Earlier in October, Coco, a 4-year-old dog that lived in Detroit with her owner, Melissa Jackson, had escaped. Coco crawled beneath a fence into the neighbor’s yard, where the dog bit a neighbor’s pet.
As Michigan state law demands when one pet bites another, Jackson took Coco to Detroit Animal Care and Control. There, Coco was meant to stay in a 10-day quarantine while animal control officers checked the dog for rabies.
Within a day, Coco was euthanized. It was, as the Detroit animal control facility admitted Saturday, a mistake.
But Jackson would not find out until later. She arrived at the facility prepared to take Coco home, after an animal control investigator told her the dog was cleared for release six days into the quarantine, ABC 13 reported.
At the Detroit Animal Care and Control Center, however, there was no sign of Coco.
Eventually, Jackson was contacted by Detroit Animal Care and Control Director Melissa Miller. Miller told Jackson that Coco had been too aggressive toward other dogs and was killed.
“I just bust out crying and they’re just rubbing my back and saying we’re sorry,” Jackson said to Detriot’s WXYZ. “And no, when were y’all going to call me and tell me. When I get there, she has already been dead six days without anybody telling me anything.”
When Jackson demanded a further explanation – how Coco could have been killed without her notice, or how Coco could have attacked other dogs while under quarantine – Animal Care and Control realized its mistake. A computer glitch, the facility said, slated Coco for euthanasia. It is not known if Jackson will pursue compensation for the loss of Coco.
“I wish it was all a dream, truthfully,” Jackson told WXYZ.
In a statement released to ABC 13, the Detroit Animal Care and Control said: “Ms. Jackson’s dog was brought to Detroit Animal Care and Control as part of a dog-on-dog bite situation. The owner complied with state law and the dog was held for a 10-day rabies quarantine period. As a result of a computer status error, a tragic and unacceptable euthanasia was authorized. Our hearts are with Ms. Jackson during this time of loss. We are thoroughly examining all procedures and systems that led to this and we are committed to putting safeguards in place to prevent this from happening again.”
The Detroit area has had no shortage of controversy surrounding dogs. In February, the city awarded $100,000 to a man whose French Mastiff was fatally shot by officers responding to an active shooter call.
During the summer, in nearby Waterford Township, the “smiling dog” named Diggy set off a social media firestorm after police declared the pet violated a dangerous dog ban aimed at pit bulls; the township subsequently tweaked the ban to make it easier for dogs like Diggy, who is an American bulldog, to avoid the prohibition.
Featured Image: WXYZ
(c) 2016, The Washington Post · Ben Guarino
