Missing Senior Pet Euthanized Without Permission of Owner

The law states that unless an animal control officer and a Veterinarian deem it necessary to euthanize an animal the animal must be held for 10 days. If the animal is not critical then the law states they must hold for 10 days. Having a pet where there collar and having them microchipped are good ways to help prevent situations like this however, microchips can migrate out of the skin and collars can be lost. There is no fool proof method however, even if the animal has certain medical conditions that doesn't give them the right to euthanize unless they felt the animal was in a lot of pain from severe injuries or was trying to die already. THIS IS WHY THE LAW GIVES ANIMALS THE 10 DAY GRACE PERIOD TO BE ABLE TO LOCATE THERE LOVED ONES. I would be absolutely devistated if this were to have happened to any of my animals. I would also be seeking legal action against the person who initially took the dog and the shelter especially if there was no animal control officer involved. I am deeply sorry for the loss of your family member and hope these people do well by the family.

Having been a vet tech for 24 years I've seen way too many unidentifiable pets brought in as strays. Always keep a collar with rabies and or dog license on it, or even better have the pet microchipped. On the other side of this, however, our state has a 10-day hold on strays before anything is to be done with them, unless they are suffering and it's deemed most humane to euthanize them right away.

So, so sad. Maybe Basie was in such bad condition that the hospital felt it needed to be done now, but it seems like they could have waited a day or so to find the owners. If it were myself, I would be so sad and upset and then eventually, very angry with the animal hospital.

They absolutely did the wrong thing. The family should have been consulted, at the very least. Do they know if the family was managing the health issues? Additionally, was the decision due to Basie not being a good candidate for adoption? So wrong!

When my 20 year old cat with kidney disease was ready to die, she tried to get away. She tried to leave to die. She wasn't capable of getting out, but she would have escaped if she could. She died on the way to the vet when we finally made the painful decision to euthanize. It sounds as though this Very Senior dog that normally was slow and unlikely to escape, may have been trying to leave to die. The animal shelter may have made the most humane decision for this pet.

Both of my dogs and both of my cats are chipped. If any of them were to find themselves in a shelter for some reason, there would be no excuse for the shelter to not immediately contact me. Therefore, if my pet were euthanized, I would consider it and pursue it as a criminal act.

We've had dogs that we cared for well into their old age. We've had (at the same time) one with kidney problems and one with a brain tumor. At the time I felt our vet would either have to start charging me rent or start paying me a salary, we were there so often! If those shelter vets had gotten their clutches on either dog, they would probably have killed them as well.

I don't know how the dog in the story got loose. I do know that utility workers are allowed on my property (I can't speak for other states) at any time, even if the yard is fenced. It only takes one to not close the gate after leaving. Our gate spring closes, but I could see being less concerned about a stiff or rusty spring if my dog could barely move. Though I certainly won't make that mistake now. Also, some malicious individual could find it funny to open a gate.

I don't know if every state/municipality has the same hold regulations, but I certainly fault the shelter here for moving so quickly to kill the dog.

OK, THERE ARE LAWS COVERING THE AMOUNT OF TIME BETWEEN A NORMAL PERSON FINDING YOUR DOG AND BRINGING THAT ANIMAL TO A SHELTER. THATS WHEN THE TIME PERIOD STARTS. AND ITS NOT A FEW HOURS. IF THE PERSON WHO GOES TO THE SHELTER PICKED UP THIS DOG IT ALSO MAKES HER LIABLE FOR WHAT HAPPENED. SHE INITIATED THE ENTIRE EVENT WHEN SHE TOOK THE DOG-YES WHEN SHE TOOK THE DOG. SHE STOPPED AND TOOK THE DOG AWAY IN HER CAR THATS KIDNAPPING UNDER ANY TERMS. DID SHE CALL THE POLICE. DID SHE KNOCK ON DOORS-NO. ITS KIDNAPPING AND THE SHELTER HAD ZERO RIGHT TO KILL A DOG HOURS AFTER A PERSON TOOK THE DOG AND DROPPED IT OFF. KIDNAPPED BY A PERSON WHO THINKS THERE DOING SOMETHING RIGHT ONLY TO FIND THAT WHAT THEY HAVE DONE IS BREAKING THE LAW. NOW THE SHELTER HAD ZERO RIGHT TO KILL A DOG THAT SOME ONE KIDNAPPED BY THE ROAD SIDE WITH IN HOURS. THATS NOT THERE LEGAL AND IT IS NOT PROTOCOL. A LOOSE 17 YR OLD DOG IS OBVIOUSLY SOME ONES PET BUT THE VET ON CALL NEVER LOOKED TO SEE THAT THE DOG WAS WELL GROOMED, NAILS CLIPPED AND A RECENT TOOTH REMOVED. BUT STUPIDITY IS A VIRTUE OR CAN IT BE CALLED HERO SYNDROME. I HOPE THAT THE PERSON WHO STARTED THIS AND THE INCOMPETENT DOG KILLING DOCTOR WHO ARE NEGLIGENT IN LAWFUL TERMS GET THERE DUE. MY HEART GOES OUT TO THE FAMILY. THEY OBVIOUSLY CARED FOR THERE DOG AS THEY WHERE AT THE SHELTER WITH IN HOURS OF THE KIDNAPPING AND ALL THE NEIGHBORHOOD PROBABLY KNEW THE DOG BY NAME. BUT TAKING THE DOG WAS JUST SO STUPID. HOPE YOUR ALL PROUD OF THIS KIDNAPPER AND THE ILL FATED SHELTER. THATS WHY THERE ARE TIME PERIODS SO THAT LOST-KIDNAPPED PETS CAN BE RECOVERED AND THATS A LAW THEY BROKE PERIOD. POLICE ARENT THE COURTS AND THAT DOESNT MEAN A CRIME HASNT BEEN COMMITTED. SEEK YOUR DUE. BYE THE WAY ANONYMOUS YOU NEED TO DUE YOUR HOME WORK BECAUSE YOU HAVENT A CLUE OR FACT TO THE TRUTH. YOUR FACTS ARE WRONG ONLY ONE DOCTOR DETERMINED THE DOGS END NOT OTHERS. OR ARE YOU THE PERSON WHO KIDNAPPED THERE DOG