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Jun 29, 2008 3:40 pm US/Central
Two Denton Animal Shelter Workers Suspended
DENTON (AP) ―
Two Denton animal shelter workers have been suspended without pay after a dog was mistakenly euthanized there.
The city had picked up a 3-year-old black Labrador mix named Amicus on May 8 after the dog escaped from the yard of its owners, Shawn Snider and Beth Bayless-Snider.
When the couple arrived to pick the dog up on May 15, they learned Amicus had been killed that morning. Police officials have said that a shelter worker apparently didn't notice the entry on the dog's records saying the Sniders had arranged to pick it up May 16.
Police Chief Roy Minter, who called for the suspensions, announced earlier this month that he'd recommended discipline in the case. But the city did not release details of the suspensions until last week, when the period ended for the workers to appeal.
Debbie Lhotka received a two-day suspension for the euthanasia error, while Robert Sprabeary was suspended for three days for "poor customer service" in dealing with the Sniders, said Laura Hornung of the city's human resources department.
Sprabeary declined to comment through police spokesman Jim Bryan. Attempts by The Associated Press to reach Lhotka for comment were unsuccessful on Sunday.
"We had good policies and procedures in place," Minter, whose department oversees the city-run shelter, told the Denton Record-Chronicle for its Sunday editions. "But this has given us the opportunity to say that we can enhance those policies and procedures."
The Sniders are asking the city for $206,000 for the loss of the dog and future breeding opportunities, along with "emotional pain and stress."
Attempts by the Associated Press to reach the Sniders for comment were unsuccessful on Sunday.
An analysis by the Denton Record-Chronicle found that the dog mistakenly euthanized on May 15, wasn't the first such mistake at the shelter.
In 2006, a worker accidentally euthanized an Australian shepherd after an employee "failed to follow the established procedures," according to internal records.
Amy Kendall's 5-year-old dog, Rocco, was euthanized after a worker mistook it for another dog. Animal control officers had seized and quarantined the dog a day earlier after it reportedly bit a neighbor who reached over her fence to pet it. Quarantined animals are supposed to be held for 10 days for rabies testing.
Police say that the cases were different enough that changes made after that incident in 2006 didn't apply to the recent incident.
Bryan said safeguards added in 2006 concerned the quarantine process, which did not apply in last month's case.
Bryan said that the worker responsible for the error in the Kendall case served an unpaid three-day suspension and later quit his job for "personal reasons."
(© 2009 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
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