Last week, four employees of the SPCA Cincinnati transported a pitbull type dog for an adoption fair. In the freezing winter cold, they oops-neglected him to death:
Upon arriving in Sharonville between 4:30 and 5 p.m. Thursday, [SPCA Cincinnati Vice President of Strategic Initiatives Dr. Dave] LeBourveau said, four employees assigned to unload and clean the transfer van failed to follow proper unloading procedure and left the animal in the vehicle overnight.
Roughly 16 hours later, SPCA employees discovered the dog suffering hypothermia Friday around 8 a.m. The dog was not expected to survive its injuries and was euthanized.
Oops. And:
Dr. LeBourveau said the dog had kennel cough.
They were taking a sick dog to an adoption fair? Oops.
LeBourveau said the animal would have been found had the employees followed proper protocol.
“Whoever unloads the van, then they check off a roster to indicate that all the pets were there,” LeBourveau said. “The roster in this case, there was some question whether it was accurate or not.”
Oh see, that explains it. There was some question. I know at my workplace if there is ever any question, we all just err on the side of shrug, crank up the heat in our cars and head home for the night. Because question.
Pitbulls have very low tolerance for cold due to their coats, which anyone working in a shelter in Ohio should know. This particular dog was reportedly sick and likely felt crummy. It is heartbreaking to think of how he spent his last night on this earth.
The four workers whose failure to do their jobs resulted in the needless suffering and death of a dog entrusted to their care have been disciplined. They all kept their jobs.
Dr. LeBourveau describe the disciplined employees as animal lovers and great workers.
Well gee if these are the great ones, I’d hate to run into the adequate ones.
And in case you were wondering:
The SPCA transports nearly 7,000 dogs a year.
No word on the number of survivors.
(Thanks Clarice and Lisa for the links.)