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Shelter Shows Off Dog Who Survived Compactor
Animal May Have Survived Botched Euthanization

POSTED: 3:39 PM EST December 11, 2003
UPDATED: 5:02 PM EST December 11, 2003

Cats may have nine lives, but one dog in New Jersey has at least two.

Slideshow: Pictures Of The Lucky Dog At The Shelter

First, this German shepherd-Lab mix was given what was supposed to be a lethal injection by animal-control officers in the town of Perth Amboy.

Following the injection, the dog, which was thought to be dead, was put in a plastic bag and into a trash compactor.

The dog survived the euthanasia procedure, woke up and clawed her way out of the bag.

She was eventually found in a nearby landfill and is now in the care of a local animal shelter, recovering from her ordeal.

"I took her off the animal control truck, she was visibly shaken," said Linda Blumig of Blumig Kennels. "But today was her best day so I'm allowing people to come and see her a little bit. I'm being very protective of her, so I felt that today was a good day because she was feeling better."

FeedRoom


Dog Rescued From Garbage




Officials say they have received more than 50 calls from people interested in adopting the dog.

"Obviously, it's a miracle," Middlesex County SPCA Officer Michael Iovine said. "The dog was euthanized with drugs, presumed dead, put into a plastic bag and then a trash compactor and compressed, and survived that. It's just amazing it lived through that whole mess."

The SPCA is investigating whether Perth Amboy Animal Control Officer William Paul followed the procedures in attempting to put the dog down.

The 5-year-old shepherd-Lab mix had been owned by a city woman, who brought the dog to the pound on Dec. 3 to be euthanized because she was moving to a place that did not allow pets, Iovine said.

The dog was found in 5 feet of trash in the back of a garbage trailer Dec. 4 after apparently clawing through the plastic bag it had been placed in.

City Police Director Michael Kohut said his department was investigating the incident as a personnel matter; the Animal Control Office is part of the Police Department. The SPCA is conducting its own inquiry.

Civil penalties and disorderly persons charges could be brought if the SPCA finds negligence, Iovine said.

The practice of placing a euthanized animal in a landfill is acceptable so long as the body is properly disposed of, authorities said.

Iovine said Paul recalled giving the dog two shots -- one to sedate her and one to stop her heart -- then listening with a stethoscope for a heartbeat until he heard none.

Paul has worked closely with the SPCA during his 20 years on the job, and there's never been a problem, Iovine said.
Copyright 2003 by NBC10.com. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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Personally, I am most bothered by the fact that only NOW people want to adopt this dog. The only reason they want to is so they can say they have the dog that survived euthanasia.

If these people really want to adopt a dog, I hope they look at the hundreds of other dogs that need a home once this one isn't available anymore.

And you guys are right, the dog should have been put up for adoption initially. It said she was abandoned at the shelter on Dec. 3 and euthanized on the 4th, so that doesn't give her much of a chance.

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I belive people can take their dogs into the shelter and ask for them to be put to sleep immedietly. They just pay a small fee?? I belive. Any how it upsets me terribly what this poor dog had to go thru so that people WANT to adopt it :evil: :cry: I think that 50 people calling just because this one dog is so special is ridiculous. There are probably 49 other dogs sitting in that same shelter that even though now they are not miracle dogs they still could be during their long lives ahead. The 49 people who are not going to get this miracle dog probably are not going to even consider another poor soul from that shelter....until it survives what the lab mix survived! This is ridiculous, sad, horrible, and in some bitter sweet way happy. One dog is now going to have a 3rd maybe even 4th chance at life.

I am just hoping that at least half of those 49 people who wanted the 'miracle' dog will realize that all dogs can preform miracles and check out some of the other darlings in the shelter.

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No kidding! :evil: Maybe rescue shelters need to start making up "miracle" stories to make people want them.

Here's a miracle story for you. A puppy is bought by people who have no idea how to be good owners. They are ignorant about dogs and succeed in thouroughly confusing and frustrating their puppy. They encourage the dog to continue "cute" but bad habits until they are sick of it and than blame the bad behavior on the dog. They ignore the dog and make it live outside or even inside the house but with basically no positive human contact. Finally they dump the dog in a shelter. Here's the miracle part: Somehow this dog CAN STILL trust people and love them like no one has ever done him a wrong turn. The dog shows amazing forgiveness and is adopted by a good person who gives the dog a happy loving home. To me, that is a miracle.

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Guest Anonymous

:o :o

I agree with the above posts...

maybe the cold weather shocked it back to life? :niewiem:

I know there was this little girl who... no wait... nevermind, I don't think she died, but I can't remember :roll: :niewiem:

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My thoughts exactly Kendalyn, and while some people dont agree with the belief in God, I will say this anyway.

God protects all of us, animals included, and maybe he gave them the ability to forgive us to teach us to forgive and love each other. Maybe their whole purpose in being is to teach us, who are stuck on ourselves and
want everything our way, at everything elses expense, that we are NOT the supreme beings of the universe. We all know of the great and wonderful things dogs can do, to protect us and care for us...it's just recently been discovered that dogs and cats can help prevent heart attacks, depression, they have served us when we are blind and deaf,
asking nothing more than that we love them and care for them. They have found us under snow drifts, in burned out buildings (911) and under earthquake damage...so my question is...HOW COULD ANYONE HURT THEM?

I firmly believe that what goes around, comes around. And those of us who have loved, cared for, rescued, and had pets in our lives, will see
them again at the end. And I believe it works in our favor, in the long run...

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How horrible for this poor dog. Human nature is strange...a few months ago at the Vet clinic I work at we had a cute little border collie mix come in to have bullets removed from its head and to take care of the cuts where it had been beaten by a shovel...apparently the dog was tied to a tree, beat with the shovel and then shot in the head...the dog survived and chewed threw the rope and ran to the nearest home. The people who found the dog could not keep her, but, they did pay for some of the Vet care....the Vets took care of the rest. When the story of this dog hit the papers we had hundreds of calls from people wanting to adopt...confusing...especially as we have hundreds of dogs at the local shelter looking for homes....it seems that once a dog has been in the media and it has a well known sad story behind it...every one wants it!

It is sad for the poor dog that the women chose to have it put to sleep instead of trying to place it in another home...that is sick...some people are so vain they really beleive their dog would die of lonliness without them...so instead of rehoming they choose to euthanize...very sad, and very conceited. Most dogs just want love and structure in their life...

kendalyn, very good post...I see more people ruining their dogs due to spoiling them and giving them no structure...no structure is confusing for a dog...but, there are alot of people out there which allow their dogs to do rule the rooost and do all the things that drive the owners nuts, they are afraid to stop them as they feel the dog won't "like" them any more...finally it gets so out of control....a dog with no guidance will soon take over and then problems become over abundant...finally the owners get fed up and decide the dog is a "problem" and have it put to sleep! sad, but happens too often.
At the Vet clinic I work at it is our policy to not euthanize a healthy animal...if the dog had behavior problems we have an animal behaviorist who works for us work with the people...if the dog has already bitten some one...there is nothing we can do at that point, if the owners request a dog which has bitten to be put down we have to....even if it is an obvious behavior problem which can be traced to the owner.

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[quote]they are afraid to stop them as they feel the dog won't "like" them any more...finally it gets so out of control....[/quote]

I have seen this repeatedly with friends who's dominant dogs I had to break because they allowed the dog free run of everything. "He's so cute laying there on the bed, and he looks so sad when I pull him off..." "He loves our food and wont eat his own" "gee, I dont know, he always got off the bed before...today he showed me his teeth..." and then
"PLEASE HELP US!! He is threatening to bite!! My husband had to sleep on the couch last night!!" or, "he snarls at me if I get too close to his food..."
"he wont let me pick up his toys and put them away..." "he snapped at my daughter when she picked up one of his toys..." (and where were YOU
during this episode???????)

and over and over I tell them what is wrong with this picture, and it's not until the dog has become a threat that they finally start to listen...

I had to distance muzzle some of those dogs to regain control...that's how bad it had gotten....

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  • 2 weeks later...

[size=6][b]Criminal charges cite dog 'torture'[/b][/size]


Published in the Home News Tribune 12/20/03
By KEN SERRANO
STAFF WRITER

PERTH AMBOY: The city's longtime animal-control officer drew animal-cruelty charges and was suspended without pay yesterday in connection with a botched attempt to euthanize a dog later found in an East Brunswick landfill.

William "Billy" Paul was charged with torturing and tormenting an animal and inflicting cruelty on a living creature as well as two accompanying civil charges by the Middlesex County SPCA, said SPCA officer Michael Iovine.

The case is scheduled to be heard in Perth Amboy Municipal Court in mid-January, Iovine said.

The dog, a 5-year-old shepherd-Labrador mix whose plight has drawn national attention, survived not only the attempt to put it down but also passed uninjured through a trash compactor before being found Dec. 4 in back of a trash truck at Edgeboro Landfill. It apparently clawed through the plastic bag it had been placed in.

A city woman moving to a place that did not allow pets brought the dog into the city pound the day before it was found, Iovine said.

Yesterday, the city announced it suspended Paul from his $39,293 job without pay pending the completion of an internal investigation by the Police Department, which oversees Paul and the city pound. But the city, in a statement from Mayor Joseph Vas' office, made it clear it is seeking Paul's termination.

Paul has worked as the animal-control officer since Jan. 1, 1985, a city spokesman said.

Perth Amboy has contracted licensed animal-care providers and is using volunteers to keep the city's shelter open, the statement added.

Paul, who can appeal the city's actions, could not be reached yesterday. He declined to respond to questions surrounding the investigation earlier this week, but told a reporter, "I love my animals. I'd do anything for my four-legged friends."

Iovine said the two disorderly-persons charges carry penalties of up to 6 months in jail and fines of up to $1,000. The civil charges each carry fines of $250. Community service and restitution for the care of the dog after its discovery at Edgeboro also could result from a conviction.

He declined to give details about the investigation yesterday.

But Iovine said last week that Paul, in an interview, said he followed proper procedures. Paul gave the dog two shots, one to sedate her, the other to stop her heart. And he listened with a stethoscope for a heartbeat and did not hear one, Iovine said.

But an agent for the state SPCA, Joseph Biermann, said Paul's responses during a deposition in the city yesterday morning provided probable cause for the summonses issued by the county SPCA.

"It's evident that he didn't use sufficient drugs to put the animal down, and it's evident that he did not properly listen for a heartbeat in a quiet environment," he said.

Biermann said the correct protocol calls for waiting 30 minutes after injecting the fatal drugs before ensuring the animal's heart has stopped.

He said Paul listened to the dog's heartbeat in "the general population where there were dogs barking."

As for the dose, "You're supposed to inject 'X' amount of drug for every pound the dog weighs, but there was no scale in the facility," Biermann said. "He basically had to guess at the weight. How can you apply the proper drugs if you say, 'I think we have a 40-pound dog?' "

But Biermann said Paul may not have received proper training.

The information discovered at the deposition "could potentially lead to further investigation into how the city handles the shelter and its policies and procedures," Biermann said.

He added the drugs used on the dog and the stethoscope have not yet been tested for deficiencies.

The state SPCA and Middlesex SPCA ran concurrent investigations, but charges most likely will come only from the county organization, Biermann said.

The dog, nicknamed Lucky by some, remained this week at Blumig Kennels in East Brunswick. More than 150 people from as far away as California have called seeking to adopt the canine.

Ken Serrano: (732) 565-7212; [email][email protected][/email]

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I really don't see the purpose in crucifying the animal control officer who attempted to put the dog down. It sounds like conditions in the shelter weren't very good and neither was his training. Why don't they try to correct that instead of issuing criminal charges against someone who doesn't sound like a criminal to me? The officer wasn't trying to inflict undue harm to the animal. I'm sure he genuinly thought that the dog was dead. I think the dog should have been put up for adoption first but even if it had, there is still a pretty big chance that the dog would have had to be put down anyway. There just aren't enough resources to care for all the abandoned and dumped animals that are out there.

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Guest Anonymous

Do we know why the women chose to have the dog put to sleep (other then she was moving).

My boss had his dog put to sleep a few weeks ago and I have horrified when I found out (they had brought a farm and the dog was chasing the cattle - they live in the city during the week and go to the farm on the weekends). I was later told they tried to rehome it but the dog also suffered from seperation anxiety and fretted badly. It was in fact kinder to have the dog put to sleep rather then suffer as it was.

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there Are unfortunately many herding dogs who end up being put down. Herding, while inherited, still has to be taught to an extent, for the dog to do it correctly. Usually its taught by another dog, while the new one is a
puppy and can learn faster. Some herders start to chase, and nip, and some eventually kill because they dont know any better. While it may have been "convenient" to have this dog downed, there may have been other issues as well....

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Of course! :) That is very true... its also very sad and disgusting to think that its easier for people to kill their "pet" than to train it. God forbid you spend some extra time with and put a little effort into your dog.

"Man's best friend" obviously.... :roll:

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