KIRO 7 posted a disturbing story last night about a local rescue group that euthanized a man’s dog by mistake while he was in the process of trying to get her back. John Broadwell’s 5-year-old English Setter named Cody ran off last February. Broadwell initiated a search for her and posted notices both online and in newspapers. He had no luck finding her until December when a family that adopted Cody through Seattle Purebred Dog Rescue (SPDR) contacted him after they saw his ad about her on Craigslist. They gave Cody back to the rescue with the assumption that she would be returned to Broadwell. Unfortunately, Broadwell and Cody were never reunited. Instead of giving Cody back to Broadwell immediately, SPDR made him fill out an adopting application. “I just thought it was a formality, that I would reapply, and I would get the pet,” Broadwell told KIRO 7. But before he got Cody back, Broadwell got a letter notifying him that “… due to escalating displays of aggression it became necessary to euthanize him.” Gretchen Schumacher, a representative with SPDR, tried to explain to KIRO what happened. She said a SPDR volunteer placed Cody in a foster home instead of working to reunite her with Broadwell. And when the person fostering said Cody displayed “some aggression,” the volunteer made the decision to have her euthanized. Schumacher told KIRO “the volunteer was terminated when the rescue group’s leadership found out what happened.” Cody was euthaizaed by a volunteer with Seattle Purebred Dog Rescue even though his owner had already claimed him. Image from KIRO TV. Cody was euthaizaed by a volunteer with Seattle Purebred Dog Rescue even though his owner had already claimed him. Image from KIRO TV. While I think that’s an appropriate response, this incident raised a number of red flags about SPDR’s process for handling dogs that can’t be explained away putting all the blame for Cody’s death on the volunteer. Red Flag #1 – Why didn’t SPDR simply give Cody back to Broadwell instead of making him fill out an application for her? Assuming Broadwell was able to provide proof of ownership for Cody, the group should have simply given her back to Broadwell. Red Flag #2 – What experience did the volunteer have for determining that a dog should be euthanized for showing “some aggression”? I wouldn’t be surprised that a dog might show aggression if it had been separated from its original owner for almost a year AND had recently been taken from another family that adopted it. Most rescuers understand try to figure out why the dog acted aggressively instead of just euthanizing it. Cody could have been scared or frustrated to be in a new home. Or the people fostering her might have unintentionally frightened her. Or the volunteer didn’t do the proper research to determine the foster family was a good match for Cody. Or the family may have simply overreacted to a signal Cody gave them. Our dog will growl at us if we do something he doesn’t like. It doesn’t bother us because we understand it’s the way he communicates. The foster family could have freaked out because they never had a dog that growled at them. Red Flag #3 – Why did a volunteer have the authority to have a dog euthanized? Rescues don’t take the decision to euthanize a dog lightly and wouldn’t consider it without extensive discussions among its leadership. They should NEVER allow a volunteer to make that decision. If SPDR allows its volunteers to decide to euthanize a dog in its care, it should change the policy immediately. If it already has the policy and the volunteer ignored it, SPDR needs to do a better job of screening its volunteers and ensuring they understand all of its policies. Red Flag #4 – Why did SPDR send a letter to Broadwell saying his dog was euthanized? Considering the gravity of the mistake the group made, the least it could do would have been to explain what happened in person or, at the very least, over the phone. I’m sure SPDR is horrified that Cody was put down, but just firing the volunteer shouldn’t be the end of this terrible incident. In order to re-establish trust within the community, I think SPDR should issue a public statement explaining the series of events that led to Cody’s euthanization and what it will do to ensure nothing like this ever happens again. Until that happens, I doubt many people would turn dogs over to SPDR. I know I wouldn’t.
Posted on: Wed, 21 Jan 2015 18:42:49 +0000
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