Family Cat accidently euthanized

Family's Cat Accidentally Euthanized
by Paul Ciampanelli Jul 27th 2009 11:59PM
Categories: Cats, Pets in the News, Loss and Healing
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Photo: Corbis
In medicine, even a minor problem can lead to complications or malpractices that result in the unexpected death of a loved one. We are, at least on some level, conditioned for the possibility. But we don't expect to bring an animal companion to a vet for something fairly routine and then find our pet unnecessarily and accidentally put down. But according to a report in the St. Petersburg Times, Maria Velez and her young son lived that very nightmare when their cat, Buddy, was euthanized by a local animal shelter after a paperwork mix-up.The unfortunate sequence of events that ended with Buddy's untimely death began when Velez asked a friend, Debra Yarzab, to look after Buddy while she was out of town. Yarzab agreed and went to Velez's house each day to feed and play with the lonesome but friendly cat. During one of these visits, Buddy bit Yarzab. She ignored it as a non-incident, but a few days later the bite wound had swelled, sending her to the doctor.By this time, Velez had returned home. Because Buddy hadn't been vaccinated and his bite required medical attention, the health department ordered Velez to bring him to Hernando County Animal Services for quarantine pending testing for rabies. The tests eventually showed that Buddy was disease free, and he was cleared to go home.Normally, this is where the story ends.
But when Velez went to the shelter to retrieve Buddy, she was presented with a different cat. Though the cat resembled Buddy in its color patterns, it was skinnier, had a different face, and was missing its tail. Further investigation revealed the terrible truth: Buddy was dead. He had been put down after being mixed up on paper with his skinny, tailless look-alike whose owner had given permission for euthanization."I was horrified," Velez said. "My poor baby.""This was just one of those tragedies that happens, but we don't want it to happen again," said Leana Teague, the animal services manager.Velez wasn't quite appeased by this non-apology. "They said, 'It happens. We don't live in a perfect world, and Buddy paid the ultimate price,'" Velez said. She explained that apart from barely taking responsibility for their mistake, the shelter showed little to no compassion for Velez's loss. "They're cruel,'" Yarzab said.The shelter claimed that they do feel badly about the incident. "It tears the staff up. I know it's more tragic for the owner, but it's terrible for us. It's not what we do," Teague said. She met with her staff today to discuss ways to improve communication and prevent further unnecessary tragedies.Do you have a similar story? Have you and your pet ever been the victims of unnecessary suffering due to negligence? Share your experience in the comments.