Dead dog fault of ‘irresponsible public’

A dog died at the Wellington Shire Council Pound (NSW) over the weekend.

According to concerned residents, it died because the ranger failed to check drop off pens for days on end.

The council acknowledge the dog died while it was in their ‘care’, but that it had ‘parvo’…

The death of a dog from Parvovirus at the Wellington Shire Council Pound at the weekend was regrettable and is now being further investigated by the council, manager of environmental services Damien Rindfleish said.

A white female mastiff cross was deposited at the Wellington pound some time prior to 7am Saturday morning and on discovery by staff soon after was cared for, he said.

Now, the usual treatment plan for parvo – or any serious dog illness really – is a trip to the vet. Maybe a drip. At least a bed.

I don’t know what kind of parvo treatment plan includes leaving a dog alone to die in a pen, with a seemingly empty water bowl, where upset animal lovers can take photos of its dead corpse. But to be fair, I’ve never worked with Wellington City Council. Maybe this is some kind of cutting edge pathology that I’m dying (ahem) to hear explained.

But whatever the plan – it’s safe to say the treatment failed.

“Preliminary investigations reveal the dog had been dumped in a surrender cage at the pound in a poor condition and subsequently died between 10am and 4pm on Sunday, April 14,” Mr Rindfleish said.

“The cause of death, Parvovirus, was confirmed by a post mortem undertaken by a local veterinarian on Monday.”

The council accepts that this sick dog sat in an unattended drop-off cage from Saturday morning, until it was found dead – sometime after 4pm on Sunday. I’m assuming it must have been after that when she was finally found, since they weren’t able to tell exactly went from being alive – to dead – whilst in their ‘care’.

(Defining ‘care’ as Council scooping up her carcass after the fact).

Of course, this complete failure of the pound staff to protect the animals they are paid by the tax payer to care for, doesn’t deter Council one bit from a good bit of public berating;

Mr Rindfleish said the incident was regrettable and Parvovirus was a significant issue in the Wellington community.

He said people needed to be aware of the danger and have their pets vaccinated if possible.

Yes, a lack of vaccinating is the problem here. Shame on YOU Wellington pet owners! Perhaps if people were more responsible Wellington Council wouldn’t be forced to allow dogs to die unattended in their cages.

If you want to see a photo of the dead dog, click here.

If you want to send feedback to Wellington Council’s Mayor Rod Buhr try [email protected]