Dog put down by council in case of ‘mistaken identity’
The dog's owners are 'devastated'.
A council admitted to making a ‘grievous error’ after putting a family dog down ‘by mistake’.
Sarge the dog was euthanised on Friday in Gisbourne, a city on the North Island of New Zealand, in a ‘very unfortunate incident’.
Workers believe Sarge was mistaken for another dog which was meant to be put down that day.
Sarge’s owners Logan and Piri are ‘devastated’, according to a friend who spoke to local media.
The council said it has launched a ‘comprehensive investigation’ to try to understand how this mistake even occurred, adding it intends to meet with Logan and Piri to discuss what happened.
But Kara Hull, a close friend of the owners, said the apology is ‘too little, too late’.
Kara told New Zealand publication Stuff: ‘Imagine accidentally killing a human, then just putting out a media statement.
‘Sarge was family. Logan and Piri don’t have kids, and Sarge was their baby. It’s devastating.’
The couple had both gone to work one day, and Sarge, who was collared and microchipped, was at their home, which is a fenced property out in the countryside.
A council animal officer picked Sarge up and took him away while the couple were out, despite neighbours apparently telling the officer ‘he’s fine, it’s fenced, we know him’.
Logan and Piri were then called to come and pick their dog up, but before they could get to him, he’d been euthanised.
They went to collect Sarge’s remains later on, which were apparently handed to them ‘like a rubbish bag’.
According to Kara, the couple also found out their beloved dog had been ‘killed by a bolt gun’ due to a wound they saw in his head when they picked up his body.
In a statement, the council said: ‘Gisbourne District Council apologises unreservedly for a very unfortunate incident where a family’s dog was mistakenly put down while being held at the pound. The incident happened on Friday and involved an animal control officer.
‘[The] council has launched a comprehensive investigation to understand the circumstances that led to this grievous error.
‘While not all the facts are known, it appears that this was a regrettable case of human error, where the dog was mistakenly identified for another dog that was scheduled to be put down on the same day.
‘Council leadership has contacted the family and intend on meeting with them, when appropriate, to discuss the matter further.
‘We understand that nothing can replace the deep bond and memories shared between a family and their pet, and we are deeply saddened by the unfortunate event.
‘At this time, we want to reassure the community that we’re taking this matter seriously, and we will take appropriate measures to ensure we learn from this and ensure it does not happen again.’
It added it had ‘failed’ provide an excellent standard of service and apologised ‘sincerely’.
‘[The] council is also providing support to the animal control officer involved, who is deeply remorseful and shaken,’ the statement concluded.
‘We kindly ask for understanding and patience as we work through the investigation.’
The council shared the length post on Facebook on Sunday night, but received a lot of backlash from people suggesting ‘sorry doesn’t cut it’.
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