Pasco Co, FL pet owner Debbie Patsos had a 10 year old cat named Peggy who had been born with just three paws, causing her to limp. Ms. Patsos adored Peggy and considered her family.
When Peggy recently got lost and turned up in the garage of neighbor Casey McCarthy, he didn’t know she had a home down the street. Mr. McCarthy called the Pasco Co pound to pick her up, fearing her limp was the result of a recent injury requiring veterinary care. He described the cat as friendly and agile. Mr. McCarthy says when the ACO brought out a carrier, Peggy walked right in front of the ACO and into the cage.
Unbeknownst to Mr. McCarthy, the ACO immediately killed Peggy. She was dead before she could even be checked in at the pound, let alone scanned for a microchip, have her limp assessed by a qualified vet or be held for the mandatory period so her owner could reclaim her.
A local news outlet obtained a report on Peggy from the pound which contained a note from the ACO that Peggy was unable to move her hind legs.
“They’re lying. They’re lying flat out,” said McCarthy[.]
The TV news station was unable to reach the Pasco Co pound for a comment regarding the killing of Peggy. Ms. Patsos is determined to pursue the matter.
(Thanks Clarice for the link.)
Too many people in too many City’s and County’s across the Country should not be working with animals. This people should rather get a job at Walmart or McDonalds.
Not McDonald’s. These people are both incompetent and completely lacking in empathy. If they worked in food service they’d probably end up giving people food poisoning.
The ACO sounds like a card carrying PETA member.
Reblogged this on Sherlockian's Blog and commented:
Yet another instance of animal cruelty. Please spread the word.
I’m sure the statement issued by the Pasco pound does not lessen the Patsos family’s grief. As long as they can quote policy they have no qualms about killing with no common sense and no compassion. I hope Peggy’s body can be examined by an outside veterinarian to determine if there was severe damage to the rear legs.
Another situation where doing the right thing and calling the authorities is actually the wrong thing…
I’m glad that the neighbor is speaking up about the lie. Poor guy thought he was helping that cat.
How much of an effort would it have taken to at least check for a microchip? Obviously too much, in the case of this Pasco pound. Fire the person who did this.
Whoa,, I have a question… how exactly did the ACO kill the cat before it ever reached the facility? Does this person ride around with Fatal Plus?
And if they do, is it kept secured? Or is it just on the truck where anyone could take it?
So an ACO has the authority to murder at will without consulting a vet? Was this the last call of the day and he/she didn’t want to return to the facility that day and din’t want to properly care for the cat.. I just don’t understand why/when the cat was killed.
Here is the FL Statute regarding killing an injured animal. Under certain conditions the officer may shoot the animal or inject a barbiturate. It is questionable whether those conditions were met.
http://www.flsenate.gov/Laws/Statutes/2011/828.05
I still want to know what gave him the right to murder the cat. I hope he gets fired.
The article doesn’t say how the cat was killed. It’s possible the ACO trucks are mobile death vans (a la PETA) which are equipped with needles, syringes, and Fatal Plus. But it would be very difficult for a single person to perform an IV injection on a fully conscious cat on the fly. The ACO could in theory do an IP injection or possibly just shoot pets he deems worthy of death, as Clarice points out above.
Animal services released a statement Friday saying there are plans to revamp policies and procedures, and the department will re-evaluate after 90 days. Officers will no longer euthanize animals in the field, and they will try to find the animal’s owner before taking it in.
http://tbo.com/article/20130712/ARTICLE/130719790/1559
DUH! A little late for this poor cat, though.