Prince George's County Animal Shelter (MD) .... GRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR

[emily_the_spoiled]

I had made arrangements to adopt CH kitty (Peanut) from them and he was supposed to go in an be neutered today. Instead I get a phone call telling me that yesterday he had been accidently pulled and put to sleep.

Peanut was supposed be home for Thanksgiving but instead he is at the Rainbow Bridge :(:(

[Pinot's Mom]

I'm so sorry. :( You did your best.

That shelter is where Baltimore SPCA pulled Pinot from before we adopted her.

[emily_the_spoiled]

I wasn't overly impressed with my dealings with them and this makes me think even less of them!

[krazyaboutkatz]

This is just horrible.:mad: I wonder how many other times that this has happened there.:(

[emily_the_spoiled]

They said while it does not happen often, it does happen occasionally. I have offered to work with them to re-design the system (I do that with hospitals), but I am getting the feeling they do not want that.

[Karen]

Oh, Cheryl, our condolences. If there's anything we could do, let us know!

[emily_the_spoiled]

Thank you. This was definitely not a great way to start the holiday weekend. :(

[phesina]

I am so very, very sorry. This is so sad, so tragic, so awful.. and so unnecessary.

God bless you and bring you comfort and peace. You and Peanut share a great love which will never die.

Rest in peace, dearest beloved Peanut, at the Bridge to await the Grand Reunion.. One Fine Day.

:love::love::love::love::love::love::love::love:

[lvpets2002]

:( I Am So So Sorry To Hear This.. RIP Wittle Precious Baby Peanut.. However This Happens More Often Than You Wish To Think..

[Catty1]

Oh no, oh NO! Do they answer to any higher authority? It won't heal your broken heart...omg...but surely your offer to redesign their system should be made public. Call the media.

It doesn't happen "too often"? One "accidental" death is enough.:(

I am so, so, so sorry. :(:( I can only hope that a positive change will come out of this.

[emily_the_spoiled]

While the animal shelter does answer to a "higher authority" there are so many other things wrong in that county that they are not high on the list of "important" issues...

But what is interesting is that hospitals pay hundreds of dollars per hour for my time, I have a very strong feeling that they will turn it down. I figured that while I lost Peanut I could put the experience to good use and it might help other people to not go through the same thing.

[Catty1]

A letter to the paper might be in order.

[phesina]

Why don't you write or e-mail the people who run or oversee that shelter, lay out your professional qualifications and make your offer in very specific terms what you have in mind to do. Maybe that would get through to some people who might actually take it seriously and consider it worth acting on.

Perhaps some communication with the local news media wouldn't be a bad idea either. A story about this heartbreaking "mistake" they made, a run-down on the kinds of things wrong with that system that would allow for such a thing to happen, and your offers, with your full professional qualifications, to work on fixing it up might attract a LOT of attention, resulting in some pressure to make this happen.

God bless you and dearest Peanut Angel.

:love::love::love::love::love::love::love::love:

[mrspunkysmom]

I am so sorry to hear of this. Peanut knows you tried to help her.

I agree with all of the advice. Perhaps you can save more lives this way.

[sallyandsnowx]

Oh that is just so sad. I am so sorry. :(

I agree with bringing this situation to the public. If it happened to Peanut, it may happen again to another animal who was soon to arrive to their forever home. :(

[kaycountrygal]

I am so sorry; how sad. That would make me so mad and upset. The place certainly needs a new better way of keeping up with the animals.

[chocolatepuppy]

How sad.:( I'm so sorry.

[catmandu]

Sad to say thee are some shelters where they really haveno feeling for the animals at all. Our oca SPCA has had some issues as well although not as bad as with Peanut.
That is a tragedy that someone robbed you and Dear Peanut of years of love and companionship:(
All of Our Awesome Angels are meeting little Peanut now and he will be with you in Paradise.
One Fine Day:love:

[maerlyn]

I have tears, thinking of Peanut, who should've been home, being loved by his furever family. Well, you're *still* his furever family, and he most certainly is being loved where he is, but still. . . this is unutterably sad. Unless I'm mistaken, that county is one of the richest in the country, so it's an abomination that they are not no-kill. When will the human race ever evolve. . .?

[emily_the_spoiled]

So the adoption group I work with contacted the shelter for an explanation. This is the response I received from them:

"> What happened with Peanut was simple human error. Peanut and another cat at the shelter resembled one another very closely in appearance. It was the other cat that was on the euth list that day. The kennel manager didn't cross-check the paperwork carefully enough and that's how Peanut wound up being PTS. I know the kennel manager as well - and she's beating herself up for what was a big, grave, tragic mistake - and one unfortunately that could have been prevented as Peanut's paperwork was in order, correct, and aligned with his control number.
>
> The shelter has had a series of meetings to discuss this particular issue. The goal, obviously, is that it NOT happen again and that the shelter institute additional checks and verifications when any cat is scheduled for the euth list."

[Catty1]

Not that you want to - but is there any chance of adopting the kitty that was on the list? Or is it too late?

[emily_the_spoiled]

I thought about it, but the kitty is healthy and I try to adopt only special needs kitties. (Peanut was a CH kitty) But if he doesn't get a home I will take him in anyways.

[mrspunkysmom]

I thought about it, but the kitty is healthy and I try to adopt only special needs kitties. (Peanut was a CH kitty) But if he doesn't get a home I will take him in anyways.

I had wondered the same. Is the other kitty still around? Let's hope so.

[emily_the_spoiled]

I did ask after him and was told that he was not put down. The woman I talked with said that she couldn't do it with everything else that happened. I also asked her to keep me informed of what happens with him. If I don't hear back from her this week that he got a home, I will see about bringing him into the "herd".

[Catty1]

I hope it all works out best for you and this kitty.:love: