Pound kills the wrong dog. Again.

In the kill-centric animal management system we have in Australia, the pets that usually get the needle are those whose owners either don’t care, or for some reason aren’t able to find their animal’s location within the timeframe set by that same system. That is, those pets who have no human advocate.

These unnamed, unprotected pets die by the thousands, not because it is necessary or humane, but because it is easy. The pet is killed, the world keeps turning, staff have their lunch, and then go back to work. Just another day at the office.

Other times, the pet will have a family that love them and who are looking for them. Often that family believes that they will be treated fairly and reasonably, and that their pet’s life will be respected. And being responsible pet owners, the first time they find out that the animal management system we have in this country is in fact dysfunctional, brutal and uncaring, is after their pet has lost their life. Which of course is much, much too late.

The loved pet is killed, the family is sad. The world keeps turning, staff have their lunch, and then go back to work. Just another day at the office.

While very occasionally, a pet who has an advocate who loves them, will lose his life and rather than just be sad, that pet lover will actually stand up and question WHY the system failed to do the one thing it is designed to do… keep the pet and the community safe.

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Janelle’s two dogs Molly and Winston escaped her property and were allegedly involved with an altercation with another dog. A Ballarat ranger impounded the two.

Looking for her pets, Janelle called the City. She was informed there would be an investigation, and that her dogs would be held at the RSPCA in Ballarat. She called a few days later, and the Ranger gave her the option of continuing the investigation, or surrendering her pets;

“I let it go until Tuesday when I called the ranger again. He then called me back and said I have two options … to surrender the dogs and then they would be put down, or once the investigation was finished it may go to court and they would request the destruction of the dogs.

Devastated at the loss of her animals, Janelle visited the pound. She was refused access to her dogs. When pressured, staff informed her that Molly had been put down and Winston had been desexed ready for rehoming.

A spokesperson for RSPCA Victoria told The Courier that the admitted dogs were not identified by the council as seized dogs involved in an attack, and because of this, following the mandatory eight-day quarantine period, the dogs were assessed in the same way as a normal shelter animal to determine suitability for rehoming.

“The assessment resulted in the decision for euthanasia of one of the dogs for medical reasons,” a spokesperson said.

Ballarat Council see no problem with the complete disregard for appropriate processes, as they were determined to kill the dogs anyway. Being already dead just makes things less paperwork’y;

“Council yesterday (Wednesday) informed the owner of the error, and the owner proceeded with surrendering the remaining animal to be euthanised,” he said.

“Council is undertaking its own inquiries to establish the facts around this event.”

Certainly establishing their own facts seems to be a core competency of Ballarat Council.

I hope Janelle is getting some good legal advice. And since Winston has been deemed rehomable by an RSPCA assessor, that he is somewhere safe while this incident is investigated.

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Are you tired of having to protect pets from those supposedly in the business of protecting pets?

How many more Australia?