RIP Target..

[Disney-Kim]

The whole story is just depressing...so sad....the carelessness of the worker is terrible no matter whose dog she was...no dog is put down within 1-2 days of being brought in....

 

[SandrA9810]

The blame lies with the owner. He should've done the basics of dog ownership. I'm not so fond of microchips, but my dog always had her collar on with tags. And in the state of Florida, it was mandatory that all dogs have the rabies shot, and tags must be present on the dog at all time. So not only did my dog have a name tag with phone number, she had her rabies tag that was numbered and registered with the county.

I feel bad that the dog had to go through with that, but you don't assume anything.

 

[CPT Tripss]

This situation is totally FUBAR. Errors and poor judgements all over the place. It's sad for the dog.

 

[bumbershoot]

And clearly you have never worked in an animal shelter, because their job is not to "kill things."

It would have been just as much of a lapse of protocol if the dog had NOT had this particular story. Except that no one would have likely heard about it and the protocol lapse might have never been caught.

Unless they have everyone who works at a shelter take turns in euthanizing animals, I would imagine that the people who actually do that work are, in fact, paid for killing animals.

There was a case a year or so ago with a "normal" dog who ended up being killed inside of something like ONE day at a shelter. Again, a protocol mess-up, an accident, the worker would be retrained etc...dog was just as dead, nothing to be done about THAT. As long as there are methods of killing animals in a building, there is always the chance of a mess-up happening...and it's not just the famous ones that make the news.

The whole story is just depressing...so sad....the carelessness of the worker is terrible no matter whose dog she was...no dog is put down within 1-2 days of being brought in....

Agreed.

 

[cyrix]

You know, I think Mr. Young did see the shelter's hours listed (they are open Saturdays). However, for whatever reason (too busy, too lazy?) he decided not to claim Target as soon as he could. Now that his dog is dead and the media is on it, he comes up with the sweet excuse of being "unaware."

 

[tammymacb]

As I previously posted, I am also confused why Target's owner wasn't on the phone calling everyone the second he couldn't find her. That's what I- and several of you would also do and it seems like common sense. But, I don't agree with blaming him for the fact that she was put down.

I'm going to use this scenario-

I work in a very high acuity ER. We don't have a pediatrics department in our hospital and don't have a single pediatrician on staff. We are literally across the street ( I often walk over to get lunch there ) from a large medical university with a huge pediatrics department and a HUGE sign in front that clearly states "Pediatric ER --> )

If a parent brought a sick baby to me- ( And I don't get why they do, but they do it all the time- *I* want a medical staff that sees babies all day every day, not one who's rechecking medicine calculations about 10 times with every coworker on staff because giving meds to babies isn't what we do everyday ) and I made an error and harmed or worse killed the baby, you all would not be saying "Stupid mother, serves her right. She took the baby to the wrong place, didn't read the sign. She deserves it." No, you'd ( rightly ) say, well you are a professional, that is your occupation and you have the obligation of taking care of the people to the highest standards in your care and doing no harm.

I hold the shelter to the same standard. Maybe the owner should have read the website better, definitely he should have called. BUT, it was the shelter that mistakenly killed Target and it is 100% their fault that she's dead.

 

[Jennasis]

As I previously posted, I am also confused why Target's owner wasn't on the phone calling everyone the second he couldn't find her. That's what I- and several of you would also do and it seems like common sense. But, I don't agree with blaming him for the fact that she was put down.

I'm going to use this scenario-

I work in a very high acuity ER. We don't have a pediatrics department in our hospital and don't have a single pediatrician on staff. We are literally across the street ( I often walk over to get lunch there ) from a large medical university with a huge pediatrics department and a HUGE sign in front that clearly states "Pediatric ER --> )

If a parent brought a sick baby to me- ( And I don't get why they do, but they do it all the time- *I* want a medical staff that sees babies all day every day, not one who's rechecking medicine calculations about 10 times with every coworker on staff because giving meds to babies isn't what we do everyday ) and I made an error and harmed or worse killed the baby, you all would not be saying "Stupid mother, serves her right. She took the baby to the wrong place, didn't read the sign. She deserves it." No, you'd ( rightly ) say, well you are a professional, that is your occupation and you have the obligation of taking care of the people to the highest standards in your care and doing no harm.

I hold the shelter to the same standard. Maybe the owner should have read the website better, definitely he should have called. BUT, it was the shelter that mistakenly killed Target and it is 100% their fault that she's dead.

It sure was their fault she's dead.

It was the OWNER'S FAULT she wound up in the shelter and wasn't ID'able to begin with.

 

[DaisyLynn]

Maybe the owner should have read the website better, definitely he should have called. BUT, it was the shelter that mistakenly killed Target and it is 100% their fault that she's dead.

I completely agree with this.

 

[Nolcrest]

Who in their right mind "assumes" an animal shelter is closed on weekends - probably the busiest adoption time?

This is very sad. Both the employee and the owner let this dog down. If I knew my dog was in a shelter there is NO WAY I'd wait until Monday to find out. He could have at least left a message w/animal control.

Very sad indeed.

 

[manning]

Well, the owner of the dog should have taken better care of the animal.I feel sick about the dog however the dog should have been microchipped and the guy should have went to the pound. That was pretty stupid of him not to immediately rush to his dog when he KNEW he was in the shelter. I mean who the hell does that?

Well the shelter employee should have done his job properly.

 

[Pea-n-Me]

 

[The Mystery Machine]

Well the shelter employee should have done his job properly.

Agree however if you know your animal is in a shelter do not pretend that people follow procedure correctly. Attempt to contact them to insure they do not kill your pet.

 

[Pea-n-Me]

And sorry, but where does it say that the dog was shot and starved?

Unfortunately, it is not uncommon for dogs over there. Some of the stories coming back are heartbreaking. A few lucky ones have been rescued and sent to the US. Soldiers are very devoted to them, considering them in some cases as being their lifelines.

This is a tragic case all around - for the soldier and his family as well as the dog. I'm sure word will get out to troops as well and they'll be devastated, too. They have enough sadness to deal with as it is. Caring for these dogs becomes a group effort that boosts cameraderie and lifts spirits all around, from the documentaries I've seen. So sad.

ETA Target is being called an American Hero: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oY4sKpPN9K0

 

[Pea-n-Me]

You know, I've been sitting here on the verge of tears over this dog for the past hour.

And it hit me a minute ago. This dog, Target, apparently had quite a "mission" in life. First, she saved some soldiers. And now, because of her story, there will probably many dogs and other pets who DO NOT lose their lives because policies and procedures will be reviewed at countless shelters, and maybe people will be inspired to go out and adopt from a shelter, etc.

As sad as it is what happened, I have to believe some good will come out of it. And maybe that is why Target was here.

 

[cyrix]

The shelter has procedures, but a careless employee didn't follow them. Of course, the director is in hot water too -- her head may roll. Maybe (hopefully) the shelter will improve in the aftermath.

And for being an Army Sergeant, Terry Young was pretty irresponsible and dense. God, the dog saved his life and the lives of his fellow soldiers, and he just leaves her in the pound over the weekend. Not to mention he didn't even put an ID tag on her.

 

[marie1203]

I think this is so sad. But I think is sadder is blaming it on the owner. The dog was put down because procedures weren't followed I don't think it would of matter if he had a microchip or not clearly this employee doesn't seem he/she checked for it or not. He even contact TV stations it doesn't seem like he just sat there and expected to find his dog.

 

[cyrix]

I think this is so sad. But I think is sadder is blaming it on the owner. The dog was put down because procedures weren't followed I don't think it would of matter if he had a microchip or not clearly this employee doesn't seem he/she checked for it or not. He even contact TV stations it doesn't seem like he just sat there and expected to find his dog.

Marie, from what I've read, the man who found Target turned her over to animal control because she didn't have ID tags. If she did, none of this would have happened. Also, if Terry contacted TV stations, why couldn't he contact the shelters and animal control? Wonky. Now I'm not saying Terry is totally to blame, but he's definitely not blameless.