When asked about the incident at the animal shelter where the mayor-appointed ACOs left a pack of dogs together, unsupervised over the Memorial Day weekend resulting in the death of one dog and injuries to several others, Forrest City Mayor Gordon McCoy said:
“We did wrong here, our guys. There was an oversight on our part and now we have to insure it doesn’t happen again.”
While I am glad to see the mayor is not denying the incident took place (or calling the video evidence “inaccurate”), I feel a need to clarify something for him. What happened at your shelter was not an oversight.
An oversight would be – When I was doing my final walk-through for the night, I didn’t notice that one of the kennel doors wasn’t latched.
An oversight would be – I thought I had fed every pet in the shelter last night but the little guy in the last kennel didn’t even have a food bowl when I came in this morning so I must have completely missed him at feeding time.
These are honest mistakes. We all make them. It’s not that we set out to be dishonest or hurtful, it’s just that sometimes we miss something.
Let’s be clear Mr. Mayor, an oversight would not be – Hey, I’ve got an idea. Since it’s a long weekend and we’re not going to feel like dealing with dirty kennels when we come back to work, let’s just leave 14 dogs in the outside yard. Don’t worry about putting out sufficient water – this is Arkansas, they’re used to the heat and humidity. Who knows or cares if any of the dogs get along or are in heat – let’s blow this popsicle stand. Oh and just leave your underwear laundry in the dryer Joe. The volunteers will fold it for you when they come in. Hasta la vista baby!
Sorry Mayor. Do not pass go. Do not collect $200.
The ACOs you appoint have an obligation to the taxpayers to take care of the community’s pets. Nobody expects them to be perfect but they are expected to do their jobs. In this case, they shirked their duties for personal gain (laziness) and the pets they are paid to care for were cruelly maimed and killed as a result. This is not an Oops. This is a You’re fired.