Gino's body was released to me today. Officer Lowengren from Show Low PD and his assistant were respectful of my feelings and of Gino's body, placing him in a burial box and loading him in the truck for me. I do appreciate their consideration under the circumstances. It has been a rough couple of weeks.
I took Gino to our vet's office to be picked up for cremation. I also wanted to run the micro chip scanner over him to make sure, once again, that his chip was in place and registering. Sure enough, it was there and even after two weeks of being frozen it was functioning as it was designed to. (See pictures below). Oh, if only those officers had done their jobs correctly!
Both the city and county received my certified requests on Oct 20th for all their records pertaining to Gino's impounding and killing. To date, only the City of Show Low has complied with our public records request. There is an obvious need for improvement in the city's animal control policies...I'm sure we will eventually find the same need at the county level as well. This fight won't be over until it is done.
The report written by the officer that actually killed Gino, Officer Brinkerhoff stated, in short, that the city pound was overcrowded and Brinkerhoff determined that most of the dogs impounded were county dogs. He called county animal control supervisor Bernard Huser over to point out which dogs to mark for death, and Gino was among those pointed out by Huser. Bear in mind, this is the man I reported to when Gino was missing...the man who told me neither he nor his "guys" had picked up any black labs in the few days after Gino went missing, and who said he would let me know if he came across any matching Gino's description. There he was, less than a week later, pointing out OUR black lab for death. And so it was, on October 12, 2011 Gino was killed by lethal injection.
I still have not seen anything in print after the interview with the White Mountain Independent reporter. Last I heard, they were still waiting to speak to Bernard Huser, the man responsible for ordering Gino's death. Whether we will ever see anything in print, or if the editor will just let the story die a silent death, is yet to be seen.
 The microchip scanner reading I got today when I scanned Gino's deceased body using the ResQ brand scanner shown.  Scanner used at our vet's office
Yesterday, I was a very, very angry woman. And today, my husband and I are mourning the loss of my husband's retired K9, Gino. If you love your animals as much as we do, read on to see why I am so angry.
Last Thursday evening I came home from work to find my two female dogs (a Great Dane and a Pit Bull) outside of their dog yard and hiding under a tree. Both acted scared and they were obviously injured. The pit bull was so scared she ran through the screen door to get into the house before I could even get the door open. Her muzzle and feet were raw, she had obviously been fighting. The Dane had three deep puncture wounds in her tail and back leg. As I was trying to fix the now torn screen door, I looked down the driveway to see a large hybrid Husky-looking dog peeing on the bushes and pawing at the ground like an angry bull..."spreading his scent". I yelled and chased him away and he ran across the road and sat on the porch. Strange, I didn't recall that neighbor having a dog like that...must be a new dog I thought.
Missing from this scenario was my husband's recently retired K9, a 10 year old black Labrador Retriever.
Now Gino is [was] not an aggressive, protection trained dog. Rather, he detects explosives...and he did it exceptionally well. Well enough that he spent half his life serving in Iraq supporting US forces as a contract working dog making sure explosives did not make it onto military bases. All he ever asked for in return was to be fed daily and for someone to scratch his ears and throw his ball. Oh how he loved to retrieve his ball...he would retrieve that ball until he collapsed if you weren't careful.
How in the world did my dogs get out of their yard? We live on a bit over an acre of property 10 miles outside the city of Show Low, Arizona. In spite of that fact, we are well aware the county has a "leash law" and we DO NOT allow our dogs to run amok. They have their own outside yard which is the size of two of my houses put together...it is a large space. The gate to this yard has the flip type latch and my Dane, being the creative creature that she is, had long ago figured out how to flip that latch from her side of the fence and open the gate...which is why the latch on her side of the gate was secured so it couldn't be opened. Because of that, the gate could only be opened from the outside-inward. Oddly enough, the gate was closed when I got home. I walked the perimeter of the dog yard checking for holes, places they could have gone over or under...nothing. The yard was secure. The weather was very bad that day, rainy and windy. The only logical conclusion I could draw was that someone or something flipped the gate latch from the outside to let the dogs out. My guess, since I wasn't here to witness it, was that the large hybrid dog flipped it open during all the jumping and barking that surely would have ensued if the dog were standing outside of the yard provoking my dogs....and the wind would have slammed the gate shut preventing my dogs from getting back into their yard.
I called for Gino a few times, thinking he was probably hiding under a bush and would show up for dinner...he loved to eat. How I miss his raspy "old man" bark at feeding time. I tended to the other dogs injuries, and by now it was dark outside. This incident just happened to coincide with an early cold snap that brought snow over the next two days here. I grabbed my coat and small flashlight and walked, literally, until midnight calling and whistling for Gino. Interestingly enough, a Jeep pulled up across the road where the hybrid dog was, and I could hear a man calling the dog to get into the vehicle. As the Jeep passed me on the dirt road, I tried to flag down the driver with my little flashlight...he drove on the opposite side of the road around me and did not stop. I have no idea who this guy was...and its fairly irrelevant now.
The next day I laminated "missing dog" fliers and hung them all around the neighborhood. Time consuming I know, but the weather was bad and I didn't want my fliers to disintegrate in the rain and snow. I continued to walk the neighborhood calling for Gino and talking to anyone I ran into.
On Saturday I called the White Mountain humane society. I assumed (yeah, I know) that being out here in the county, that our county animal control division would take any stray animals to that facility. I was told that a report would not be taken until I contacted an animal control officer to make sure Gino hadn' been picked up. Great! I put in a call to county dispatch to learn that I would not be able to speak to an animal control officer until Monday. I did not call Show Low city animal control....why would I? I live 10 miles outside the city limits...out in the county. The thought never even crossed my mind that our dog would be in the city. I was wrong....dead wrong.
On Monday, bright and early I called Navajo county dispatch and asked to have my call returned by an animal control officer. I did get a call back; at the time I didn't catch the name, but it turns out the call was from county animal control supervisor Bernard Huser (I still have his cell phone number in my phone which is why I know it was him now). This officer told me that neither he nor his "guys" had picked up any labs over the weekend but he would call me if they found one matching Gino's description. I also reported the fact that I was not happy about having to wait all weekend to report Gino missing and what the lady at White Mountain humane society had told me. Mr. Huser acted concerned and said he would get to the bottom of it. Bear in mind that at no time did he mention the fact that Navajo County Animal control takes picked-up strays to the City of Show Low animal control facility.
In response to one of my fliers, a neighbor called my vet's office to report that Gino had been at her house on Friday morning. She fed him, he played with her dogs for a while and last she saw him, he was lying in her carport but he took off. He was wet but uninjured...I was relieved to get this information thinking he must be at someone's house, surely someone has seen him...but still so worried I had not received a call from animal control or anyone else.
One week later, October 13th...I came home from work to find a message on my answering machine. The lady caller stated that Gino showed up on her front porch and she called animal control to pick him up. I immediately redialed her number, recognizing the name as that of yet another of my "neighbors". The lady affirmed that yes, it was the right dog and attempted to berate me for allowing my dog to run at large. I explained as calmly as I could why my dog was out of his normally secure yard. Immediately after this call, I called animal control...only to be told again that no one had picked up an old black lab. It was during this call that I learned Navajo County animal control takes picked up animals to one of three city animal control facilities...and that they would have taken Gino there if he was picked up.
Now frantic, I called Show Low PD dispatch and was connected to ACO Brinkerhoff. I am giving his name because, quite frankly, he's an asshole. His lack of compassion for animals is amazing considering his paid career choice. Officer Brinkerhoff stated that he wasn't aware of any black labs in his facility, but he wasn't at the facility to check for sure...and he would not "get to it" til Monday because he was already 30 minutes over the end of his shift. I also learned that animal control has a web site....am I just completely in the dark? Perhaps...but my dogs don't run at large so honestly, I've never had a reason to need to know.
I checked the web site but didn't find any male black labs....just three females. I kept the days findings about Gino from my dear husband, in hopes that I would soon be able to report the happy news that Gino was safe at home. This was not to be. First thing Friday morning I was back on the phone...now demanding information and asking for supervisors. The county dispatcher gave me Bernard Huser's cell phone number. He did not answer, I left a message and he soon called me. During this conversation Huser asked me who I spoke to on Monday that told me a black lab had not been picked up. At this point, I did not know who I spoke to. Huser stated that he would have remembered the conversation so he knew it wasn't him, it had to be one of his other two officers.
I checked the animal control web site again and noted that every single black lab had been removed from the list of dogs at Show Low animal control. In my mind, this meant one thing to me...they had killed these dogs. By now panic had set in. I tried again to call Show Low animal control and demanded to talk to whoever was in charge of animal control that day. I was told that the officer was on his way out to the facility already to check about Gino and someone would call me as soon as they found out something.
Minutes later I received the horrifying news...Bernard Huser called me back to say Gino was "gone". Along with this news was the typical ass-covering comments about how "legally" they can adopt out or euthanize animals after 72 hours. "I called on Monday", I said..."Why wasn't I told Gino had been picked up then"? And furthermore, "Why didn't anyone scan Gino's microchip"? Yes, Gino was microchipped to the company my husband works for, I know this for a fact because I personally scanned him myself at my vet's office. The chip was working as it was supposed to. Huser then proceeded to imply that I was lying about calling on Monday, telling me there were no dispatch records to prove this. I advised him that I would be going through my phone to find the numbers and prove it. This ended our contact. After hanging up, I remembered that when I received the phone call from the officer on Monday, I saved his number in my cell phone! I checked the number and immediately noticed it was the exact same number that dispatch had given me that morning....the cell phone number of Bernard Huser, the man who told me on Monday that "his guys" had not picked up any black labs over the weekend, and neither had he.
Why should I be so surprised. This is coming from a man who works for an agency that would pull out their guns and massacre 40-50 dogs (just Google Navajo county animal control, you'll find the stories). Back then, it was found dispatch records of this incident were "altered"....it would seem this practice has not changed.
My last contact was with Brad Provost, chief of Show Low city animal control. More ass-covering comments about the 72 hour thing. More excuses about limited resources, space and personnel. Typical administrative bullshit about "it will be looked into". Having worked for a police department in California for many years, I know all too well what this translates into and the politics behind it. I made it perfectly clear to Mr. Provost that his "system" had failed. A microchipped, well loved dog was killed because of this failure. My husband and I are devastated because of this failure. The echos of Gino's bark, his old white muzzle, the vision in my mind of him sitting, watching expectantly and trustingly for a treat or a toy from the hands that would inject lethal poison into him...these will haunt me for a long time, along with the horribly painful knowledge of the procedure animal control uses to kill and dispose of dogs and cats.
Before I end this, let me add that I JUST (October 14th/1500 hrs) received a phone call from Brad Provost. He nicely admitted that "mistakes" were made. The county animal control officer that picked Gino up claimed that he had scanned Gino for a chip and didn't find one. Show Low animal control officers took that at face value and did not confirm it themselves. Mr. Provost was kind enough to give me the name and phone number for the county's risk manager.
Who is ultimately to blame here?
Me? I assure you, I do blame myself. I made assumptions about the reliability of an animal control system that I shouldn't have. I should have anticipated that something could open the dog gate from the outside and let my dogs out...so many things I wish I had done differently.
The owner of the dog that came into my yard? Perhaps.
My neighbor, for calling animal control without bothering to talk to any of her neighbors? She certainly wasn't obligated to do so, though it seems the neighborly thing to do (and something I would have done).
Bernard Huser? Officer Brinkerhoff? Brad Provost?
Right now, it doesn't really matter. Gino is dead, gone forever. Nothing will bring him back now. Nothing.
The point to this message is this...DO NOT assume that microchipping your pet is enough identification if it is lost. And never, NEVER assume that public servants are there to serve you, the public.
The fight in Gino's honor begins....
October 18, 2011
We have decided to take all legal means at our disposal to see that something like this never, ever happens again to another pet owner here in Navajo County. Service via certified mail went out today to both the county and city for all records pertaining to Gino's impounding and execution, as well as for complete copies of their animal control policies and procedures. I was told Arizona ranks 44 out of the 50 states for complying with such lawful requests for public records...so this is probably just the beginning of our battle.
I have an interview with the local newspaper this Thursday, I will post details here on that later.
In the meantime, we have been putting together a list of steps pet owners should take in the event their beloved pet goes missing. These suggestions come from our experience and from helpful suggestions and comments of other pet owners. If you can think of any others we should add, please feel free to send us a message.
What to do when your pet is missing
You go out to feed your dog only to find the gate open and he's gone; or you realize someone has left the front door open and now you can't find your kitty. Accidents happen, as hard as we try to be good pet owners, sometimes bad things happen. Here are some suggested steps to take when your pet goes missing:
1. Make sure your pet is vaccinated and that his vaccinations are up to date. Diseases like distemper, feline leukemia and rabies are highly preventable. Your missing pet is at risk for increased exposure while it is missing. Your pet's current rabies tag is also one good form of identification.
2. Your pet needs as much identification as possible. Some people are against collars and consider them a safety risk for their pets. There are some good quality "break-away" collars available. The collar is the only place your pet is able to carry ID such as rabies tags and name tags. For some pets, such as cats and ferrets, collars are not always practical. Micro chips and tattooing should be considered for these pets.
Tattoos are a safe and practical form of ID for most pets, unfortunately, not everyone is trained to search for a body tattoo on pets. If you choose this method, the stomach or inner thigh are the best place for an ID tattoo. Ears can be used but [sadly], there are evil people in this world who have been known to have ears cut off to remove tattoos on dogs.
Micro chips have increased tremendously in popularity as a viable form of identification for your pet. The procedure is simple and relatively painless. It is important to remember that you must keep the micro chip company informed of any change in contact information.
3. Update your pet photos every six months. Many pets change as they age. Dogs turn gray. Ferrets change coat colors in the spring and fall, and some roan out. With a handy updated photo, you can quickly put together missing pet posters and fliers. Time is often of the essence when your pet is missing...the faster you can get information out to the public, the better your pet's chances are of being found safe.
4. Keep your local animal control and humane society phone numbers and addresses handy, and keep them UPDATED. Ask questions beforehand, so in the event your pet goes missing, you will already know where it has been taken if picked up and impounded by animal control. Ask your local animal control for a copy of their policies and procedures. This is public information and cannot be legally withheld from you. Most jurisdictions allow animal control to euthanize an unidentified pet after 72 hours, so you need to be able to act fast. ~In our situation, animal control changed their procedures and we had no idea. Stay updated!!! ~
5. Do NOT depend on information from phone calls to animal control or humane societies or depend on their web sites if they have one. If your pet goes missing, physically go and check your local impound kennel DAILY for your pet. I cannot stress this point enough, your pets life depends on it! Animal control officials can make mistakes, and as in our case, can be derelict in performing their duties. Don't depend on them to care about YOUR pet.
Please feel free to comment. Sharing these tips is permitted and strongly encouraged. If we get more suggestions, we will add them here.
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