Mixup left dead animals in truck
By Bryan Chambers and Curtis Johnson
The Herald-Dispatch
s_prop1 = "By_BRYAN_CHAMBERS_and_CURTIS_JOHNSON-The_Herald-Dispatch";September 9, 2006
HUNTINGTON -- More than a dozen dead animals that were found in the back of a Huntington garbage truck Thursday had been euthanized two days before at the Huntington-Cabell-Wayne Animal Control shelter.
Debbie Young, office manager for the animal shelter, said Friday that 15 to 20 dogs, cats and a hawk were euthanized late Tuesday morning, placed in heavy duty garbage bags and picked up later that afternoon by a city sanitation worker. But the animals were not immediately taken to a Boyd County landfill and buried as normal procedure calls for, she said.
"This is a horrible event that has happened, and it appears the usual procedure was not followed," she said. "I'm not exactly sure why the garbage truck never made it to the landfill. This should have never happened, but it did."
Huntington police searched the garbage truck Thursday afternoon after receiving complaints of a pungent odor and blood dripping from the truck, which was parked at the city's motor pool garage in the 400 block of 3rd Avenue. A prepared release from the department indicated that detectives found 28 dead animals in the back of the truck.
However, Young thinks that count was too high.
Animal control officials did not realize that the animals had come from the shelter until a dog warden and humane officer inspected the truck Thursday evening, Young said.
"Euthanasia is the dark side of an animal shelter, but it's a forced necessity," she said. "It's a peaceful process, and our staff goes through training annually to make it as humane as possible.
"But an incident like this brings a mixture of anger and sadness. It's been very difficult to deal with."
Chuck Cornett, the city's public works director, said miscommunication was to blame for the animals not immediately being taken to the landfill.
Cornett said the sanitation worker who picked up the animals at the shelter was running late because the garbage truck he normally drives had broken down earlier in the day. The worker's shift ended at 3 p.m., so he drove the replacement garbage truck to the garage to have the next shift take the animals to the landfill, Cornett said.
"Somehow, the word didn't get out to the relief workers," he said.
The worker that picked up the animals then called in sick the next day, so no one ever got the message to take the animals to the landfill, Cornett said.
"It was miscommunication on our part," Cornett said. "I'm the public works director, and I'm ultimately responsible for this. But I can guarantee you it won't happen again."
Dr. Harry Tweel, director of the Cabell-Huntington Health Department, said his agency is still reviewing the incident, but there never was a public health threat.
He said he was not aware of how the shelter disposes of euthanized animals until Thursday's incident, but said the procedure will be allowed to continue as long as dead animals are disposed of immediately.
"I know there was blood dripping out of the truck, and that should have never happened," he said.
