Target saved U.S. soldiers in Afghanistan
An Arizona animal shelter employee was fired Friday after an investigation into the accidental euthanization this week of a hero dog from Afghanistan, the Pinal County Animal Control and Care said.
The dog, Target, was brought to the United States from Afghanistan after she alerted soldiers to a suicide bomber in February, saving dozens of lives. She went missing last Friday from the home of Army Sgt. Terry Young, who was among those saved from the bomb.
Animal Care and Control received a call about a stray female shepherd-mix dog in the San Tan Valley area on Friday. An animal control officer picked up the dog and brought her to the shelter where the dog stayed over the weekend. The dog was not microchipped or licensed with the county, shelter officials said.
On Monday morning, the employee mistakenly took the dog out of its pen and euthanized it. The dog was not scheduled for euthanasia.
The employee was placed on administrative leave on Monday, accused of not following proper procedure in the euthanasia process. An investigation began that led to the employee's dismissal today, the shelter said.
“We are continuing to look into management practices and procedures at Animal Care & Control to ensure that something like this cannot happen again,” said Lisa Garcia, Assistant County Manager for Health & Human Services.
A press release from Pinal County noted that it would not name the employee "due to threats made against the employee in online article comments and in telephone calls to the county."
Target was pregnant when she helped thwart the suicide bomber by attacking him. She had her litter of puppies in Afghanistan. Target's puppies have since been brought to the United States, and she was featured by CNN for heroism.
"She got her name because the Afghans we lived with were constantly trying to off her. She's been shot in the leg. ... The Afghans actually ran over her," Sgt. Christopher Duke said, who helped care for Target in Afghanistan and has adopted her packmate Rufus.
"There's no killing this dog for sure. She's pretty much been through it all, " he said upon their reunion in July in Georgia.
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Oh my God, this is very upsetting.
God bless you Target, may you be with God now.
How did this dog get into the US, was it simply flown onto an airbase with the men? Wasn't it held in quarantine for health inspection? One would think that the new owner might be held accountable for lack of ID on the dog - seems to me when you bring a dog halfway around the world, it MIGHT need help understanding the concept of HOME. I feel sorry for the dog but the soldier who adopted it should have consulted with a dog trainer or vet first to understand more clearly how hard it would be to make a "pet" out of a warzone stray
The dog saved the owners life. The owner failed to do the same for the dog.
Yes you are absolutely right. tt's terrible what happened and that this employee not following procedures led to this wonderful dogs' untimely and undeserved death. As you pointed out though, it could all have been avoided if this dog had been properly tagged and microchipped. God Bless our soldiers but he made a big mistake here. Hope this is a lesson to all pet owners to properly care for thier pets by getting them to vet for treatments, thier tags and thier microchips, as well as use thier leashes etc.
That employee should have been the one euthanized. Target deserved a far better fate than that idiot's horrible decision.
I agree but wow how could you ever do that job anyway!
Edvard, I don't know what third world county you live in, but here in the United States we don't kill people because they accidentally killed a dog. You need to run, don't walk , run to the nearest insane asylum.
I am sure this worker will have no problem finding a job with the TSA.
I cried reading this. Then I got angry as hell. Why is the United States the only "civilized" country that still kills dogs? Not one county in Europe does this. A Dog is truly mans best friend, and if you do not think so, then you have never had the unbelievable companionship and unconditional love that a dog gives his pack leader. Look at the intelligence in Targets eyes... This Dog saved the lives of 50 Americans. Why do we condone the murder of millions of dogs a year with out a sound? Hopefully this story will help stop this barbaric practice, I pray that Target did not die in vain. It is time this murdering stops.
Hey, I agree that good dogs should be taken care of, but I've also been to 3rd world countries where stray packs of dogs are a serious problem. Being chased back to your room by a stray pack of dogs at night is not fun, trust me. I'm thankful we don't have the same problems in the Western World. Also, European countries do Euthanize dogs so I am not sure where you heard that false fact from?
Take your nerve pill and use your soap box as a pillow.
It is because irresponsible people allow their animals to breed and then they don't want to care for them and the animal shelters are overwhelmed. It is more humane to put them to sleep than for them to roam hungry and homeless. But, the answer is to be a responsible pet owner. I bet most of the people that have posted in outrage are irresponsible pet owners.
In Europe the dogs just wander around in the street.
In our city, when a powerful person's cousin royally screws up, say he's a firefighter who gets in a drunken brawl, he isn't fired, he's just tranferred to another dept. while they "investigate." And guess to what dept. they are always transferred? You got it, Animal control...
TO JUDY IM OUT RAGED BY THIS DEAL BUT LET ME CLUE YOU IN ON SOMETHING LADY I OWN 3 DOGS ALL ARE FIXED AND NEVER HAVE BEEN BRED ALL ARE TAGGED, ALL ARE CHIPPED, ALL HAVE A GREAT VET. NOW TAKE A LITTLE CLUE HERE MISS JUDY, THEY WERE FIRED NOT JUST BECAUSE OF THIS PROBLEM BUT THERE IS MORE TO THE STORY
@Not Okay...it is commendable that you are a responsible pet owner. I am as well. I have a small house dog that is allowed outside only on a lease. But the sad facts are that there are more irresponsible pet owners than those that are. That is the reason why the shelters are overwhelmed. It is very sad because all of it could be avoided with common sense. Then, we would not be on here discussing this issue. Go in peace.
Who is really at fault? The DOGS OWNER.
No Microchip, No Licence, No ID tag. I Think the DOGS OWNER needs to step up, and admit that.
I have to agree with you. Yes, it was a horrible, tragic mistake to put this dog down when it was not scheduled to be euthanized. However, people need to take responsibility for their pets! This dog was a hero, why would the owner not do everything in his power to protect the animal and ensure that if, by some chance the animal got loose, it could be identified and traced back to him. I not only have my dog's microchipped, but they have their names & my phone # on their collar, PLUS tags with all my contact information. Take respnsibility! I sure hope the other dog this family adopted has since been microchipped. I love animals and it just makes me sick that so many end up in shelters, being euthanized mearly because there was no contact information for the animal.
Who is really at fault? The DOGS OWNER.
No Microchip, No Licence, No ID tag.
why wasnt the employee euthanized? Oh I forgot, this is the US of A where only money and corruption and bribery talk
YOU ARE SICK!!!!! NO matter how many times you are bribed you should never kill someone for a simple mistake! And I am thinking that you are not from USA because SOME PEOPLE have more common sense to take the life of a human.
I am sure not many of you have any idea how difficult working in an animal shelter can be. It is an important job for which we should all be thankful. If I had to put money on it, the person who put this dog down has had to put hundreds (if not, thousands) of dogs down in his or her time. I don't care how desensitized you think some people can get, that has to be hard. This person was doing their job. It was an accident. Accidents happen. Animal control plays a vital role in maintaining health and security in our communities. It is an ugly job and I am glad that I don't have to do it.
O cry me a river! This person CHOSE that job. There are other jobs, even in this economy.
Ty,
"Education is the ability to listen to almost anything without losing your temper or your self-confidence."- Robert Frost
I used to volunteer at the shelter, no matter how many animals are put to sleep, there is a strict procedure to follow. The shelter has no right to randomly kill someone's pet. These are living beings and once they are dead they are dead. This employee was reckless and has no business working at a shelter.
Not good. Someone was not watching out what they were doing. If someone else like m. Vic did the person should get jail time or worse
You, Dan, are heartless! And this insanity exist in our jury pool. You people are blind to the dignity of a person. The fact that so many of you are unable and unwillinging to empathize this worker's plight is amazing!
It was an accident!
This worker should be added to the list of struggling Americans because of an accident??go figure??
The police kill PEOPLE and claim accident and get away with it,yet you idiots blame the innocent PEOPLE and let the cops walk??fools the whole lott of yous!!
It was,,oh forget it!!
Ask your Doctor (or Vet.) to adjust your medication.
this "Okay" person is mentally not okay. What a loser. This worker had absolutely no common sense whatsoever. If a patient in a hospital is killed because a nurse just happens to "accidentally" administer the wrong medication for example, would you give that nurse a second chance? What if that patient was one of your relatives or someone you truly loved or cared about. Then what?!
As one other person also said, please go get yourself a life.
Amen to that!
DA and newmamma:
FIRST, it is NOT a human and it is NOT a hospital and there is NO NURSE.
SECOND, are you mentally challenge?
Maybe this person will just get the sht kicked out of them and then we can call it even
DA, I TOTALLY AGREE,
I can't say I agree. People make mistakes. And I think you are one to hold a grudge for a dog that is not yours!!!!!
There are many people to blame for this "mistake "Death-The owner, who should have had a lock on the gate and if no Micro chip, at least a collar with a name Tag! The person who turned a Non-collared dog into the pound, that was just asking for trouble!! They could have put up signs, put pictures on animal websites and held on to Target for at least a few days!! If no one showed up, they could had found a no-Kill Shelter!! If you read the paper with so many people losing their jobs, animals are being put down with in number records. And then the worker and supervisor, should had checked and double checked their list!! The only one that is paying for this is "Target-she save many lives, but we humans let her down in so many ways. If only she could had talked, maybe she could had save her own life again!! Shame Shame Shame!! I am an animal Lover and I would have never let this happen, I wish I would have found her first!!
I read yesterday that this worker was heartsick over this, but the worker did the wrong thing and should have to pay the consequence. That is one of America's problems now...no one has much consequence to their bad actions. Poor Target, may you rest in peace. What a shame you could not have enjoyed your new home for long. So sad and so avoidable.