Illinois dog mom left devastated after animal control staff mistakenly euthanized her missing pitbull
CHAMPAIGN COUNTY, ILLINOIS: A woman in Champaign County has been left disheartened after her missing dog was allegedly mistakenly euthanized by an animal shelter. Monica Lopez said that her pet pit bull - named Dada - fled the house on December 18, but she managed to track him down at Champaign County Animal Control. They allegedly assured her that the animal will be “safe” with them, The Sun reported.
However, due to some reasons, Lopez could not go to the shelter house to bring the animal back home, she reportedly made arrangements for his pick up at a later date. But destiny had something else in store as she got heartbreaking news from the center that stated that Dada was euthanized by mistake by a worker there. Sharing the devastating news on Facebook, Lopez wrote, “Today is a horrible day... Animal control told me they had my dog on Wednesday and that he was safe and warm but due to the holidays I couldn’t pick him up until today. They turned around and gave me heartbreaking news that he was put down on Christmas day even though they told me he was safe and warm. You weren’t just a regular dog. You were my heart, my baby, an angel. Fly high papas. Mommy is missing you everyday but I know doggy heaven will take care of you. This is located in Champaign & this is Animal Control. Dada didn’t get a chance to make it to humane society.”
Champaign County Executive Darlene Kloeppel, who oversees animal control, also said that Dada’s being euthanized was true as the employee had no information regarding Lopez's plans to retrieve him. "Fortunately, errors of this type are rare. While the holidays and staff vacations made this circumstance unique, additional steps in animal control procedures have been put in place to prevent any similar gaps in communication in the future. The Animal Control staff have been receiving hate email and calls from as far away as Canada since this incident was posted on Facebook. I would ask members of the public who are doing so to stop. The Animal Control staff are very distressed that this error occurred and have offered their sincere condolences to this family for the loss of their pet. Our veterinarian has arranged for the dog to be cremated and the ashes returned to the owner,” Kloeppel mentioned in a statement as reported by WAND.
But the grieving dog mom has said that she will do everything “possible" for getting justice to Dada. "I am pregnant so I'm taking everything slowly, so I'm not stressing myself out in the process. Dada will get justice and I know nothing will ever bring him back, but this cannot happen to any more pit bulls,” Lopez added.
Several people on Facebook too expressed their thoughts over the incident as one said, “No place, Not even a hospital, has a full staff on Christmas. Someone at this place obviously loves to kill dogs. and went in on Christmas to do just that. I would bet she was lied to on the phone in order to have time to do it.” A second person commented, “Oh my god... he was beautiful and this is heartbreaking. Stay strong and please take them to court. I hope Dada is happy in heaven and these horrible people pay for their terrible terrible actions.”