2 Dogs Die in DeKalb Co. Custody

[bigdoglover]

11Alive.com

Albert Ford finally has his lab Coco home. But his other dog, Golden, is gone forever, and he blames DeKalb County Animal Control for a fatal error.

“This is as worse off as a kid left in a vehicle,” Ford said.

According to the state’s Agriculture Commissioner, an Animal Control officer picked up Ford’s dogs after they broke out of their dog run. The officer went on to pick up another stray, but for some reason delayed getting the dogs out of the Animal Control vehicle and into the shelter.

“Out of three animals that were in the vehicle,” said Agriculture Commissioner Tommy Irvin, “two perished from excess heat.” Irvin said the animals may have been in the vehicle for as much as an hour and a half.

To make matters worse, Ford said that when he went to DeKalb County Animal Control to inquire about his dogs, he received a shocking response.

“They pulled me to the side,” he said, “into a small office, and told me, ‘Mr. Ford, I’m sorry, but your dogs are dead.’” Ford told 11Alive that the reason given was heatstroke.

Coco, Mr. Ford’s lab, survived, while his dog Golden was rushed to the vet but was unable to recover from heatstroke. The stray that the officer picked up also perished.

DeKalb County Police are investigating the incident.

“We’re speaking with the officer who actually picked up the dogs,” said Sergeant Charles Dedrick of the DeKalb County Police Department, “and we’re going to determine how long the dog was in [the vehicle] from the time that the dog was actually picked up from the scene.”

Ford, though, says he only has two questions: “Why was he left on the truck, and how did he get left on the truck?”

DeKalb County says that if any disciplinary action is to be taken against the officer, more information should be available Tuesday, but as of Monday, the officer was reporting to work as normal.