Puppy's survival raises questions about euthanasia

This is from WTHR - 12/3/07

Puppy's survival raises questions about euthanasia

David MacAnally/Eyewitness News

Rushville - The investigation into a how a puppy may have survived four days in a cooler could be complete Wednesday. A worker at Rushville's Animal Shelter found the dog among euthanized animals are kept, and she says it's not the first time it happened.

Rushville's animal shelter can be a second chance for a dog or cat needing a new home, or the place they're euthanized. It's a fact of life at many crowded animal shelters, but a staffer says what happened here should not happen anywhere.

"It's unlike anything you could imagine. I still have nightmares, I'm sure Gabby still has nightmares too," said shelter worker Jamie Glandon.

Gabby is a German Shepherd/Mastiff mix puppy. On November 16th, Glandon says she was taking a dead cat to a walk-in cooler.

"I opened the freezer door and this little dog popped her head up out of the barrel," she said.

She says the director gave Gabby a lethal injection four days before, but she thinks Gabby got the wrong dose.

"Gabby was neck deep," Glandon said. "She had other animals buried on top of her."

For four days, she says, the puppy was in a barrel with other dogs that had been euthanized. She says other dogs survived lethal injections in late summer, so staff raised the cash to buy scales and a stethoscope so the director of the shelter could get the dose per pound right. But then she says the Gabby incident happened.

Mayor Robert Bridges says he's getting lots of feedback about the story.

"Death threats," he said. "People would just as soon see me dead."

The mayor blames the reaction on Internet accounts of Gabby's story. He ordered an investigation that should be done by Wednesday. He's not sure about the failed euthanasia cases from the summer, but Gabby's case, he says, "under the conditions we found I do not see how that would have happened."

An outside vet reportedly saw Gabby after her rescue and found her body temperature inconsistent with four days in a cooler. The mayor defends the shelter director, and says outside vets have "never seen a malicious act come out of our animal shelter. Mr. Hill basically doesn't have a malicious bone in his body and would not do anything intentional to harm an animal."

Glandon and the shelter manager are on administrative leave until the investigation is complete. Gabby is in a rescue home.

Web sites report two rallies are planned Tuesday at the courthouse and the police station in Rushville.

The following are comments from Justice for Gabby - the website set up by shelter volunteers, supporters and friends of Jaime.

I would like to comment on Mayor Bridges statement made to Channel 13 news on Dec. 3, 2007 in defense of Jamie since she is unable to reply herself.

Mayor Bridges says, " He's not sure about the failed euthanasia cases from the summer." I'm sorry Mayor but you are lying. This was brought to your attention at least twice before that I know of. You assured Jamie that this matter would be looked into and the proper steps would be taken to make sure this didn't happen again. And can you tell us why you were looking at the ground and fumbling with your words during this interview? Your suppose to be a Mayor of an entire city, why do you stumble when you speak?

 Mayor Bridges also says, "Mr. Hill basically doesn't have a malicious bone in his body and would not do anything intentional to harm an animal." The Mayor defends the shelter director, and says outside vets have "never seen a malicious act come out of our animal shelter." Again Mr. Mayor how many animals has Jack taken to the vet in the last 8 years compared to the number that Jamie has taken in the past three months? Nobody is accusing Jack of being malicious but when your procedures aren't working, and there is no effort to change, apathy is not an excuse for these animals suffering needlessly.

Comments are welcome and can be left on the blog - Euthanized Dog Found Four Days Later Alive in Freezer - Petition