A family in NC says their dog Chance chewed his way out of their fence last week and was picked up by the
Wilson Co pound, run by the sheriff’s department. The pound told them they had 72 hours to repair the fence and reclaim their pet. They fixed the fence immediately and went to the facility to get Chance the next day. That’s when the situation took a dark turn.
The family says Wilson Co pound staff told them several different stories: Chance wasn’t there, Chance was dead, Chance was listed as “active” in the computer system – none of which was offered with any explanation or even an apology. Unable to get a straight answer, the family asked to see Chance’s body but the pound refused. They asked to see Chance’s records but the pound refused to provide those either.
Chance’s people are devastated. They consider him family. And they want to know what happened to him. A local reporter tried to help get answers but was also rebuffed by the pound:
ABC11 reached out to the Wilson County Sheriff’s Department. They would neither confirm, nor deny, if Chance was euthanized. They said their office is looking into the matter to see if protocol was followed.
In 2014, the Wilson Co pound killed 53% of its dogs and cats. The most likely outcome for a pet at that pound is killing. I don’t know if that’s what they consider “protocol” at the Wilson Co pound but it definitely isn’t sheltering – the service taxpayers believe they are paying for. Further, NC has a state sunshine law requiring public entities to make records available to taxpayers upon request. Wilson Co appears to be falling down on that job too. Taxpayers must demand better.
(Thanks Lisa for the link.)