understands what he did wrong, let him keep his job. He'll probably be MORE careful than his co-workers out of shame for quite a while.

If the employee has a history of carelessness and often ignores procedures, then fire him.

I bet you he feels terrible. I know I've messed up big time and was very grateful for the forgiveness and lesson I received instead of being fired.

I hope your thought is right, I do dog rescue and the network is huge but even with all this we cannot save them all. I try to educate breeders, and pet caretakers to spay, neuter and properly care for them but every day more are dumped, surrendered or left to fend for themselves.

This is no rescue that is so hap-hazard about a death sentence. They should be closed.

p.s. I do not chip or collar my dogs, but I do not leave them outside unattended either.

Lol..... Should have bought in CA.

No doubt, I am SO glad I moved out of that intolerant state full of racists and fascists. The shelter probably thought the dog was in the country illegally.

Tater wheel, I'm sure the GOOD people of Arizona are glad you moved too!

So that's why Arizona had an uptick in real estate values. The people of Arizona salute you Taterwheel!

Tater wheel, I'm sure the GOOD people of Arizona are glad you moved too!

I'm sure if Arizona had any good people they would be.

They did not leave the dog at a kill shelter, and the person who called the pound didn't know the dog was a hero, nor did the shelter. Did you read the whole story?

Did you not read the story?

Happy ... it just means that the dog was not intended to be put down after being found only on Friday and kept for the weekend. They probrably got her mxed up with others that had been there past the waiting period to be claimed or adopted or something like that.

He needs to go to jail for a long long time. Almost 3 yrs after loosing our beagle and I haven't gotten over it, but here's this famous dog. And some moth******* kills the dog.

It's tremendously facile to just toss off the line, "Euthanize the employee." Target didn't deserve his death penalty, but come on, do you truly have so little regard for life?

A more pertinent question, for me, is how a single employee can be held responsible for the euthanasia. Are there no checks in this shelter's system, so that a lone person goes to a holding pen, removes an animal, pulls together the materials necessary for an irreversible procedure and then completes the procedure, all without any other person required to verify or witness the procedure? If all that is true, it sounds like a recipe for repeated disasters, only brought to light if the euthanized animal is a celebrity.

I fully agree PUT THE EMPLOYEE DOWN ALSO, how is it possible that such a @!$%# works at a shelter, thats poor management.

Even the neighbors are to be blamed in this.

Adios

I'm upset too but to put a dog in the backyard with no identification isn't real smart. They can usually find a way to get out if they want. He could have been hit by a car. The employee that didn't follow procedures should not be working at a shelter. They are both at fault

Why take a neighbors pet to a shelter that you know euthanizes pets within a short period of time? They promised you 4 days and broke that promise and that must have been difficult for you. I can only imagine that your neighbor was a bit upset. I would have very upset. I can only assume you have a very bad allergy or something, but could you have found another solution?

If one of my pets were taken to a kill shelter by a neighbor who knew it was my pet I would have a hardtime with it. I would never do that to a neighbor. The only imaginable thing is if the animal was rabid or very vicious. Even then I would be hard pressed. My pets are part of my family.

I worked as a volunteer at a shelter when I was teen and it convinced me I couldn't do that type of work in any capacity. Our shelter did not always honor the time requirements, I guess it depended on crowding. Puppies and older dogs went first. Animals that had been likely pets were less likely to get put down before their days were up. Still I came home crying every night and I was never there when the animals were put down, I just came back to find friends gone. Heartbreaking.

klm - I think that doinmypart did not know that it was their neighbors cat. If you read his/her post they said that in less than four days they found the owner. I think they only realized it was a neighbor after the owner was found. It is always best to read and grasp the full content of a posting before you judge a person and slam them like you did. I understand your pain, and that the post brought back painful memories, but that is all the more reason you should read the post again, and then wait before you reply so that you can get your emotions in check.

I did read it thorough but apparently I misunderstood and was unfair, easy to do with emotional issues like the love of pets. doinmypart I am sorry if I made you feel bad.

Wonder if the "more to this story" could be that the employee knew who's dog it was. Probable if not possible. Just sayin'.

Bindertwine, it was more likely that the animal shelter euthanizes new entries fairly quickly after recieving them to avoid paying for the extra costs each animal would require. Less people donate nowadays.

It wasn't a military working dog. It was just a stray dog that happened to attack a suicide bomber. Euthanizing the dog was tragic, but the animal shelter had no way of knowing that the dog was a hero. The owner put a lot of work into getting that dog home (it's against regulations to have a pet over there). It's a shame he didn't feel the need to microchip, register, and tag the dog. It would have taken very little time and money (in comparison to flying the dog home from Afghanistan) and would have saved a lot of heartbreak.

You're pretty good at throwing blame around; idiot owner, idiot employee, whatever man. People make mistakes for any number of reasons, to err is human... It doesn't mean that the person who made the mistake is an idiot.

I'd be sick if this happened to my pet, but it happens ALL THE TIME in shelters across the country. The only reason there is any investigation or uproar over this is becuase of the dog's history. Hopefully this will bring a little more awareness to the problem.

Geez Michelle, did the dog have to do a written report for you to be called a hero?? Honestly, could you be any colder?

Good point, Michelle.

What a wonderful idea, Jabbausaf! And what an honor to the memory of that brave dog.

While Target may not have been an "official" military dog, he was a hero nonetheless. And the US recognizes heroes such as these in times of war especially without Target being a trained military dog. However Arlington cemetery does not permit dogs to be interred and he wouldn't be able to be buried there.

Perhaps the town could inquire about a small monument, or a burial site for this prized dog or even contact the Military about what could be a good way to set up a remembrance for him. Maybe even start a fund to prevent "Accidents" like this occurring for dogs shipped in for good deeds and be required by the US to chip them at the very least before setting foot on American soil. (and even for all dogs that are put in the doggie pound)

Although even if he had been chipped would that employee have taken the time to check since he/she was in such a hurry to send the animal to doggie heaven? Most likely no.

According to "The Oprah Winfrey Show" website, Target and two other stray dogs, Sasha and Rufus, were adopted by U.S. troops in Afghanistan after wandering into a military compound there.

The three dogs were hailed as heroes after attacking a suicide bomber who entered the compound, apparently headed toward barracks with some 50 soldiers inside.

Sasha was badly injured when the bomber detonated an explosive device and had to be euthanized, but Target and Rufus survived and were brought home with soldiers returning from their tour of duty in Afghanistan.

They were dogs working to guard a military base. They may not have gone through the expensive training, but they did the job and saved a lot of lives. If that doesn't confer "military working dog" status on them, I don't know what does.

AP, you obviously didn't read my post. I didn't say the dog wasn't a hero, but regardless, it's irrelevant. The employee at the animal shelter could not have had any way of knowing who this dog was, because the owner did not bother to microchip, register, or tag her. I'm not letting the employee off the hook, because it sounds like regulations were not followed. All I'm saying is that it was a screw-up that could have been prevented, had the owner been responsible.

Hence why I said they're both idiots, and the dog deserves some kind of appropriate memorial.

Geez Michelle, did the dog have to do a written report for you to be called a hero?? Honestly, could you be any colder?

Maybe if people would stop making things up & stick to the facts in the story, others wouldn't have to correct them. The dog wasn't in a foreign land; it was home in Afghanistan. The dog was not a military dog; it was a stray who happened into a military compound along with two other strays & they happened to scare a bomber which had the effect of saving lives that bomber might have killed.

It was a dog. It's sad it died. If it's owner had taken proper precautions, it wouldn't have died. Mistakes happen & shelters are overburdened. The death of all the animals euthanized at shelters is sad. And that's not the shelters' faults either. Again, it's the people who acquire pets & don't take care of them or abandon them, who don't spray & neuter their pets & let them breed carelessly & those who over breed. Not that there should be no breeding or that people should be forced to get all pets from shelters. That's a little too Hitleresque for me.

Well-said, Creature Girl.

creature...you obviously have little empathy for dogs and pets...maybe you should get off this thread.

and Dog Lover is sooo right about cruel people working at pounds. I've witnessed it myself when I lost my cat...most are uncaring and callous.

Tell that to our two dogs whom I love dearly & would give my life for should they need rescuing from death & to my seven parrots who are as close to my heart as my four children were when they were toddlers & to the shelters & to all the many non-human lifeforms I've loved & cared for in my long life time & don't forget to mention it to the rescues & shelters I've donated my time & money to through the years.

How about you?

As I said in another post in this thread, I didn't pick my online alias without good cause. You picked the wrong lady to try & tag with that nasty lie. But then people with nothing of substance to contribute to a discussion because they don't know what they're talking about usually resort to failing to actually read what those they see as opponents write or listen to what they say. Instead, they make up things in their head about what those others say & do & then resort to attempted character defamation through slander, libel.

PS. As I posted elsewhere in this thread, people need to stick to facts & not make up things or slander a whole group of people for the bad that a few of them might do. Bad apples in good apples, as the saying goes.

Just because some shelters have been negligent & some workers even cruel doesn't mean that this is true for the majority of them.

We've certainly seen a ton of stories reported on the cruel abusive acts performed by pet owners on their animals. Horrible stories of the worst kind. That doesn't mean that the majority of pet owners are cruel & evil people who torture animals.

So you think that anyone speaking to the facts of the story rather than the emotion-backed fabrications of it should get off this thread. Interesting.

You couldnt have said it better.

they do have the thought process but not the malice needed to take revenge. that's why alot of people, myself included, prefer animals to humans.

It's unlikely that they have human like thought processes. So much of what they do is preprogrammed or indoctricated by their environment. I doubt very much that a lion sits around thinking, "I think it's time I killed something". They don't even know what the word means. Go to Africa and you'll see that what we perceive as violence and killing is simply a natural order. They do what they do with no anger or hatred. This leaves one with the question of whether or not humans are "natural" or some sort of foreign plauge on this planet.

Edward7, how would you know that? Are you a lion? You can only assume and assumptions are, for the most part, ill-advised.

At this current time, there is no way for us to be able to understand what and how animals are thinking about one thing or the other. Besides, we ARE animals. The only difference between a lion and us is our unbelievable ability to adapt at rates unmatched by any other species.

Edward - I don't agree that animals do not have thought processes...I have witnessed my border collie quickly size up situations and plan her actions and then execute them too many times to doubt this.

I do agree that humans are some sort of plague...vermin if you will - that was brought/left here by accident. I don't think we were native to this planet as we are the only part of the equation that doesn't fit.

All life was so perfectly balanced...and then there's us. We are capable of such violence and cruelty it is mind boggeling.

And yet - we have elevated ourselves to almost God-like status. Amazing.

This poor dog did not deserve what she got. None of the animals on this planet deserve what they get from us.

It's great to see so many people here that love animals but I had to laugh when I saw the comment that we should be thankful that animals do not have the thought processes that we do. Edward, I'm laughing with you, by the way, not at you!!! :)

Maybe it's better that they don't. I dunno...sometimes I think there is more compassion and intelligence from animals than there is from humans. Think how much worse the world might be if they did think like humans, add thumbs and oh, brother!!! :)

My sympathies and condolences to Target's family. This should have never happened.