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TX-Garland animal shelter illegally killed cats, dogs, records show

Vicki

Administrator
DMN Investigates: Garland animal shelter illegally killed cats, dogs, records show

08:44 AM CDT on Saturday, September 19, 2009

By KATIE FAIRBANK / The Dallas Morning News
kfairbank@dallasnews.com / The Dallas Morning News
Ray Leszcynski contributed to this report.

The Garland animal shelter has been gassing young, sick or elderly cats and dogs in violation of state law, probably causing them a slower, more stressful death, records obtained by The Dallas Morning News show.

The shelter also may have violated city rules on how long animals must be kept before being euthanized. According to the records, some animals were killed within minutes of arriving at the shelter.

Mayor Ronald Jones, who received details of the newspaper's findings on Thursday, said the city would investigate.

"I take this matter very seriously. I'm in the mix now," Jones said.

Garland is the largest city in Texas to use a carbon monoxide chamber to euthanize animals, making it a target of those who believe the practice is inhumane. Most shelters in Texas use lethal injection.

The American Veterinary Medical Association and the state do not oppose gassing, but have set limits on its use. For example, the Texas Administrative Code says carbon monoxide cannot be used on animals younger than 4 months or elderly or sick animals because the "time required to achieve death in these animals may be significantly increased."

Using carbon monoxide on such animals is a Class B misdemeanor, punishable by up to 180 days in jail and a $2,000 fine for each charge.

"There are rules, and they completely ignore them even if the rules are shoved in their face," said a former Garland shelter worker, who asked not to be identified. "What we do in animal control is not easy. It's not simple. But the rules are there to protect the pets."

The newspaper provided details of shelter records from 2007 to Jason Chessher, deputy director of Garland's health department, and Diana Oats, animal services manager.

"If we thought an employee was intentionally violating state law," Chessher said in an e-mail Friday, "we'd turn it over to the proper authorities. Otherwise, it would be dealt with as an internal discipline matter."

The News has requested, under Texas public information law, copies of all shelter records from 2006 through September 2009.

A sampling of records from 2007 was provided to the newspaper by sources who requested anonymity.

Sick kittens

On June 1, 2007, five kittens were brought to Garland's Abe Tuggle Animal Shelter and Adoption Center at 9:31 p.m. Shelter records show they were gassed between 9:32 p.m. and 9:43 p.m.

Photos of the dead kittens, which also were provided to the newspaper, show them to be only a few inches long with partially opened eyes. Shelter records list the kittens' ages as "0.0" and indicate that they were "sick." No owner was named.

Chessher said lethal injection should be used on animals younger than 4 months "by policy." Sometimes animals are euthanized quickly after they're brought in, he added, if the veterinarian suspects they have a communicable disease.

But the state code prohibits gassing young or sick animals because the time it takes them to die "may be significantly increased."

"In animals with decreased respiratory function, carbon monoxide levels rise slowly, making it more likely that these animals will experience elevated levels of stress," the code also says.

In another case from the 2007 records, a 4-month-old chow was gassed after his owner brought him to the shelter because he "bites."

Lawsuit settlement

Lynette Flint, a former Garland shelter worker, claimed in a whistle-blower lawsuit that Garland euthanized animals without holding them for the required amount of time. She settled her lawsuit against the city last year for an undisclosed amount.

"The shelter is off site and out of mind," said Flint's attorney, Donald Feare. "The management is at City Hall, not at the shelter. They could be slaughtering human beings, and they would never know it."

The shelter has disciplined employees "probably around a half dozen times" for incorrectly euthanizing animals in the past three years, Chessher said.

"Discipline may be in the form of education or a verbal warning," Chessher said, refusing to discuss personnel matters or say whether the employees still work at the shelter.

In fiscal 2007, the Garland shelter euthanized 6,334 animals out of a total population of 10,490, according to the city's Animal Services Division.

Debate over carbon monoxide euthanasia has grown in recent years, with at least 14 states outlawing the practice.

"As a profession, we have a moral obligation to take the best care of animals we can with the allocations we receive," said Jay Sabatucci, animal services director in Arlington. "If we don't take care of them, they suffer."

Garland shelter officials say that using carbon monoxide is easier on workers and more efficient because four animals can be gassed at one time. Chessher also said using gas costs about 4 cents less per animal than lethal injection.

"The primary reason is the human toll," council member Rick Williams said in a Sept. 12 open letter. "Even Garland's gas procedure is often rotated among staff which helps reduce stress."

Williams also said that the state inspects the facility annually and that in the last three inspections "not a single deficiency was noted."

Shelley Stonecipher, a veterinarian with the Texas Department of State Health Services, which oversees shelter inspections, said the state focuses on education rather than enforcement.

"We're not in there every day," she said. "If we got a report, we would follow up with the shelter and let them know what the law says."

About 40 people attended the Garland City Council meeting Tuesday night to urge that the shelter stop gassing animals. The council voted to add two members to its Animal Services Advisory Committee but did not change the city's euthanasia policy.

Staff writer Ray Leszcynski contributed to this report.

http://www.txcn.com/sharedcontent/d...shelter_19ent.ART.State.Edition2.4c07a0f.html