Home Animal Stories CoCo Animal Control Says Communication Error Led to Mistaken Euthanasia of Dog

CoCo Animal Control Says Communication Error Led to Mistaken Euthanasia of Dog

by ECT

The Contra Costa County Animal Services released information Friday regarding the mistaken euthanasia of a dog that was to become adopted.

Animal Services called the error “unfortunate” and is seeking to eliminate potential gaps in Contra Costa Animal Services’ (CCAS) euthanasia processes and procedures.

Here is a copy of the Press Release:

On June 18th, 2016, Contra Costa Animal Services (CCAS) shelter staff performed end of life services on five dogs, including animals Barbie (animal 844111) and Tommy (animal 845097).

Shortly after the end of life procedures had been carried out, shelter staff was alerted to a potential mistake in the euthanasia of Barbie. Upon review, it was verified that a 501(c)(3) organization had confirmed that they would adopt Barbie, which under CCAS policy would have prevented the euthanasia of that animal. CCAS staff was also alerted at that time about a potential mistake regarding the euthanasia of Tommy.

CCAS staff and volunteers place a tremendous priority on saving the lives of animals and were heartbroken to learn about the unfortunate error that resulted in the euthanasia of Barbie.

As such, CCAS endeavors to fully understand and address the gaps that led to this unfortunate mistake.

The Department conducted an investigation to: a) identify the circumstances that led to the erroneous euthanasia of Barbie on June 18th, 2016, b) to identify if Tommy was erroneously euthanized and c) to eliminate potential gaps in Contra Costa Animal Services’ (CCAS) euthanasia processes and procedures.

KEY FINDINGS
Our investigation of the incidents concerning Barbie, Tommy and CCAS’ euthanasia protocols revealed the following:

  • CCAS erroneously euthanized Barbie as a result of communication errors. If CCAS staff and volunteers had followed the established protocols for recording animal status updates and performing end of life procedures, Barbie would not have been euthanized.
  • CCAS staff and volunteers did not properly follow the common practices for communicating updates about Barbie’s status.
  • CCAS staff did not follow established protocols for performing the end of life procedure on Barbie.
  • The investigation found no wrongdoing with regards to the euthanasia of Tommy. In the case of Tommy, there was no confirmed adopter or transfer partner recorded in the animal’s Chameleon profile. While there was a rescue group interested in adopting Tommy, they had not notified CCAS to record a confirmed placement of Tommy.

IMPROVEMENTS UNDERWAY

  • CCAS is revising its processes and protocols for performing end of life procedures to include additional safety nets that will serve to minimize the chance of similar errors.
  • CCAS will hire a paid staff position to oversee the Department’s Transfer Partner program.
  • CCAS is in the process of creating the position of Animal Center Operations Manager to support CCAS’ Director and staff in managing CCAS shelter operations.
  • CCAS is scheduling new trainings with an independent trainer on euthanasia and will provide additional ongoing trainings for any CCAS staff member who performs end of life procedures as part of their required job duties to ensure that all processes and protocols are strictly followed.
  • CCAS will create a single point of contact between Transfer Partners and CCAS through an email account dedicated solely to Transfer Partner communications.

CCAS LIVE RELEASE RATE

CCAS’ live release rate has increased significantly in recent years, from 46% in 2011 to 75% in 2015 and 79.4% through May of 2016.

This trend is indicative of CCAS’ emphasis on saving lives, and is a direct result of improvements the Department has made that have helped foster stronger relationships with CCAS’ transferpartners and the public.

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6 comments

Julio Jul 16, 2016 - 12:27 pm

Typical County routine. Hire another body. Go by the rules and you don’t need the new person. This is so typical of city, county, state and federal employment. Don’t ever fix anything just hire another person. That is one of the reasons all these payrolls are so bloated.

vicki daugherty Jul 16, 2016 - 5:07 pm

Regarding Antioch animals shelter, Shame on you!!! So all the bad reviews lately is so true. Barbie and Tommy are just 2dogs I think not. So many more that we don’t hear about!!!! Come on. I think alot of people need to be replaced. With people that love animals

Where did Antioch go wrong??????? Jul 16, 2016 - 5:30 pm

Don’t sugar coat it and tell it the way it is. The artical clearly states that staff did not follow established protocol. If I know government (and I do), this means that policy was not followed. I do believe that is was a mistake, but don’t try to soften the blow. Stand up and tell it the way it is and don’t try and classify it as a ” communication error”. This is why people get upset with government. This artical should be titled ” dog euthanized due to staff not following policy/protocol”.

Where did Antioch go wrong??????? Jul 17, 2016 - 8:23 pm

This article should be titled ” policy violation leads to Barbie’s death.” County should report it for what it is and not a “communication error”. Need to tell it how it is and not sugar coat it. Mistakes happen and unfortunately this was probably a mistake.

Peggy Vertin Jul 19, 2016 - 8:52 am

Rescue orgs are the best chance fir these animals. Contra Costa County can’t manage anything period. This happens often at this facility. It is horrible for any animal to end uo at Antioch or CoCo County animal shelter. Shame on you.

Unome Jul 19, 2016 - 1:19 pm

Hilary Clinton made an error too in Bengazi. “What difference does it make she claimed. Government does not care anymore. Change is needed with our vote.

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