The long troubled Chicago pound is again in the news – and not in the Good News column. An article in the Chicago Sun-Times states that Chance, a stray dog at the pound who was slated for rescue, was killed because “a city employee neglected to put the dog on a do-not-kill list.” Oops.
Pro tip: If you are an animal shelter, ALL THE ANIMALS are on the do-not-kill list.
In addition, another pound employee recently strangled a dog to death on a chokepole as he was being impounded. The pound’s director adds in the usual element of mystery in explaining away the dog’s killing:
Sandra Alfred, executive director of Animal Care, said “we don’t know exactly how” that dog died but added that “the staff could have acted more appropriately than they did.”
The dog could have had terminal cancer and his time on this earth happened to expire at the moment he was being strangled at the pound. That totally could have happened.
The employee who strangled the dog could receive a “severe” suspension of 20 days or more. Possibly. Unless, you know, cancer.
A donor committed to giving $2 million to the Chicago pound for renovations complained to city officials after Chance’s oops-killing. Maybe that will get the attention of someone who makes policy at the pound. Because obviously needless pet torture and killing won’t.
(Thanks Clarice for the link.)
Those frigging bastards! Why do they lie their way out of trouble! They need to be fired!
“we don’t know exactly how” that dog died but added that “the staff could have acted more appropriately than they did.”
So…what you DO know is that your staff acted inappropriately, presumably after the fact. Or before? Or…always? If your staff is not acting appropriately, I think your staff leadership needs to do something about that.
It is unfortunate that when they renovate the pound, they can’t weed out the incompetent employees. I don’t consider 20 days of suspension severe for killing a dog. Perhaps if Mr. Levin complains enough and threatens to pull his monetary support things will improve. Money seems to be the only thing these government agencies understand.
Ain’t that the truth. And yes, MAS moved to a huge new facility, but kept all of the abusers and monsters, so guess what? The new building didn’t fix a damn thing.
This ‘shelter’ needs to be closely examined–every aspect, every policy, etc. They need DUAL CONTROL on everything–from intake to euthanization! If the same employees are involved in these instances, the employees involved need to be held accountable–fired and prosecuted! There is no room for bullies and control freaks in this type of environment. Management is responsible–no matter what they say or do not not say! INVESTIGATE!