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kuhio98
01-15-2004, 06:35 PM
Following is an exerpt from the newspaper article resulting from Kuhio's death. Please keep it in mind if your baby is ever lost.
Kuhio deserved better. The shelter said her death was a "clerical error". Words that will haunt us forever. Please discuss microchipping with your vet. It would have saved Kuhio.

A Needless Death

A tragic series of events resulted in our family's beloved 17-year old cat "Kuhio" being put to death by Animal Control on August 6, 2002. We are sharing our story in hopes that this doesn’t happen to another family.

We found that Kuhio was missing on Sunday, August 4th and after canvassing the neighborhood, went to Animal Control on Monday, August 5th. My husband reported the cat missing and was told to look in a certain room. He looked in every cage but did not find her. He went back to the front desk and told them that she wasn't there and asked what he should do. He was told to fill out a Lost Pet Report - which he did and left.

He also put up a poster in our front yard offering a reward for information. On Tuesday, August 6th, neighbors notified us that they had called Animal Control on Sunday, August 4th about a cat matching Kuhio's description. This was confusing to us because Animal Control could not seem to find any record of this when my husband checked on August 5th. Since Animal Control was closed for the night, I left a message giving the name of the neighbors and the date that the cat was picked up.

The next morning, my husband and I went to Animal Control as soon as they opened on Wednesday and were shocked and horrified to learn that Kuhio had been put to death on Tuesday morning. We asked how it was possible when they could find no record of her on Monday and my husband had looked at all the cats they had. We were told that there is ANOTHER room (referred to as the Clinic) where new arrivals are kept while they are being checked for disease and illness. That's where Kuhio had been held. She was never going to be placed in the room where my husband was told to look because she was old and ill and would never be offered for adoption. When we explained that we weren't told about looking in the Clinic, we were told that it was our responsibility to ask questions about their procedures.

We offered several suggestions about how they could improve their process. We suggested posting a sign that informs the pet owner of all the places to search - ask about all the rooms where your pet may be held. Ask if your pet could still be in a transport vehicle. We suggested that the Lost Pet form include a header or footer with a checklist of all the possible areas/rooms where your pet may be. We suggested a database that matches up the Found Pet form with the Lost Pet form. In our case, both of the forms stated that the cat was from Brookridge Drive. A simple search in the database or a review of the forms would have saved our pet.

We removed Kuhio's collar because the tags had worn a bald patch around her neck. We take full responsibility for this action. We've since found a website (www.k9collars.com) that offers to embroider the name of your pet and your phone number on the collar. We're ordering them for friends and family with pets with hopes that no other family has to go thru something like this. Also, http://www.petrescue.com/petlibrary/pet-rescue/how-to-find-a-lost-cat-or-dog/ has a list of places to look and questions to ask. One of their tips is to check all areas of the shelter, including the infirmary... If we had known this in advance instead of relying on Animal Control to direct us, Kuhio would be home with her loving family today.

Several weeks after this happened, my husband went to Animal Control and adopted another cat. While he was there, he told Kuhio's story to various people there -- NONE of them had been told to check the Clinic for their lost pet. It appears they've not taken any of our suggestions.

http://s15.photobucket.com/albums/a373/kuhio98/Kuhio%20Halo%20Cammie/th_fb84f357.jpg

slick
01-15-2004, 09:51 PM
Kuhio - that's beautiful and yet so sad. What a gorgeous kitty and I just know that she's up there watching down on you.

Thank you for the links for the collars. I think I order some for Christmas presents 2004.

Hugs to you.

krazyaboutkatz
01-16-2004, 12:39 AM
This is such a sad story and could have been prevented if the public was aware that there was another room to check for lost pets.:( Kuhio was a gorgeous cat and sure didn't deserve to die this way. RIP sweet Kuhio.

Kirsten
01-16-2004, 07:53 AM
I'm speechless... :( This is so very sad, and so unnecessary! :(

Poor little Kuhio, rest in peace.

Kirsten

Julie Grove
01-17-2004, 03:19 AM
This is just a terrible story and I find it truly heartbreaking because it seems just so unfair.

I assume that Animal Control is a service provided by the State? Well, shame on them - not for what they do because I'm sure they do good work - but for their attitude. It is their responsibility to guide people and ensure they are fully informed. I wonder if your suggestions were put in writing to the AC? If not, perhaps you could still do this and I would suggest writing to the most senior person is charge. I wonder if they were aware of this newspaper article?

Kuhio was very beautiful and that photograph is just very very sweet. I am trying to think of a good reason why this may have happened to Kuhio, but I'm struggling to come up with anything other than I can only imagine that she was much needed at RB. Bless you little Kuhio.

bisi.cat
01-17-2004, 06:23 AM
What a sad story!!!
It saddens me even more that sweet Kuhio was put to sleep at the shelter only because of her age and that "old age" means being unadoptable...I hope there will be a change of mind one day...

Thanks for sharing the story with us and reminding us of having our beloved pets microchipped...
...and RIP sweet Kuhio!!!

Killearn Kitties
01-17-2004, 08:02 AM
What a desperately sad story this is. And how difficult for you to come to terms with Kuhio having been in Animal Control all the time.
Rest in peace beautiful girl.

ramanth
01-19-2004, 08:56 AM
Lovely Kuhio, reading your story again makes me so sad. :( RIP sweet one.

kuhio98
02-17-2004, 12:48 PM
Thank you for the kind things you've said about Kuhio. We continue to get the word out about how we lost her. We have adopted a "cage" in her name at the no-kill shelter. New arrivals are isolated in a cage until they are given a clean bill of health, spayed/neutered and microchipped. Afterwards, they are released into the general population or kept in a completely separate room if they test positive. How we wish that Kuhio had been taken to this shelter instead of where she ended up.

rg_girlca
02-17-2004, 04:01 PM
Omg how heartbreaking. I totally hold the Animal Control responsible. They should have told your hubby about ALL the rooms that were available. This was so unneccessary. My heart truly breaks for you Kuhio. Thank you for sharing your story so we could all learn from it. I am truly sorry you had to go through this.

Rest in Peace dear sweet Kuhio.

catmandu
02-19-2004, 08:51 AM
There is so much indifference in these places , and ion the Nurrsing Homes , as well . The People staffing the Animal Control , dont seem , in a lot of cases , to care much for the Animals , that they are being paid to help/ And there is little , if any communication, among the workers there. That is a sad death , for such a lovely Cat.:( :( :( :( :( :( RIP Kuhio! Now A Cat Angel!

Lorraine
02-22-2004, 09:10 PM
How sad. I feel very bad for what happened to poor Kuhio. Rest in peace.

kuhio98
03-07-2004, 12:50 PM
Kuhio has been chosen as Pet of the Week on the Pet Whispers website: www.petwhispers.com/ (http://www.petwhispers.com/)

The story of how we lost her is in "Paul's Room". We continue to tell her story so that others looking for a lost pet will be better prepared and know what questions to ask and we want to spread the word about pet microchipping. Such a small, simple thing would have saved Kuhio and spared us all so much anguish.

The "Pet of the Week" link tells of "signs" we've experienced since her death on August 6, 2002.

Please remember Kuhio's story if you or a friend are searching for a missing pet. Please discuss microchipping with your vet. How we wish we had known of this technology sooner.

catcrazylady
03-08-2004, 07:56 AM
I read this the other day and haven't even been able to respond. This is not only very sad but it was so unnecessary! I can only imagine the pain you must have felt when you discovered what happened. I don't think words can ever explain just how upsetting I find this. I'm so so sorry.
I would like to say that you are doing a wonderful thing by trying to prevent this from happening to anyone else. There are so many things that happen in this world that we don't understand but there is always a reason. The needless loss of Kuhio is very tragic but you have turned a horrible thing into a mission of prevention. You may never know just how many others you save by doing this.
Look down with pride Kuhio because your family may save many so that your death was not in vain.
GodSpeed precious Kuhio!

QueenScoopalot
03-27-2004, 06:55 AM
What a tragic ending for your sweet baby. :( Have you thought of posting your suggestions about A.C. in petstores and vets offices? I have a few here that a microchipped, but also are incapable of going outside. Gabriel (my angel) was born with no hind legs (stumps) and I wouldn't dream of ever letting him smell freedom again. He was one of three that I made sure disappeared from a former backyard neighbor. :mad: Stupid child was letting three kittens outside to romp, and one by one Impy & Nickki & Gabriel vanished without a trace. All are handicapped from birth (Nickki & Imp have half leg in back). Through a local program I was able to alter, vaccinate and microchip several here. Keep spreading the news about the importance of identification for pets. I'm so sorry to hear about Kuhio. I'd be furious if this happened to my beloved pet. :( Jan

leslie flenner
03-27-2004, 05:01 PM
Is gabriel the one i grabbed! no, i think i grabbed a female calico kitten from that yard-? refresh me!
AND animal control should be held legally accountable for putting to sleep a cat who's owner's were right there!!! I would sue the bast...
Reminds me of moosmom's plight with the shelter that put down cat's with ringworm for CS!

Smarties
02-27-2010, 05:42 PM
I'm so sorry!

Rest in peace little Kuhio. You didn't deserve this!!!! This is soo cruel. :eek:

Thank you,
Smarties