CJ was just fifteen months old and the pet of a Lavington (NSW) family.
She went missing on June 30. When owner Cody called the Albury pound he was told she wasn’t in their facility.
On Monday 8th June, Cody did exactly what we ask owners to do – go to the pound and look in person. And sure enough, CJ was being held, labelled as a ‘pit bull’ and marked for destruction.
Cody was told “he couldn’t have his dog back as it was a restricted breed, unless it was inspected by a breed assessor and reclassified.”
Cody agreed. But before an assessment could take place CJ was ‘oopsie’ killed by the pound.
Albury Council’s team leader for compliance John Mulvey confirmed the dog had been scheduled to be put down on Friday but pound staff had agreed to hold off until an independent assessment could be carried out.
“Unfortunately this information wasn’t conveyed quickly enough to avoid euthanasia prior to the assessment being carried out,” he said.
Council is unsympathetic, stating that “Council is confident that an independent assessment would have confirmed the dog’s breed as a pitbull”, so even if they made an “error”, its ok because the independent assessment would have confirmed their mistake was the right thing to do.
They also firmly place the blame for CJ’s death on the family since “it was important all dog owners microchip and register their animals”. So we’re supposed to believe that even though pound staff weren’t able to manage a simple cross-check of a lost pet register, and those same staff ‘oopsie’ killed CJ even after her family came to claim her… that when processing microchipped dogs, the pound’s practices are exemplary. Phooey.
Cj’s body was dumped at the neighbouring Albury tip.
Bloody disgusting – obviously no communication processes in place with this council. I really feel for this family and for the poor dog who has lost the opportunity to be loved and cared for by his family
what a bunch of mongrels!! I would have gone there in the night & broken him out if he was mine! there is no way the council would get hold of my dog & put it down without a shitfight from me!
This story made me feel ill. Imagine ‘finding’ your lost beloved pet, only to be told, ‘too late – we ‘re going to kill it’. And they did. It’s like some awful nightmare. My sympathy to the family involved. And shame on the council. I hope they get all the bad publicity they deserve.
What an absolute disgrace!!!! The council should be totally ashamed of themselves.
Then again uneducated, authority driven council staff, making decisions such as these. It was bound to end in tragedy.
How these kind of people sleep at night is totally beyond me.
Too often these days we hear about dogs being euthanised by mistake or held due to BSL. I think Albury Council need to have a change of staff because they clearly do not have a dogs welfare at heart. Shameful.
Sorry for your loss guys, you have the support of many folk around Australia because no matter what breed, it could be our dog next whether it’s a Maltese Terrier or Border Collie.
There are so many dogs in Pounds, you chose to euthanise a dog on it’s looks. Your BSL laws are crap, judged and condemned! Just typical of a business that lacks communication all around this Country I must add. My condolences to the family. There is nothing wrong with the Bully Breed.
This is so disturbing that it’s sickening, these people in charge have no compassion because they have no heart, this is so unfair. These people need to be accounted for their actions. What is the government doing??? we need to fight for the rights of our babies that can’t. :( :( :(
first what gives them the right just because the dog was or is a bitt bull..who the hell died an left them the boss,,,sounds to me they dont care for the welfare of their animals that come into their shealters,,you have nothing but COLD HEARTED people working there,,i sure u all have the blackest hearts ever..i hope this dogs soul hunts u for the rest of ur lives
Whether it was a pit bull or not, if they came to claim their dog they should get it back that day. Period.
This makes me sick and angry. It’s the deed not the breed.
This goes to show the BSL is just so wrong and this council needs to take a good look at who is working in their pound. This story sickens me and I feel so sorry for the family concerned and I believe some sort of apologize is needed or at least some form of compensation. I hope this council and other councils take note of what has happened here and not allow it to happen ever again to any pet under their care.
All I can say is what a bloody disgrace this is Albury Council. You should be ashamed that this mistake has ever ever happened. This beautiful baby dogs family should sue the ass off you unsympathetic bureaucrats …..
Rest in peace to the beautiful CJ and my sincere condolences to Cody and his family
Shame, shame shame!!!
This is such a poor example of inhumane behavior. Humans get away with playing God. Its a damned shame that POOR INNOCENT ANIMALS who are a reflection of the owner are put to death without further investigation.
I have 2 dogs and if this happened to me I would go Ballistic. I cannot imagine the pain and suffering this poor family are going through. From the photo’s that are shown this dog looked to be in an amazing condition, surely the council / pound should have seen that?
What about all the anti-social humans out there? can’t we euthanize them? They are more a threat to HUMANS than the “pit bulls” you class as illegal breeds. It’s tragic and disgusting. People that work in jobs where animals are concerned should be thought to think, look and know the condition of an animal is a reflection on whether is it homed or homeless….
HUMANS ARE THE DISGUSTING BREED. Seriously people in jobs that play god and make un-decided decisions should stoned… what horrendous humans…
I am disgusted to be classed as a human being.
This is unforgivable…not only did she not look like a pit bull ,but she did no wrong.. Shame on all involved with the death of this loved pup.
RIP BABY. RUN WILD RUN FREE
One more loving pet killed under BSL. This is unforgivable
About 20 years ago the Coldstream (near Melbourne) Pound did the same thing except there was no such thing as a restricted breed then. My friend spent 10 days looking for her late husband’s dog ringing all the pounds lost dogs home etc. but was told that her dog was not there. So she gave up and accepted the fact that her dog was gone; then a call comes from Coldstream Pound that her dog was there and had been for 10 days but had been classified as another breed. We jumped in the car and drove straight out there , about 25 minutes. When we arrived all the gates were open in the caged area and there were no dogs left there. They apologized and said that the dog had been put down in the last 10 minutes, the message that the owner was on the way had not been transferred. They said “sorry” when you are ready we will give you another dog.
Pitbulls are sentien loving beings.
Blame the owner, not the breed
Another blunder from a council…totally unacceptable. If the owner had already made contact why was the dog dumped at the tip. Something has to be done about councils playing GOD!!!!
ALL staff member involved in this should be ashamed of themselves!!!!! I hope everyone who is disgusted by this act is emailing Albury Council telling them exactly what you think of them. I know I have!
The recent march to the Victorian State Parliament is an example of what needs to happen in NSW as well as Queensland, South Australia, Western Australia and so on.
It would also be good to have some big petitions online, and be consistent in sending them to the various authorities. Even so, it might be better to suggest that the politicians be exempt from animal issues completely, and instead we should listen to the reasonable opinions of the Veterinary Association.
These kinds of incidents are only happening because of the useless Commonwealth Import Ban which has led to the restrictions in the first place.
I wrote to the council and they responded basically saying that CJ was put down because the owners hadn’t made contact in 7 days and after 7 days they have to euthanize un-microchipped dogs. Its complete bullshit. The family was in contact with the pound on 10 July (confirmed by council’s letter) when CJ was still alive. They agreed to hold her so that an independent breed assessment could be done but then the council “forgot” to tell the pound who euthanized her 2 days later. CJ didn’t die because of BSL, she died because some idiot didn’t pass on a life and death message! Unforgiveable.
Enough innocent darlings are dying because of BSL and now this idiot council has killed another pet because he was too incompetent to pass on such critical information. Makes my blood boil.
I can’t believe they dumped the dog at the local tip. This is just so heartless.