Tennessee: When owner brought emaciated pit bull to vet to be euthanized, horrified vet called police. No one bothered to show up.

TENNESSEE -- The Metro Department of Health has been looking into Animal Control's response when it comes to cruelty cases after a dog had to be euthanized due to lack of response.

According to Jean Harrison, founder of Big Fluffy Dog Rescue, the dog's owner went into Animal House Vet Clinic on Largo Drive last Friday and asked for the dog to be euthanized.

The vet realized the same person had brought in a dog under the same conditions before and asked for it to be euthanized as well, prompting her to call police.

Harrison said she was at the clinic on something unrelated and spoke with Dr. Pennington shortly after the incident happened.

"She was distraught and so was her entire staff," said Harrison.

Metro Police said the doctor called the Emergency Communication Center around 1 p.m., and an officer from Animal Control was dispatched, but according to Harrison no one ever showed up.

Harrison said the South Precinct is just a few miles away, and it would've been easier to send an officer from that precinct. She thinks the whole incident went unnoticed.

 

"When people call the police department they're very low priority calls, sometimes they get no response at all, sometimes they show up hours and hour late. It's very discouraging to people trying to report animal abuse, and they can't get a response from the police," added Harrison.

According to a spokesperson for the Metro Police Department, officers don't typically respond to these incidents because they have not been trained to determine animal cruelty cases. It's no different than sending an arson investigator to a fire scene.

The same spokesperson said a Sergeant did show up to the clinic, but the place was already closed.

Harrison said as a result of the lack of response, the vet had to euthanize the dog and turn the body over to its owner.

"The dog is this person's property, it's no different than your car or your house," Harrison said.

Harrison posted pictures of the dog before being euthanized and asked people to call Mayor Megan Barry asking for change.

 

A spokesman for the Mayor's office said they have been in contact with Metro Police and Animal Control to determine what happened. The Department of Health responsible for overseeing Animal Control has also been looking into the incident and potential animal cruelty charges.

"We have been made aware of this situation. It's something that we take very seriously, and we're going to investigate fully. We are going to look at all our processes. We are early in the investigation but it's something we are going to  take very seriously," said Brian Todd, the department's spokesperson.

Thursday evening, the Mayor released the following statement:

“I greatly appreciate the efforts by  animal welfare advocates to bring this case to my attention.

As the proud parent of two rescue dogs, I care deeply about making sure that Metro Nashville is responding quickly and thoroughly to all reports of animal abuse in Davidson County.

My office has been in contact with the veterinarian, the police department, and animal control to move forward with the investigation into this specific case, while reviewing the processes related to the case to determine what steps can be taken to strengthen our response to animal abuse cases.

The police department has spoken with Dr. Pennington and an incident report has been filed. Metro Police are working with Metro Animal Care and Control officers to ensure that a speedy and thorough investigation takes place in order to determine whether any charges are warranted.”

(News Channel 5 - Dec 10, 2015)