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MISSING PET PLUTO PUT DOWN BY RSPCA
(cutting from Liverpool Echo 22/11/01 by Emma Gunby)
Discovered by "Benjamin Franklyn" of news:uk.rec.pets We are grateful for your vigilance!
OWNER UPSET OVER DOG'S DEATH
A MUCH-loved family pet was put down by the RSPCA after it it had been registered missing by its owners.
Sue Carroll, a florist, from Walton, said she was devastated at the death of her golden cocker spaniel, Pluto.
"We put adverts in the ECHO and all the weekly papers, " said Sue. "We put street posters up and went up to the dogs' home in Halewood to see if he had turned up.
"He wasn't there but his details were logged by one of the girls there."
On Bonfire Night there was a breakthrough when one of Sue's neighbours said she thought she had seen Pluto in the RSPCA dogs' home. She said:
"We went up there and were told they had put him down seven days before. I couldn't believe it; they had all of Pluto's details and yet nobody thought to check whether it was my dog. "I've cried and cried over this but I just want to warn other people who have lost their animals that this might happen to them."
John Smallwood, secretary administrator for RSPCA Liverpool said: "The dog was reported missing in August but we do receive on average 50 calls a day from people reporting stray dogs. "The dog was handed in as a stray on October 23. It was not in good health and was around eight years old.
We had not been contacted by the owners since August and the dog did not have a name tag, tattoo or a microchip to identify it.
We put the dog to sleep after seven days in accordance with the law. "The Liverpool RSPCA receives over 4,000 strays a year and unfortunately we do not have the space to house them all indefinitely.//cutting ends
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