Upstream | November 16, 2010 | 52 comments

Heartbreaking: Afghanistan War Hero Dog Accidentally Euthanized in Arizona Today | Her Puppies Are Safe (?) in the U.S.

source: http://news.blogs.cnn.com/2010/11/15/afghanistan-dog-hero-accidentally-euthanized/?hpt=T2

EthicalVegan
November 15th, 2010
06:44 PM ET

Afghanistan dog hero accidentally euthanized




A dog rescued from Afghanistan after she alerted soldiers to a suicide bomber was accidentally euthanized at an Arizona shelter on Monday.

A Pinal County Animal Care and Control employee has been placed on administrative leave for failing to follow procedures and euthanizing the wrong dog.

The dog, Target, was recently brought over from Afghanistan by a soldier who had returned from his tour of duty. Target was featured by CNN for heroism after saving dozens of soldiers from a suicide bomber on February 11.

"She got her name because the Afghans we lived with were constantly trying to off her. She's been shot in the leg. ... The Afghans actually ran over her," Sgt. Christopher Duke said, who helped care for Target in Afghanistan and has adopted her packmate Rufus. "There's no killing this dog for sure. She's pretty much been through it all, " he said upon their reunion in July in Georgia.

Target's new owner, Army Sgt. Terry Young whose life was saved by the stray, helped bring the 2-ish-year-old from Afghanistan to her new home in Arizona. She disappeared from Young's home on Friday. Facebook postings requested help in finding her.

Target saved U.S. soldiers in Afghanistan

Animal Care and Control received a call about a stray female shepherd-mix dog in the San Tan Valley area on Friday. An animal control officer picked up the dog and brought her to the shelter where the dog stayed over the weekend. The dog was not microchipped or licensed with the county, shelter officials said.

On Monday morning, the employee mistakenly took the dog out of its pen and euthanized it. The dog was not scheduled for euthanasia.

“I am heartsick over this. I had to personally deliver the news to the dog’s owner, and he and his family are understandably distraught,” said Animal Care and Control Director Ruth Stalter. “We work hard get to strays reunited with their owners. When it comes to euthanizing an animal, there are some clear-cut procedures to follow. Based on my preliminary investigation, our employee did not follow those procedures.”

In an e-mail, Young told CNN affiliate KPHO, "I'm an absolute wreck today, and it's everything in my power to hold it together for me and my family. My 4-year-old son just can't understand what is going on with Target and keeps asking me to get the poison out of her and bring her home. They don't want her to go be with God yet."

“An investigation is under way, and we will cooperate fully. We will also thoroughly review procedures to ensure that something like this does not happen again,” Stalter said. “This is unacceptable, and no family should be deprived of their companion because procedures were not followed.”

Target was pregnant when she helped thwart the suicide bomber by attacking him. She had her litter of puppies in Afghanistan. Target's puppies have since been brought to the United States.
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52 comments // Heartbreaking: Afghanistan War Hero Dog Accidentally Euthanized in Arizona Today | Her Puppies Are Safe (?) in the U.S.

  • kitty1750
    • 0
      kitty1750  

    • Agreed EthicalVegan. Thanks for your response. I guess what I mean when I say "owning" an animal is to own the responsibility of taking care of its health and protecting it from harm. We own that job. And we own the blame when something bad happens to them that we could have prevented. We don't imprison them either, we secure our properties to ensure that they can't get out and be harmed or lost, it's all part of protecting them. Yes they are our companions, and our family members when they become part of our households and share our lives. But they're also to be regarded in some sense as children as they need us to keep them out of the traffic, from starving, etc, and from idiot animal control organizations such as that one. When animals have been domesticated such as dogs and cats, someone has to own the job of helping them survive comfortably and safely. Wild animals need to be left as wild animals. This poor dog died for nothing. She got through so many people who weren't taking care of her. Young didn't take care of her by not making sure she couldn't find her way out of the back yard. The person who restrained her in his yard could have just kept her and let animal control know where to send people inquiring as to her whereabouts, or could have even left her alone, she likely would have gone back home shortly, and of course, with the animal control morons who didn't see that procedure was followed, each blaming the other for this tragedy. It all still falls back onto Young.......the guy who kept Target in his yard waiting for animal control could have called Young if the dog had a cheap ID tag attached somewhere with a phone number. As far as the animal control staff being to blame, well, ..... it's long been known that those places are run by idiots, so little else can be expected from them other than idiocy. It's still our job to make sure our animal "friends" don't wind up in those places of holocaust.

    • 2 years ago
  • EthicalVegan
  • kitty1750
    • 0
      kitty1750  

    • Young is an irresponsible pet owner. Backyard wasn't secured. No tags, no microchip. Didn't bother calling the shelter to even see if it was still open or at least open over the weekend, decided to wait until Monday to get the buddy who saved his life out of dog jail. Dogs have some degree of intelligence but still depend on us to keep them safe. Would it have been the driver's fault if Target had been hit by a car instead? I don't think Young did a heck of a lot to keep the dog safe in return for saving him. Target was picked up by someone else who kept the dog in his backyard until animal control arrived. If Target had tags or a phone number attached to her none of this would have happened. I hope they don't get one of her puppies, as, like I said........irresponsible pet owners. Too bad. Poor dog. A waste.

    • 2 years ago
  • EthicalVegan
    • 0
      EthicalVegan  
    • kitty1750:

      I agree with so much you just wrote, but I would prefer thinking of our animal friends as animal companions instead of "pets." And, even more importantly, humans do not get to "OWN" an animal. We take on the responsibility of providing care and love and food and protection, but we do not -- and cannot -- "own" another being... as that would be slavery.

    • 2 years ago
  • EthicalVegan
    • +1
      EthicalVegan  
    • Image

    • http://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/19/us/19dog.html?_r=1&hp

      Photo: Johnny Crawford/Atlanta Journal & Constitution, via Associated Press

      Target, right, and Rufus were brought to the United States in July after the dogs thwarted a suicide bomber’s plan in Afghanistan.

      November 18, 2010
      Afghan Hero Dog Is Euthanized by Mistake in U.S.

      By MARC LACEY

      FLORENCE, Ariz. — When a suicide bomber entered an American military barracks in Afghanistan in February, it was not American soldiers but Afghan stray dogs that confronted him. Target and two other dogs snarled, barked and snapped at the man, who detonated his bomb at the entrance to the facility but did not kill anyone.

      The dogs were from the Dand Aw Patan district, in the eastern Paktia Province near the Pakistani border. One died of wounds suffered in the blast, and months later, Target and the other dog, Rufus, were flown to the United States by a charity and adopted by families. Target — who received a hero’s welcome, including an appearance on “The Oprah Winfrey Show” — went to live with the family of Sgt. Terry Young, 37, an Army medic who witnessed the animals’ bravery that night and helped treat the dogs and several American soldiers who were wounded.

      The glory, though, was short-lived. Target, after learning to get along with the Young family’s other dog in Arizona, becoming accustomed to dog food and to using a doggie door to relieve herself, escaped from her yard. She was captured last week and euthanized by mistake.

      “My 4-year-old keeps saying: ‘Daddy, bring Target home. Daddy, get the poison out,’ ” Sergeant Young, a father of three, said in a telephone interview, his voice choking with emotion. “Obviously, at first there was extreme anger and horror. Now that a couple of days have passed, the anger has been replaced by sorrow.”

      To say that Target was a celebrated mutt would be an understatement. Beyond caresses from Oprah, the shepherd mix had appeared on all the major television news channels upon her move to the United States and had won a local Hero Award as dog of the year.

      Target, not used to being confined, escaped Friday afternoon from Sergeant Young’s home in the San Tan Valley area in central Arizona. After being spotted on the loose, she was reported to Pinal County’s animal control. Target was brought to the county animal shelter in Florence, where she was held just like any other run-of-the-mill stray. Because she had no tag, microchip or license with the county, her photo went up on the shelter’s Web site on Friday in hopes that her owner might respond.

      Sergeant Young spotted Target’s photo online on Friday and paid the fee by computer to recover her. He mistakenly thought the shelter was closed for the weekend.

      By the time Sergeant Young arrived at the pound on Monday, the shelter employee in charge of euthanizing animals that day had apparently picked the wrong dog out of the pen and administered a lethal injection, performing what the shelter referred to as “P.T.S.,” or put to sleep.

      “I am heartsick over this,” Ruth Stalter, the county’s animal care and control director, said in a statement. “I had to personally deliver the news to the dog’s owner, and he and his family are understandably distraught.”

      Barraged with criticism, the county ordered an investigation and placed the unidentified woman who euthanized Target on administrative leave. “This is unacceptable,” Ms. Stalter said, “and no family should be deprived of their companion because procedures were not followed.”

      The county offered the Young family the services of a grief counselor who specializes in pet issues and agreed to refund the recovery fee and waive any fines, said Heather Murphy, a county spokeswoman. “We are not shying away from this,” she said. “We screwed up, and we’re acknowledging that.”

      But Target’s fate has mushroomed into more than a family tragedy. Because of the dog’s fame and her heroics in battle, there has been an outpouring of grief.

      A candlelight vigil is planned for Dec. 3 to honor Target. Sergeant Young said he might spread the dog’s ashes, which were provided by the animal shelter, at a memorial service, perhaps at the park where Target used to frolic off leash.

      A lawyer specializing in animal issues has also contacted Sergeant Young, who said a lawsuit was possible.

      Recalling those difficult days in Afghanistan, Sergeant Young said that perhaps because he and the other soldiers were living like dogs themselves, they bonded with the strays that found their way onto the base. “Our rooms could be mistaken for kennels with the cement floors, smell of urine and feces, razor wire and chain-linked fence all around the compound,” he wrote for his hometown paper in Oklahoma, The McCook Daily Gazette, just days after Target joined him in August.

      Target had her own Facebook page for those who wanted to follow her new life in the United States. Since word of her death has spread, fans have written of their shock and outrage.

      “Nooooooooooo!!! So so sad :-( Thank you for all you did Target! Amazing that you survived a war, but not an American shelter ... something is wrong here, baby,” read one posting.

      The page has been used to organize a write-in campaign to Pinal County officials to express outrage at what happened. The No Kill Advocacy Center has used Target’s death to raise the profile of its campaign to end the euthanizing of millions of cats and dogs at shelters every year.

      And the Puppy Rescue Mission, the organization that raised the several thousand dollars to bring Target to the United States, has expanded its mission to encourage pet owners to install microchips in their animals so they can be easily traced.

      At the shelter where Target died, there is significant despair as well, county officials said. “On Monday, I spoke with the director and if she was not openly crying, she was fighting back tears,” Ms. Murphy said. “You don’t do this work if you don’t care about animals.”

      “They love when someone adopts an animal or an animal is returned to its owner. That’s the best part of the job,” Ms. Murphy said. “But there is roadkill to pick up, and we recently had to pick up 154 cats from a trailer with no running water. These jobs are thankless even on a good day.”

      The official investigation into what happened will go beyond one employee’s error and look into the policies of the shelter, officials said. Already, one former employee has come forward to say that he almost euthanized the wrong animal on several occasions.

      “They said, ‘Ah, don’t worry about it, mistakes happen,’ and we went on,” the former employee, Jason Melroy, told local television station KTAR. “I sedated a dog that wasn’t supposed to be put to sleep. Thank God another officer found it.”

    • 2 years ago
  • CCorsair
    • 0
      CCorsair  
    • EthicalVegan:

      tonight on the CBS new the gave less than few second on this and said the worker was fired..that was it nothing more not details nothing ..oh the family was still grieving..nothing on Target's life after getting her or how she got out (or was let out) and nothing on her puppies.. sad very sad ..We need to keep this in the News ..we need to make this right ..

      CC

    • 2 years ago
  • Carolyn_Gale
    • +1
      Carolyn_Gale  

    • I am really, really, saddened by this horrific mistake.....no communication between staff??.... 3 days in and she was 'gone'???.... No notice boards???....No compassion for a beautiful looking dog, asTarget???...Didn't anybody ask????...anything??? or even wonder???....I say sack the lot of them and immediately make changes for the future....I feel sick. Rest in peace darling, wonderful Target...and my love and thoughts go to your loving family....and hey, you have become a 'lady' in having your puppies...and don't worry, they will be well cared for and loved.....

    • 2 years ago
  • Fr_Gregory
  • unimatrix0
    • +3
      unimatrix0  

    • A true tragedy. The shelter should have more safeguards in place, and hire more responsible staff members..

      However, by the same token, the dog should have been micro-chipped. The dog came in with no tags and microchip.

      Every dog should have tags and a microchip. And every shelter should be a no-kill shelter.

    • 2 years ago
  • Smeed_Kari
  • vikavita
  • vikavita
    • +1
      vikavita  

    • This dog survived Afghanistan, just to die here in America in a shelter. Just because some officer made a mistake. I am sure the officer has no idea what that dog went through. ust shows people who work in shelters just dont even care. I feel very bad for the owner, and the dog.

    • 2 years ago
  • Monica_Kee
    • +1
      Monica_Kee  

    • I'm angered by all this, some people are too incompetent. Read the article, this dog should be on the news, getting news coverage, the dog was a hero. Look at all the sickos, killers, etc that get coverage that they don't deserve. I hope justice is served, nothing can bring back poor Target. I don't think any friendly, loving animal should be euthanized, rather then that, they should be left to live free.

    • 2 years ago
  • Michael_Brock
    • +4
      Michael_Brock  

    • Dear Ruth Stalter start getting resume together you should fired along with worker. You are the in charge and try sending all the blame to worker is not being a adult. They should clean house replace everybody and become a NO KILL SHELTER. Ruth YOUR FIRED TOO!!!!!!

    • 2 years ago
  • CCorsair
    • 0
      CCorsair  
    • Michael_Brock:

      No Kill will not happen as long as we have H$U$-PeTa fighting against it.. stop them and we would save more and shelter would have the money that H$U$ waste to buy off lawmakers ..H$U$ put out less than 1% of all they take in is given to shelter .... its time to put the selter back in the hands of real people who knpw about animals not the ones that go get training to give your dog a good death ...as they put it ..

      FIGHT FOR NO KILL there are homes for all ..

      CC

    • 2 years ago
  • pukemnukem
    • +1
      pukemnukem  

    • Operation Baghdad Pups. Google it. The international SPCA is working hard to try and get as many soldiers' dogs to follow them home. Lots of the dogs end up working security details over in country and if they get left over there, they end up shot or worse.

    • 2 years ago
  • EmperorThan
  • floydyboy
  • Dejan_Croatia
    • -15
      Dejan_Croatia  

    • this is pretty fuckne embarrassing and pisses me off. why is a dog on the top news? Americans have this view to look at a death of a dog more sad then a homeless on the streets? enough with the animal bull shit. lets help our own species (MANKIND) then be sad about some dog.

    • 2 years ago
  • Candace_Kennedy
    • +12
      Candace_Kennedy  
    • Dejan_Croatia:

      Wow you are pretty bitter. It is because of selfish, ignorant and self absorbed people like you that a dog is "top news" See the majority of normal caring human beings like to hear about animals because they are selfless and unconditionally loving and this dog just so happened to save the lives of several soldiers that according to the story if it were not for the dog they would all be dead. So in the end it actually is a story about helping mankind but isn't funny? It was not humans helping humans it was a dog helping humans and that is why we like to hear about dogs because even after all of the cruelty that they have been subjected to by us they are still willing to help us. If you ask me we all have alot to learn from animals. Guess what we are not the only important species on this earth so get over yourself. I cannot possibly see how you can be so caring towards human beings as you claim when you can't even have a little compassion for a dog.

    • 2 years ago
  • floydyboy
  • KSirys
  • IronicNewsReport
    • +5
      IronicNewsReport  
    • Dejan_Croatia:

      There are many things that need addressing, including Both homelessness, as you said, AND animal issues. The core of the issue at hand, as I see it, is that the SOLDIER and the dog had a bond and the bond was needlessly and, some might add, cruelly and thoughtlessly destroyed. Our soldiers have endured so much already. If you know what it is to have a bond with another living being, and know how painful it is to have that broken or destroyed, then you know how great this needless loss really is.

    • 2 years ago
  • JSOC66
    • +5
      JSOC66  
    • Dejan_Croatia:

      You are a disgrace. Animals do NOT start wars, are not judgmental and are the only innocent beings on this planet. Target and the other dogs bring comfort and sanity to the soldiers who are in an insane situation, so yes in a way they do help mankind. Tell us WHAT HAVE YOU DONE LATELY FOR MANKIND?? Have YOU taken in a homeless person into your home, are you at the soup kitchens every weekend, do you DONATE monies to charities?
      Are you a soldier, wiling to sacrifice YOUR LIFE for this country? Are you willing to sacrifice your life at all for ANOTHER HUMAN BEING? Some of us choose to rescue animals whereas others choose to help children/orphans, and honestly every person should hep someone or something...we all have a right to help those whom we feel we can best be of assistance to...do not diminish the good that people do for animals. Remember as you callously point a finger at others there are three fingers pointing back at you.

    • 2 years ago
  • Monica_Kee
    • 0
      Monica_Kee  
    • Dejan_Croatia:

      It is sad that you would say something like that about a animal that protected our fellow troops, saved lives. Target will always be a hero and deserves respect, there should be a bill passed, in Targets honor.

    • 2 years ago
  • keithponder
    • 0
      keithponder  
    • Dejan_Croatia:

      You see my avatar. That's kiddo. He's a rescue dog that we got 2 days before he was going to be euthanized.He's the greatest dog on the planet, in my opinion. This dog loves me unconditionally. I wish that I was half the man that he thinks I am.

      My first dog, Butch lived for 18 years. He died when l was 21 years old. My folks were on vacation. I was at home for the summer during last last year in college when Bitch died in my bedroom. I sent my girlfriend home because she was complaining about the smell. I didn't care. He had been a lifetime companion. We gave him a funeral and buried him in my backyard in a cushioned filled ice chest. He deserved it.

      Dejan_Croatia, You just don't get it. You definitely need a dog. If you had one, you wouldn't be naking ungodly comments like that.

    • 2 years ago
  • EthicalVegan
  • Carolyn_Gale
  • Carolyn_Gale
  • Carolyn_Gale
  • dadevil
    • +8
      dadevil  
    • Image

    • America let's the DOG-Bernard Lawrence "Bernie" Madoff incarcerated former American stock broker Criminal Live... and this dog that saved people put to death?

      Where is justice?

    • 2 years ago
  • remanns
  • CCorsair
  • floydyboy
  • CCorsair
    • +6
      CCorsair  

    • This is what you get for not have No kill shelters and you bastards at H$U$-PeTa and your fucking myth of pet overpopulation. I hope you fucking happy with your fucking lying bastard pile of lies on what is right rights for pets. you know fucking nothing about pet butyour Mindless Vegan Bullshit of lies that we have this pet overpopulation and we need to kill kill kill kill yet at the same the same time Animal rescue groups bring in thousands of dogs to the US to SELL not ADOPT!!!! but selling to make money to kill more and not save .. . Your whole "pet are Slaves" is bull and now you can see what happens now you made bunch of Neo Nazi Newkirk clone going in and killing dogs and cats at shelters you murder the wrong pet .. I hope they sue and win and wipe out that shelter the person who did the MURDER of the dog and all of H$U$-peta's fund and that the whole animal right movement going into the trash where it belongs.

      This pet this dog was loved and I bet let out by some kid who thinks he was doing good thing like ti tells them to do on the Peta2 site ..let your neighbors dog out to get it into shelter so its not in back yard and can be put in better place.. ya like PeTa put those dogs and cat in the trash cans it like there said they just wanted to put the animals in a better place as there is not home for them.. Right then why does the shelter down the road from PeTa HQ have a 89% or better placement rate? I bet the person that killed this dog is member of PeTa/H$U$ and felt the dog should die and knew what dog it was .. it was just better thing to do they thought .. it only what NewKirk would do...

      H$U$ and PeTa spend ton on making sure No kill shelter do note take over and want only kill shelters they spend millions on make sure people think we have too make dogs and cats and we do not .. look it up you self and dog go by the Vegan brainless here ..

      ROT IN HELL you bastards... That dog would have been loved and safe now it dead .. and if you use this raise money I will beat the fuck out the first one of you telling you need to give more to H$U$ or PeTa they killed the ones that killed this dog they are the ones that spew out the BS that kills and if you stop do your own research you see this..

      If you are offended good if you are mad as i am they do something right and fight for no kill shelter and stop the myth of pet overpopulation.

      CC

    • 2 years ago
  • EthicalVegan
    • +3
      EthicalVegan  
    • CCorsair:

      I trust you weren't directing your anger at me. I do not in any way support either HSUS or PETA, neither financially nor -- more importantly -- morally.

      Because I am vegan has nothing to do with what I think is right and/or wrong with the system. Because I am an ETHICAL vegan is WHY I in no way support either HSUS or PETA.

      Good night.

    • 2 years ago
  • CCorsair
    • +2
      CCorsair  
    • EthicalVegan:

      I just mad .. As long as you understand why I do not support them i would not yell at you but I would be at the one i been fighting attacking good people who care 100
      % for they're pets but due to H$U$?Peta which is really one group .. PeTa they have brain washed many and due to this we have too many people who think wrong .. if you want to be Vegan good if it works for you good its not going to work for me .. i see too many that just seem to act more like bunch of Zombies then real people ..I do my best not to attack people but I think we all agree this was wrong and I hope you feel the same we need no kill shelters and to kick peopel who have no clue to real animal care out of making up rules and laws that kill more than save .. Again this was more aimed at thoe who side with PeTa-H$U$ not those who can see through the BS they are doing and what i feel murder thie dog..

      CC

    • 2 years ago
  • nattalyyyy
  • CCorsair
  • skybluskyblue
    • +1
      skybluskyblue  
    • CCorsair:

      This is OT but, "...myth of pet overpopulation." It is not a myth if barrels of stiff dogs sit in the walk in cooler because people did not want their adopted animal anymore. Hit by car, dead by parvo or just returned because of general ignorance. Breeders and backyard breeders should all walk in there with me before they breed their dogs. Get a whiff too. I do not think it would effect puppy-mill people; they are sociopaths in regards to animal suffering.

      Why are so many pets returned to shelters? Because people get pets on impulse and ignorantly treat the dog either like toys or like human children. They evolved to get along with us in our hunter-gatherer stage; free to stay with us at all times and to work hard to benefit the whole family, not to be left alone or smothered w the wrong kind of attention.

      I understand that HS's have questionable policies at times, but that does not make the bodies on the cooler floor disappear. Only real integrity and responsibility out of being educated and humane will. No more getting a dog for fun or fashion or because you want the kind of dog you saw in the movies [101 Dalmatians was the inspiration of many disasters] . Think of it in all seriousness like you would for an adoption of a human child . Planning and education is what you'd do if you were going to adopt a child; that is exactly what you need before getting a dog. No more only wanting a puppy; many adult dogs would be a great start for a first-time pet owner. Getting a puppy is like getting a foal, it needs very specific trainning to turn out ideal as an adult.

      And take a lesson from this tragedy, get your dog micro-chipped ASAP. Every shelter or animal control scans every dog or cat that comes in. When i worked for a veterinary emergency clinic we would get animal control bringing in animals hit by car etc. If they were seriously injured and had no ID the vet would put them to sleep to stop their suffering. If the pet had ANY microchip etc we would stabilize them as best we could and give them pain meds and contact the owners. I personally prevented several pets from being put to sleep by paying for them myself and adopting them, but i could only adopt so many. It would not have been fair if i had neglected them because i had too many animals.

    • 2 years ago
  • CCorsair
    • 0
      CCorsair  
    • skybluskyblue:

      http://www.nathanwinograd.com/ read this blog and get Nathans book
      Redemption you'll have a eye opening ..The reason shelter are over load are due to mismanagement not the population of dogs .. Animal right extremest getting bad laws made and just bad and wrong people running the shelter systems . If we have this huge overpopulation why is it these groups are bring thousands of dogs into this countries from all over the world and dumping them into our shelters ? re group right now movie over 1000 thousands pets from a owner that got over whelmed .. Dogs no Cats no .they are moviing RATS 1000 rate being moved by a well known rescue to Nor Cal from So Cal.. WHY ARE THEY MOVING THEM? plus this well know well funded group is ending out beg letter for more money to move these 1000 rats.. if we have an overpopulation the first thing you do is you do not move them you find them homes .. you could put every dog and cat in the shelters from LA in a home and your would still have a demand for more and this is the same across the US. Spay-Neuter laws are going overboard in wiping out dogs and cats as the number show now we have over done it as of 4 years ago we have less then 20% of the owned dogs intact and and less than 10% of the owned cats intact .. this mean we have very small gene pool left to get a healthy pet from and out of both those. Les the 3% or the dogs and the cats were show animals..cats after showing are use for breeding for lest then 2 to 3 breeding then fixed and must be fixed as cats if not mated will get tumors and can die from not breeding .
      Dog on the other hand have been found to get more ill if Spay-Neuter. As study over 20 year time showed the Spay-Neuter lessens the life of dogs and bring on major health issues as they age. This Study was in a major Veterinarian journal about year or so ago. and teh have beennmany more as well.
      Limit law ,Spay-Neuter laws and many more Anti-pet laws this why shelter fill up and more laws are being made and have passed. We are seeing extremest group use those laws to get those that love pets dearly to brain washed them to thinking we are endanger of over breeding when we are not we seeing these extremest groups kill pets by the ton(Peta has contact with local crematorium to burn by the ton dead bodies of dogs and cat) saying its the best for them die.. WAKE UP PEOPLE .. these groups are infecting those that run our shelters when pets at one time were safe but are now place of great horror due to who is running them.My wife was talking to one director and she was shocked we did have tons of puppies as she didn't know how our dogs did have them as she said she didn't understand how they had not been breeding like mad.. this person was in and is in charge and thing any intact animal need to be Spay-Neuter and I mean EVERY ANIMAL..and we live in farming area .. if they could feel they would Spay-Neuter farm animals ...They kill in LA Iguanas .. during a fight on bill at the state capitol a vet from LA said he put down tons of pets even an iguana ..he put down a lizard that should have gone back to the desert not killed .. what moron .. you have snake and the kill it when it could go to Zoo or back to wild ..Who is running this Show? PETA/H$U$ look at who runs the groups everyone of them from Greenpeace to the SPCA have PeTa memberships or are on it board and they are running H$U$ as the head guy come from there along with1500 other too take over that groups and they did.. They are the ones screaming there is pet overpopulation but if you look at the groups they are part of you find they are part of the over all Anti pet groups that want every domestic animal to go extinct and they have the press and law makers see them as the one with the knowledge and they are not . The over all thing is to look at who they are .. look at who is giving you the info of the how many pets there are and why do they feel we have too many ? They want 100% Spay-Neuter across the whole of the US and Canada they want it world wide at a 100% .. mean no pets at all no dog no cats nothing. .H$U$-PeTa thinks that if you can keep screaming till a lie is seen as truth this they win This is the truth behind the myth of Pet overpopulation it a a single minded evil voice screaming a lie till people think it is true. Animal right mean no animals at all.
      Yes we must care for them yes we should love them but we need to do it with knowledge and real animal science and not extremest lies. this is what Fight this why love my pets and will never give in to any who seek to take them from me or anyone Rights to own a pet .
      CC

      btw speaking of extremest here some more on their ideals
      http://www.thedogplace.org/PROJECTS/RIGHTS/Future-Here-10112_Dr.Lee.asp

    • 2 years ago
  • observer2121
    • -6
      observer2121  

    • Millions of cats and dogs are euthanized every single year. What do you think happens to dogs that get taken to shelters? I am sure they have plenty of other dogs there to be adopted who would love to have a chance to live.

    • 2 years ago
  • EthicalVegan
    • +3
      EthicalVegan  
    • observer2121:

      I'm involved in animal rescue, so I know the hideous statistics.

      Target was a family member who went missing. Then she was killed at a shelter. Target's unintentional death shouldn't have happened, but sadly enough, it seems more mistakes are made on Mondays than on any other day of the week.

      Her family, in the meantime, needs to go through a mourning period. And first they need to get over the shock. I'd expect nothing less from those people.

    • 2 years ago
  • Jennifer_Guinn
    • +2
      Jennifer_Guinn  
    • observer2121:

      Yeah dumb*ss, I'm sure they do. But those dogs are not heroes and did not save this soldier's life, only to be killed senselessly. Just like the old man whose dog was euthanized and the shelter knew exactly what dog they were killing then. Seems to me it would be much more cost-efficient to offer free spay and neuter programs than paying some sick f**k to spend his day killing them after they are born. You know someone warped enough to do this for a living (after "caring for" the same animals at least for a few days) isn't humanely treating any of the animals. I have seen examples of this in Georgia, where a still-operating shelter was putting dogs in trash bags still alive to be buried, halfway giving the injections so they suffered, and probably taking the drugs that were supposed to be anesthetic before the main killing shot. The way this country is being run is just really going downhill unbeleivably fast.

    • 2 years ago
  • CCorsair
    • 0
      CCorsair  
    • EthicalVegan:

      word is this shelter has a history of goof ups .. again shelter may seem to be filling with pets but it not due to over population it due to bad pet laws,shelter mismanagement and Groups that import dogs in from out side the area. In this state of Calif more pets are killed in shelter not because there are too many but due to badly made law that was amended from fixing the shelter to making them worse. They now get paid by the state to kill.. $60 a pet plus room and board per-pet and the inflate the price of the boarding too .so the charge for a building a dozen time over and the money does not go back into the shelter but the cities general funds.. We have been fighting to change this law for years not but get pushed back groups supporting it. I do not know what AZ does to regulate the shelters but this kind of mess up need to be investigated .. this dog was well known and they could not missed that she had just had puppies.. and again If this shelter was No Kill the dog would still be alive..

      CC
      If anything people keep this story alive to get it investigated This dog save many lives and it should not have died due to stupid people ..

    • 2 years ago
  • CCorsair
    • 0
      CCorsair  
    • Jennifer_Guinn:

      you should know that in the area from where this dog came from and through out the middle east the only rabies control is to go out and use a machine gun to kill them..Muslim hate dogs ans see them as unclean .. the Israelis have there own dogs the Canaan's which if not for the nomads and some dog breeder around the world would have died out due to how they go after dogs there. I can under stand the feeling to import some dogs but some groups just got overboard and we end up with too many here in the US and don't mean a few hundred I mean they are bring them in by the thousands with out a full quarantine and then dumping many into shelters.. there many who mean well and some who have agendas and do not mean well..

      CC

    • 2 years ago
  • NiceN
  • FtheBULLSHT
  • EthicalVegan
    • +2
      EthicalVegan  
    • Image

    • http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/2010/11/15/20101115pinal-county-soldier-a...

      Soldier's heroic dog, brought from Afghanistan, mistakenly euthanized

      Richard Ruelas - Nov. 15, 2010 03:39 PM
      Arizona Republic

      As a dog in war-torn Afghanistan, Target survived an explosion set off by a suicide bomber she had fought off, potentially saving dozens of soldiers' lives. But Target could not survive her time in the care of Pinal County's Animal Control division.

      Target, brought to the San Tan Valley area southeast of Phoenix by a soldier who befriended her in Afghanistan, was accidentally euthanized Monday morning.

      Previously: 4-legged Afghanistan hero

      Her owner, Sgt. Terry Young, found this out after he showed up at the shelter to claim Target, who had slipped out of his back yard over the weekend.

      "I just can't believe that something like this would happen to such a good dog," Young said.

      Pinal County is investigating what it says appears to be a mistake at its Casa Grande shelter.

      "When it comes to euthanizing an animal, there are some clear-cut procedures to follow," Ruth Stalter, the county animal control director, said in a statement. "Based on my preliminary investigation, our employee did not follow those procedures."

      A county spokesman said the employee is on paid administrative leave during the investigation into what happened with this dog, which forged a strong friendship with her owner after possibly saving his life.

      Young brought Target back to Arizona after the dog, along with two others, frightened a suicide bomber who was trying to detonate himself inside a military base. Target snapped and barked at the bomber. Rather than making it into a building where soldiers were phoning home or exercising, the bomber set off his bomb in a doorway.

      Five soldiers were injured, but they and others credited Target and the other dogs with saving their lives. Young figured he would have been fatally injured by shrapnel had Target not intervened.

      Young said Target was treated like royalty the rest of her time at the base at Dand Patan, near the Pakistan border.

      Young brought Target to his San Tan Valley home in August. The dog's story was featured in The Republic and on "The Oprah Winfrey Show."

      On Friday morning, the day after Veterans Day, Young put some breakfast in Target's bowl.

      "Seriously, it doesn't matter where she was in the house or outside, as soon as she heard me messing with the package, she would come running," he said.

      But there was no Target.

      Young went to his back yard and found a gate wide open. He put out online notices and contacted TV stations that did reports on the missing hero dog.

      Heather Murphy, a spokeswoman for Pinal County, said a neighbor found Target wandering stray on Friday, put her in his back yard and called the pound. The dog did not have a microchip or tag, Murphy said.

      On Friday night, Young found Target's picture on a website used by Pinal County's dog catchers to help owners track lost pets. It was about 6 p.m. and Young figured the shelter was closed for that night and for the weekend.

      He was half right. The shelter's hours on Saturday are from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Still, Young rested easy. "She's in the pound. At least she's safe," he said.

      He showed up at the pound Monday and filled out some forms. Then, he said, a staffer brought out another dog. Young told him that wasn't his dog and showed a picture of Target, who wore a distinctive pink camouflage collar.

      An hour passed. Then, Young saw one worker come out from the back sobbing. And the director of the shelter told him there had been a mistake.

      Young said his wife and three children, ages 14, 7, and 4, want to see Target's body. He decided to pass, not wanting to remember her that way, he said.

      The family will get Target's cremated remains.

      "The 4-year-old is really taking it hard right now," Young said. "She's saying we need to get the poison out of her so she can come home. She can't grasp the idea that she's gone."

      Read more: http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/2010/11/15/20101115pinal-county-soldier-a...

    • 2 years ago
  • EthicalVegan
    • +2
      EthicalVegan  

    • http://www.fox59.com/news/nationworld/la-na-1116-hero-dog-euthanized-20101116,0,...

      Dog brought from Afghanistan mistakenly killed

      Target, a shepherd who once scared off a would-be suicide bomber inside a military base, got out of her yard and was euthanized by mistake at a shelter.

      Associated Press

      November 16, 2010

      la-na-1116-hero-dog-euthanized-20101116

      Reporting from Florence, Ariz. —

      A dog named Target that lived through explosions in war-torn Afghanistan was euthanized by mistake at an Arizona animal shelter.

      An unidentified employee at the Pinal County facility was placed on administrative leave after mistakenly euthanizing the female shepherd mix, county Animal Care and Control officials said Monday.

      "When it comes to euthanizing an animal, there are some clear-cut procedures to follow," Ruth Stalter, the county animal control director, said in a statement. "Based on my preliminary investigation, our employee did not follow those procedures."

      Army Sgt. Terry Young, the dog's owner, told the Arizona Republic, "I just can't believe that something like this would happen to such a good dog."

      Target frightened a suicide bomber inside a military base and potentially saved dozens of soldiers' lives, Young said.

      He said the dog was treated like royalty from then on at the base in Dand Patan, near the Pakistan border.

      Young brought Target to the San Tan Valley area southeast of Phoenix in August, when he returned from his tour of duty.

      The dog escaped from the family's backyard Friday. Young put out online notices and contacted TV stations, which aired reports on the missing dog.

      A neighbor found Target wandering later Friday, put her in his backyard and called the pound.

      The dog did not have a microchip or a tag.

      On Friday night, Young found Target's picture on a website used by Pinal County's dog catchers to help owners track lost pets. He figured the shelter was closed for the night and weekend.

      He showed up at the shelter in Casa Grande to claim his dog Monday, only to learn that she was dead.

      County officials say the employee euthanized the dog Monday morning.

    • 2 years ago
  • EthicalVegan
  • KSirys
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