Error In Paperwork Results In Dog’s Death

Ozzie had his faults, but he didn’t deserve to die.

So says the director of the Spokane Humane Society, which accidentally euthanized the 6-year-old Rottweiler earlier this month.

The death was the result of an error by an unidentified worker who failed to fill out vital paperwork.

“We messed up,” said Dona Van Gelder, director of the human society. “We should not have done that.”

The humane society is now offering Ozzie’s owner, Marlene Xhurape, a new purebred Rottweiler puppy.

That’s not good enough, said Xhurape, who lives at 1612 E. Dalton. She’s considering suing.

“It’s just so stupid,” said Xhurape. “How can I tell my kids their dog is dead…because of a staff error?”

Xhurape describes the dog as a lovable pooch who used to let her daughter, 5-year-old Chantel, ride him. Two dozen neighbors signed a petition saying the dog was not a threat.

But according to SpokAnimal C.A.R.E., the dog was dangerous, a designation that put him in the humane society’s custody.

On March 30, a neighbor called SpokAnimal, the city dog catcher, complaining that Ozzie had threatened her 3-year-old granddaughter.

The dog had been labeled potentially dangerous in February, after menacing an animal control officer. There have been numerous complaints about the dog, according to police reports.

SpokAnimal officers collected the dog and delivered it to the humane society at 6607 N. Havana. Xhurape signed the citation for having a dangerous dog and immediately appealed the infraction.

She was given an April 11 appeal date before the city hearing examiner. She called the Humane Society April 7, more than a week after Ozzie was impounded, to retrieve the dog.

She was told Ozzie had been euthanized the day before, with an injection in the foreleg. He was among other dogs killed to make room in the overcrowded shelter, said Van Gelder.

According to humane society policy, dogs should be held two weeks before being killed and only after the owner, when known, is contacted.

A worker failed to note on Ozzie’s tag that he had an owner. It’s unclear why he was euthanized eight days after he was impounded.

Van Gelder has offered Xhurape a pair of free dogs and complimentary licenses. But the society has offered no cash settlement.

“There is no pain or suffering that can be awarded for an animal, according to our insurance company,” said Van Gelder.

As a dog owner herself, Van Gelder said she wouldn’t expect a settlement. “I wouldn’t expect anything, because nothing could replace it,” she said.

Exactly, said Xhurape.

“My kids have been raised with that dog,” she said. “What do I tell them?”

, DataTimes