The Humane Society of Northeast Texas is no stranger to violence against the animals in its care. But an incident of an ACO dragging a dog around the pound by a leash was caught on video last month, forcing the city to take action. Prepare to be underwhelmed.
The little dog can be seen on multiple camera views being dragged like a sack of potatoes by Saylor Knox, the ACO paid to protect him from harm:
Knox’s boss, Environmental Health Supervisor Buck Farrar, says there is no excuse for the behavior, but here are some excuses:
Farrar said that while nothing excuses the behavior, the office was short-handed that day, Knox was hurrying, and the dog was behaving in an unruly manner.
“There is nothing that can condone taking action that can be perceived as abusive toward the animal. Do I believe that there was any ill intent on his part, that he was deliberately doing that? Absolutely not,” Farrar said.
“It’s the perception.”
Short-handed. In a hurry. Bad dog. He wasn’t deliberately dragging the dog. That’s just the perception of anyone who watched the video. It’s all in your mind.
As part of the city’s discipline, Knox was forced to write a letter to the HS regarding the incident. It looks like he copied one out of the Shelter Pet Abusers Handbook:
“I apologize for the way it appeared and for anything I did that implied I intended to harm the animal in any way,” Knox wrote.
Sorry for your stupid perceptions, people.
“I was attempting to expedite the call quickly being that the dog was being extremely unruly and vocal in the eyes of the public. I did the best I could in the circumstance, taking ample time both on the truck as well as once I had the dog secured in the animal control officer run, trying to get the dog to warm up to me.”
We’re doing the best we can, yay. Also, have we mentioned lately that the little dog was B-A-D? Because he was.
Apparently the wheel has not yet made it to Longview because if it had, the pound could keep a cart handy to move cages containing dogs too frightened to walk.
Knox refused to be interviewed by local media, as did the pound’s director. There is no mention in the article of whether the dog survived the pound or was killed. As far as the remainder of Knox’s disciplinary action, he was suspended for two days. A city employee in another department was also suspended for two days in August “after administrators discovered she incorrectly filed paperwork for several months”. So I PERCEIVE that the pet mistreating ACO who gets paid to issue citations to citizens who mistreat pets is exactly the same as the paperwork messer-upper. Got it.
(Thanks Clarice for the link.)