When the Davidson County Animal Shelter got their paperwork mixed up they mistakenly killed the wrong dog (Blaze). It could have been a cat. The owner complained and they offered $300 plus a replacement dog. The owner, Joey Varker, is insulted. I’d feel the same way.
You simply can’t compensate the guardian of a loved animal like that. What’s particularly galling is that Blaze really shouldn’t have been there in the first place (as far as I am concerned). He had nipped a youngster probably in play and had to be placed in quarantine as a precaution against rabies.
Blaze was a playful puppy. It is the sort of nip in play that could easily happen and does happen all the time with cats.
Does everyone who gets bitten by a cat in the US take their cat to an animal shelter for quarantine? I can’t imagine it.
“Due to the overwhelming number of animals coming in and a limited staff, especially on weekends, this dog was crisscrossed with another dog scheduled to be euthanized that probably looked similar. It was an unfortunate mistake.”
Assistant Davidson County Manager Casey Smith said, according to the Winston-Salem Journal
“We were offered another dog from the shelter which is a insult to my wife me and our 3 children after talking to the city manager we were offered $300 in compensation for our dog which was an even bigger insult how do you put a price on a family member which our dog was!!!!”
Joey Varker, of Lexington, N.C. the dog’s guardian.
The $64,000 question is, “How do you compensate someone under these circumstances?”
It has to be monetary plus a replacement. So what is the number? It would have to be nearer $5,000 or something of that order to quell the emotional pain of losing a beloved companion animal. What do you think?
