New policies to follow accidental euthanization

When area localities begin operating their own animal shelter Sept. 1, paperwork will be streamlined and identical forms will be used when critters are seized, according to Waynesboro Animal Control Officer Dee Price.

It’s a decision that takes on greater meaning in light of a dog being mistakenly euthanized by the Augusta Regional SPCA instead of held pending the outcome of a court hearing this week.

Currently, Waynesboro and Staunton authorities check a box on two different lengthy forms to alert the SPCA to refrain from euthanizing an animal. Augusta sheriff’s deputies write instructions across the top of paperwork from the county.

But a Staunton police officer failed to mark the “hold for court” box on the documents accompanying a black-and-white pit bull seized from a couple who abandoned it without food and water when moving out of an apartment on College Circle.

So by the time a Staunton General District Court judge ruled that the dog not be returned to Terrell Moore and Jordan Tynes, and that they not own a companion animal for two years, the canine already had been put down.

It was euthanized after a five-day holding period required by state law because it failed to pass a temperament test and was deemed unadoptable. But it could have been eligible for adoption 10 days after the seizure hearing.

The problem, said Staunton police spokeswoman Lisa Klein, was that the dog was handled not by an animal control officer but by an officer less versed in animal-seizure procedures.

Because of the error, Staunton officers will receive a refresher course in how to fill out forms when seizing an animal, Klein said.

“Anytime there’s a mistake with paperwork, we do a review,” she said. “The supervisors will go over it with all their people.”

However, Debbie Caywood, the SPCA’s executive director, said she expects her staff would have come to the same conclusion of euthanasia if a temperament test was postponed until after Tuesday’s court hearing.

“There’s a lot of stress in a shelter,” she said. “I won’t say it’s the case with all dogs, but usually if a dog has a temperament problem, after being in the shelter with the noise of other dogs, its temperament downgrades rather than upgrades.”

Even without signs of malnourishment and aggression, the odds are stacked against pit bulls.

“There are so many obstacles,” Caywood said. “Landlords often don’t allow them, and homeowners can’t be insured with a pit bull on the property. There’s often no avenue for adoption.”

Indeed, Caywood said an aggressive pit bull poses more of a threat even to staff than another breed might.

“A pit bull bite is worse than a little dog,” she said. “We don’t need the liability issues they can present.”

But representatives of area localities and the SPCA said they can’t recall a similar mistake ever being made.

“You make sure officers are educated in how to fill out the form,” Price said about how her department avoids such mix-ups. In Augusta County, animals are seized only by animal control officers, said Gary Webb, one of three such personnel on rotating shifts.

At the new shelter, localities plan to follow the same euthanasia policy as the SPCA: Dogs with collars will be held for 10 days while those without collars will be held for five. Dogs also will be checked with microchip-detecting wands.