BlackJaq Posted July 16, 2013 Share Posted July 16, 2013 (edited) http://www.bordermail.com.au/story/1643088/familys-devastation-after-dog-put-down-unknowingly/?cs=53 Family's devastation after dog put down unknowingly By NATALIE KOTSIOS July 17, 2013, midnight Codie Black, Jess Hingston and their son, Cobie, have lost their family dog after it was put down without their knowledge. Pictures: DAVID THORPE Codie Black, Jess Hingston and their son, Cobie, have lost their family dog after it was put down without their knowledge. Pictures: DAVID THORPEFamily's devastation after dog put down unknowinglyFamily's devastation after dog put down unknowinglyFamily's devastation after dog put down unknowingly A DEVASTATED Lavington couple is demanding answers from Albury Council after their pet dog was put down without their knowledge. Codie Black and Jess Hingston had been waiting almost a fortnight to get their dog, a 15-month-old American Staffordshire-cross named CJ, out of the council-run pound, Canine Country Kennels. Council rangers picked up the dog after it had escaped and declared it to be a pit-bull, not a staffy. The couple had asked for an independent breed assessment, which was due to happen on Monday. But instead of a reunion this week, the couple was yesterday shocked to learn CJ was euthanased on Friday due to a staff “miscommunication”. “It’s just not right, they had no right to put her down,” said Ms Hingston through tears. “She was such a beautiful dog and I wish I could have her back. I’d have been happy just to see her one more time.” The dog, which was not microchipped or registered, was picked up by rangers on June 30 after escaping from home while the couple was away for a few days. Mr Black said he returned home on Wednesday, July 3 and called the pound looking for CJ, but was told there was no dog matching CJ’s description. When he visited the pound last Monday, July 8 to double-check, he found his dog was on site but had been labelled a pitbull-cross. Mr Black was told he couldn’t have his dog back as it was a restricted breed, unless it was inspected by a breed assessor and reclassified. “I said I was happy to pay anything, I was going to get a loan to pay for it all,” he said. “I just wanted our dog back. We’d had her from a pup, we’d trained her and she was one of the most peaceful dogs ever.” Mr Black said he bought the dog from a breeder in Nurmurkah who assured him it was an American Staffordshire. The couple said they last spoke with the pound on Friday and were told someone would be in touch on Monday. But yesterday, the couple was informed the dog had in fact been put down on Friday, already buried at the neighbouring Albury tip. Albury Council’s team leader for compliance John Mulvey confirmed the dog had been scheduled to be put down on Friday but pound staff had agreed to hold off until an independent assessment could be carried out. “Unfortunately this information wasn’t conveyed quickly enough to avoid euthanasia prior to the assessment being carried out,” he said. Mr Mulvey said the owners did not come to claim the dog until 10 days after it had been impounded. Under NSW law, a dog becomes property of the pound if not claimed in seven days and unclaimed restricted breed dogs must also be euthanased after seven days. “Council is confident that an independent assessment would have confirmed the dog’s breed as a pitbull,” Mr Mulvey said. “Had this been the case, the dog would have been euthanised under NSW legislation.” He added it was important all dog owners microchip and register their animals so animals could be immediately returned if found roaming. Mr Black admitted he ought to have had CJ registered and microchipped. ------------ I do have to wonder if council did this on purpose to escape lengthy legal proceeding and possibly be defeated in court like a lot of other councils have recently experienced... Edited July 16, 2013 by BlackJaq Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Salukifan Posted July 16, 2013 Share Posted July 16, 2013 (edited) Albury is in New South Wales. Lots of inconsistencies in that story and a few hard lessons. I will never understand how people can leave their dogs at home when they go away. Edited July 16, 2013 by Haredown Whippets Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BlackJaq Posted July 16, 2013 Author Share Posted July 16, 2013 (edited) Oh my bad hah! I will change the heading ETA: Unfortunately the lack of chip + registration (and probably vaccination I'd say) and waiting ten days to claim it, does not make the owners look responsible exactly.. But having the dog destroyed before the requested assessment, especially in NSW, where breed assessment could make it safe from BSL, is unacceptable to me. Edited July 16, 2013 by BlackJaq Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Salukifan Posted July 16, 2013 Share Posted July 16, 2013 Oh my bad hah! I will change the heading It's only JUST in NSW :laugh: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
minimax Posted July 16, 2013 Share Posted July 16, 2013 It escaped on the Sunday. They called the pound Wednesday when they realised, but didn't visit until the next Monday (a week after it escaped)? If they cared that much about the dog, why wasn't it at least chipped? Or somewhere safe while they were away? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BlackJaq Posted July 16, 2013 Author Share Posted July 16, 2013 Yes I would like answers to those questions as well, but it was hardly the dog's fault that it had less than stellar owners Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dory the Doted One Posted July 16, 2013 Share Posted July 16, 2013 Just amazes me how many people fail to register their dogs with the council (it shouldn't). Was the first thing we did with Willow. Actually the first thing we did was to ring the council to see if we were permitted another dog, double checked, then got her and then registered her. Even the Indoor Only cats are microchipped. Such a simple thing really and one of the least expensive things about owning a pet and the very, very basic of identification methods. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kirislin Posted July 16, 2013 Share Posted July 16, 2013 How sad that the dog wasn't registered and microchipped, it could still be alive today. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rebanne Posted July 17, 2013 Share Posted July 17, 2013 Only people to blame are the owners. They cared for the dog so much they went away and left it. At least her death was quick, not like what could have happened while roaming the streets. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Malakita Posted July 17, 2013 Share Posted July 17, 2013 From the way I read the article, the owner had called the pound. And basically trusted them at their word there was no dog matching his dog's description. It wasn't until he visited the pound himself he actually saw his dog. Who knows maybe they did organise someone to come and feed their dog whilst they were away. There are a lot of questions but unfortunately the dog wasn't chipped or registered and that lies square on the owners shoulders. Poor doggie! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twodoggies2001 Posted July 17, 2013 Share Posted July 17, 2013 As much as the couple looked after and loved their dog, they were still irresponsible. Bought the dog from obviously a back yard breeder, of uncertain parentage, not micro chipped, not registered, not confined to their back yard, what else? Again, it's not the dog's fault. She may be a beautiful natured animal but she was badly let down by her owners. The council in their wisdom did the wrong thing and really should have consulted with the owners before they put the dog down. When will people learn? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trisven13 Posted July 17, 2013 Share Posted July 17, 2013 And apparently their other dog is still in the pound. I know a fair bit about this story from both sides. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Staffyluv Posted July 17, 2013 Share Posted July 17, 2013 Yet again the poor bloody dog pays the price for silly owners.. How sad! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BlackJaq Posted July 17, 2013 Author Share Posted July 17, 2013 (edited) And apparently their other dog is still in the pound. I know a fair bit about this story from both sides. So the dog is not actually dead? Will there be a breed assessment then? And why are the owners claiming the dog was killed? ETA: Re: Owners being away and leaving the dog at home, we do that as well... We do have escape proof kennels and my father in law comes over and feeds everyone and checks on the auto waterer. I am very reluctant to leave my dogs in a commercial kennel or pet hotel when we go away and judging by the threads on that topic on DOL many others also avoid it if possible. Unfortunately my family lives overseas and we are unable to take pets when we go to see them. I don't think there is anything wrong with leaving pets at home in a familiar environment as long as they are cared for and cannot escape. Edited July 17, 2013 by BlackJaq Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tdierikx Posted July 17, 2013 Share Posted July 17, 2013 “Council is confident that an independent assessment would have confirmed the dog’s breed as a pitbull,” Mr Mulvey said.“Had this been the case, the dog would have been euthanised under NSW legislation.” Ummm... under NSW legislation the dog would have been declared a restricted breed and the owners would have needed to comply with strict guidelines in order to keep it. All could have been avoided if the dog was actually microchipped and registered with council... T. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kirislin Posted July 17, 2013 Share Posted July 17, 2013 And apparently their other dog is still in the pound. I know a fair bit about this story from both sides. So the dog is not actually dead? Will there be a breed assessment then? And why are the owners claiming the dog was killed? ETA: Re: Owners being away and leaving the dog at home, we do that as well... We do have escape proof kennels and my father in law comes over and feeds everyone and checks on the auto waterer. I am very reluctant to leave my dogs in a commercial kennel or pet hotel when we go away and judging by the threads on that topic on DOL many others also avoid it if possible. Unfortunately my family lives overseas and we are unable to take pets when we go to see them. I don't think there is anything wrong with leaving pets at home in a familiar environment as long as they are cared for and cannot escape. I read Trisvens post as there's more than one dog. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dame Aussie Posted July 17, 2013 Share Posted July 17, 2013 “Council is confident that an independent assessment would have confirmed the dog’s breed as a pitbull,” Mr Mulvey said.“Had this been the case, the dog would have been euthanised under NSW legislation.” Ummm... under NSW legislation the dog would have been declared a restricted breed and the owners would have needed to comply with strict guidelines in order to keep it. All could have been avoided if the dog was actually microchipped and registered with council... T. Yeah what the? There are restrictions to follow, not just "dog dies". Council shouldn't have done it and owners should have had ID on their dog. Not to mention you should never take a pounds word about a dog being there or not, you need to go in and look yourself. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
megan_ Posted July 17, 2013 Share Posted July 17, 2013 Oh my bad hah! I will change the heading ETA: Unfortunately the lack of chip + registration (and probably vaccination I'd say) and waiting ten days to claim it, does not make the owners look responsible exactly.. But having the dog destroyed before the requested assessment, especially in NSW, where breed assessment could make it safe from BSL, is unacceptable to me. yes - but the dog was no longer theirs - the dog became the property of the council after 10 days. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trisven13 Posted July 17, 2013 Share Posted July 17, 2013 Apparently they had two dogs impounded but only wanted to get one back. Legally the dog becomes the property of the Council after 7 days, they didn't come to the pound until 10 days after the dog was impounded. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OSoSwift Posted July 17, 2013 Share Posted July 17, 2013 It said their OTHER dog is still in the pound Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now