BATON ROUGE, LA (WAFB) -
An animal shelter in Baton Rouge that labels itself a no-kill agency admits they made a big mistake. They euthanized a family dog that was being held there while its owner went to court.
The dog was picked up after an attack on the street. The owner was scheduled to go to court Friday, but that was before she found out her dog was already put down.
"Tigger was the only dog I had that truly loved the kids, no matter what they did," said Anna Boone, Tigger's owner.
Anna Boone and her family have welcomed several dogs into their home. Tigger was a Catahoula/Pit bull mix. He was taken from his family on December 17th.
"We were dealing with a contractor and he went with the kid in the front yard. It really shocked me, he took off running," said Boone.
She says Tigger was running after a small dog. "He picked it up like a toy, swooped it up and turned around like he was playing and dropped it," said Boone.
Boone says she didn't think anything serious had happened until animal control officers showed up at her door with a complaint filed by the other dog's owner. The smaller dog had died from its injuries. The owner of the smaller dog also told investigators Tigger attacked her.
"She claimed Tigger bit her, she was bitten and at no point was he near her," said Boone.
The bite investigation notice states Boone's dog bit a woman's finger and attacked her dog. Animal officers told Boone they had to take Tigger to the pound for 10 days for rabies observation. According to the warning notice issued by animal control, Boone could pick up Tigger on December 27th.
When that day came, they told Boone she couldn't pick up Tigger because there was a debate over him being a dangerous dog.
On January 5, 2012, she received a letter notifying her she had been granted an opportunity to present her side of the story on January 13, 2012. "I had all my witnesses ready to testify, pictures, photos," said Boone.
Boone says Brenda Pearson, Director of the Companion Animal Alliance, called her on January 12, the day before the hearing, with heartbreaking news. "She said I'm sorry to have to tell me that they had already euthanized him," said Boone. "I was floored."
While Pearson says she does not know who make the error. She admits someone at animal control or the shelter, which brands itself as a no kill operation, made a mistake.
"We didn't realize the lady had a court date because on the paperwork it didn't state a court date," said Pearson. "So we euthanized the dog."
The impound record only says the dog was being held because it was a bite case. Pearson says she has met with the supervisor of animal control to start taking extra steps to avoid the same tragedy in the future.
"We'll track the actual officer and interview that officer, and do more, exhausting research on that case," said Pearson.
Pearson tells WAFB she made repeated attempts to reach the owner of the smaller dog, but she says she has not heard back from her.
Copyright 2012 WAFB. All rights reserved.
All content © Copyright 2000 - 2012 WorldNow and WAFB, a Raycom Media Station. 