LA Pound Worker Allegedly Killed Pets via Botched Injections and Mauling by Dogs

St. Parish sheriff Bobby Guidroz announced this week that after an investigation by his office, the former St. Landry pound director and another former pound employee have been arrested on charges of animal cruelty and theft.  Patricia Street Gallo, the former director, and husband Troy Gallo both still work for the parish:

Parish government announced recently that Patricia Gallo was no longer director of the Animal Control shelter. She has been replaced in that position by Terri Courville.

Patricia Gallo now works for the parish as an educational liaison, teaching kids about animal abuse issues, [Parish Chief Administrative Officer Jessie] Bellard said.

[…]

Troy Gallo was transferred out of Animal Control in February and now works as a road foreman, Bellard said.

The cruelty charges are sickening.  Troy Gallo allegedly botched the killings of shelter pets via heartstick, then injected the abdomen, which did not kill the animals:

Gallo “would throw the animal onto the floor to allow animal control dogs to finish killing the animal,” the witness told deputies.

[…]

Patricia Gallo is accused of allowing “unorthodox euthanizing and disposal of animals” and allowing dogs and cats to remain in filthy cages without food or water.

Unorthodox.  That’s one word for it, I guess.

The theft charges relate to the couple being witnessed taking donated pet food off a delivery truck at the pound and bringing it home to feed to their own animals.  Mr. Gallo claims the food was rotten and his buddy on the parish council backs him up:

“We get so much dog food for the animals that sometimes we give it away to other shelters in the area. Sometimes the food rots, and it’s taken home to feed to the hogs,” Bellard said.

Troy Gallo said the food he took home was unsuitable for dogs at the shelter.

So the donated food was already rotted on the delivery truck?  Plus the dogs at the shelter are dead mostly, so they don’t eat much anyway.

The couple is free on bond and will remain employed by the parish while the legal case works its way through the courts.  They have denied the charges against them.  Troy Gallo claims his accusers don’t understand the “euthanasia” process and wants to know why the whole ship isn’t being brought down with him:

Gallo also said he and his wife are being targeted unfairly. “There were other employees there. Why aren’t they being attacked?”

Just taking a wild guess:  The sheriff’s office didn’t find any witnesses to testify they had seen the other employees throw dying animals to the floor to be preyed upon by shelter dogs.  But hey, what do I know?  I’m still trying to work out why it’s ok to feed rotten food to hogs.  Good luck with the animal abuse classes for the kiddies, St. Landry.

(Thanks Clarice for the links.)