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May 4, 2009 9:52 pm US/Central
Woman Says Dallas Animal Services Killed Her Pet
DALLAS (CBS 11 / TXA 21) ―
Three-year-old Nelson was Sarah York's baby.
"I'm in a wheelchair, and he would always jump up on me and let me love on him and rub his belly," York said.
York's beloved black cat disappeared two weeks ago. So she called Dallas Animal Services.
"The person came back on line and told me that he had been euthanized. I was just shocked," she said.
York said Nelson stumbled into a trap for strays at her North Dallas apartment complex. Employees there confirmed that animal services picked up a black cat.
"Everyday I come home and he's not there. It's heartbreaking," she said.
Dallas Animal Services officials now say they mistakenly told York that her cat had been put down. Instead, Manager Kent Robertson said the city-run shelter euthanized a completely different black cat that was feral and trapped the same day in the same apartment complex.
"It could not be handled. It was actually aggressive in the cage when humans came into the area. Anybody who went in there had a problem with that cat," said Robertson.
After looking at pictures and video of Nelson, Robertson assured CBS 11 that York's cat was not put down. He says the cat that was seized and then euthanized was wild and violent.
CBS 11 showed the same pictures and video to three employees at York's apartment complex. All three identified Nelson as the only cat taken away that day by animal services.
"When we came up to the cage, the cat backed up a little," said Heather Farmer, apartment complex employee. "You could tell it was scared, but it's just meowed. It didn't hiss or scratch or anything like that. It was not aggressive."
York is also upset that no one checked for Nelson's tracking micro-chip. Officials with Dallas Animal Services say the cat it seized was too aggressive to check for one, even after waiting 24 hours.
"They need to change some of the things that they're doing, because it's not right," said York.
Dallas Animal Services says it's now considering waiting 72 hours before it's puts down a feral cat.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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