Ninja’s owners had been having problems with their fencing. According to the Walgett Shire Council ranger who responded, Ninja had been reported to council as to have been ‘knocking over bins’.
The ranger approached the family to ask that they sign the dog over to him. According to the family;
She did not want to sign the papers, stating that her two children aged 6yrs and 9 years would be very upset and they would be looking for Ninja. The ranger told her that Ninja would be sent to Dubbo and he would find a new home there with a good yard. The owner, who was vulnerable, thought that she had no choice but to sign the papers, which she did, but she continued to convey to the ranger that she did not want to surrender him. Ninja’s owner described the ranger as a ‘Bully’
However, the owner did sign the papers and Ninja was taken to the local pound.
*****
So you are a ranger and you’ve just collected a young family dog with a history of ‘roaming’, from a reluctant family;
Do you;
a) hold the dog in the pound for few days to give the owner a chance to fix her gates and reclaim him?
b) hold the dog in the pound for a few days to see if anyone might like to adopt him?
c) contact local rescue groups to make provisions for the dog to be passed on to them?
d) all of the above?
*****
Two hours later the owner changed her mind about giving up Ninja and asked to have him returned. The ranger assured her that he’d found a nice new home with a ‘lab breeder’ in Sydney. Upset, the owner contacted Sydney Pet Rescue & Adoption (SPRA) asking if they could help her track down her dog.
By this time, Saturday morning, Walgett Council had closed for the Xmas period until 2nd January. SPRA was concerned that if we did not track Ninja down straight away, he could be euthanased as commonly happens with surrenders. SPRA was eventually able to get through on the emergency numbers and spoke to a couple of different managers. The Director of Planning & Regulation did at least treat it as an urgent matter as requested by SPRA, and spent time investigating the matter between Saturday and Monday morning.
He spoke with the pound ranger who agreed that he had told the owner that he had sent Ninja to Sydney, when in fact he admitted to the Director that he had not sent Ninja to Sydney but rather shot Ninja dead that same day.
…
SPRA asked the Director to explain their euthanasia practices. The Director advised that their standard practice was to to either put a bullet in the animal’s head either on site at the pound or to take the live animals out to the tip and shoot them there. SPRA expressed disgust at such a practice which does not constitute euthanasia, but rather execution. The Director dvised that they had to work within their resources which did not include a vet. This seems hard to understand since there is in fact a vet clinic located in Walgett. SPRA asked for further clarification to ascertain if animals were shot in front of each other however the Director declined to discuss the matter any further until after New year.
*****
I bet you chose a), b) or c) up there, didn’t you? Of course you did – because that’s what any right-thinking animal lover would do.
Unfortunately, this ranger chose to instead take Ninja back to the pound, shoot him in the head and then assure his owner that he went to a lovely new home.
The case has been referred to the RSPCA NSW. Will they speak out about this abhorrent, inhumane and wasteful treatment of a family pet? Or will they give this ranger a ‘certificate of appreciation’ for his good work too?
Remember folks, this is our animal management system – the one you who blames YOU for the killing.
How can a mother with 2 children clearly be lied to and bullied this is wrong on so many levels ……. This ranger is a disgrace to wallet council and should be removed from the postition held …..SHAME SHAME SHAME
An appalling case of abuse of trust. Yes, the owner surrendered her dog but she did not know it was going to be shot. The ranger is a liar and is in the wrong job. Yes, take surrendered dogs but do like the pounds that I go to – tell their owners that they will be euthanased. Mostly it makes no difference but I’m sure it would have in this one.
I live in Walgett and have heard through the grapevine that this has happened to two other families (at least) in the town of Walgett. This guy is a BULLY and needs to be STOPPED!
From Walgett Council’s statement on this incident, they are backing their staff member and seem surprised that such public interest has been generated – well hello! Time to come into the 21st century! The community doesn’t want people or animals to be treated like this. How can they not have an agreement with a local vet? How can they treat vulnerable families with such dishonesty and lack of integrity? How can you blame a puppy for puppy behaviour and shoot a second dog because it has fleas? This just stinks. It’s time for a major attitude-shift at Walgett Council.
You can read the full story here:
http://www.freewebs.com/sydneypetrescueandadoption/appealforninjasfamily.htm
One point I would like to emphasise is that Ninja’s owner is adamant that she did not want to surrender Ninja and she only signed the forms because she thought she had no choice. The ranger did not explain her rights and she did not read the surrender papers because she said she was so upset at the thought she had to surrender Ninja. According to her reports, the ranger arrived on her doorstep uninvited and unannounced, banging on the side of her house early in the morning. He came, rope in hand telling her that he had come for her dog. At the time he arrived at the property, Ninja was tied up in his own yard. The owner is adamant that the ranger had never previously given her any notice that Ninja was a nuisance. I had the Director investigate this story and he confirmed that no Nuisance Notices had ever been issued against any dog for this owner in the previous 3 yrs. No evidence was provided that in fact it was Ninja knocking over bins. Walgett council contined to embelish their report of the story after the original report of events given to me by their Director. It looks very much like Council is just trying to cover up what happened and to justify their non compliance with the legal requirments.
Walgett Council also zeized and killed another little stray dog on the same day, again failing to comply with the legal requiements to keep this dog for the 7 day statutory period.
From their Annual Reports displayed at their website, it can be seen that this Council has a history of 100% “euthanasia” for cats and not much better for dogs, year after year… after year. Year after year they report they have not accessed funding from the Companion Animal Fund for education programs. They don’t even advertise pound animals as looking for homes on their website. The indications are that this is a lazy, apathetic council which does not care about the right of pound animals or their owners, nor complaince with their legal obligations under the Comapanion Animal and other relevant legislation.
Please could you help by posting comments under the Daily Liberal’s 4 stories about this case, and by emailing a letter to the editor
[email protected]
Please tell Walgett Council what you think of their companion animal management at [email protected]
Attention: Director Planning & Regulatory Services: Mr Matthew Goodwin
Thank you for your support.
Michelle Alber- President
Sydney Pet Recue & Adoption