Nebraska Humane Society mistakenly euthanizes family dog

OMAHA, Neb. (WOWT) - The Nebraska Humane Society admitted Sunday they “did mistakenly euthanize a dog.”

The dog’s name was Dra’ko.

The family told 6 News they gave Dra’ko to NHS for a “bite quarantine” to last 10 days. They say Dra’ko was supposed to be returned to them on May 8 but were heartbroken to find out he was euthanized Friday.

The dog reportedly bit a neighbor and left wounds that were “punctures and not scratches,” according to Pam Wiese, the VP of Public Relations for NHS.

NHS told 6 News that the dog did not have updated rabies shots and this was his second time this year being quarantined at NHS for biting. Because his shots were not up-to-date, Dra’ko had to be given to NHS for 10 days. Otherwise, the family could’ve kept the dog at home.

Ultimately, NHS said this happened because of a “breakdown in communication.”

“We have identified one more step to offer one more safeguard to prevent this from happening. We began implementing that immediately,” said Wiese. “Our internal communication breakdown was over whether the owner HAD surrendered the dog, which she had not.”

The family says they were offered $1,000 for the mistake, money NHS says was offered in good faith to help through the process.

Read the full NHS statement below:

“NHS did mistakenly euthanize a dog on April 28, 2023. We are so sorry this occurred. NHS tries to euthanize as little as possible and certainly doesn’t want to make mistakes in this sensitive area.

We truly had a breakdown in communication and yesterday began looking into where that occurred, and if and how to change our processes. We have identified one more step to offer one more safeguard to prevent this from happening. We began implementing that immediately.

But in response specifically to the email and social media posts:

The dog was in quarantine at NHS for biting a neighbor multiple times, on the arm and on the side. The wounds were punctures and not scratches. This is the second time this year the dog has been quarantined at NHS for biting.

A Potentially Dangerous Dog Declaration was pending and so the dog would not have been an adoption candidate had he been surrendered by his owner. Our internal communication breakdown was over whether the owner HAD surrendered the dog, which she had not.

Understandably, when we called the owner, on Friday, she was very distraught and ended the conversation. Respecting her need for time, we did not call her back right away but contacted her Saturday and she agreed to talk to us Monday.

The monetary offer was done in good faith to try to help the owner through this process and help with expenses should she wish to get another dog when the time is right, cremate this dog outside of NHS (we will of course cremate him free of charge here, but she might not wish us to) and just simply because we felt so very sorry about the situation.”

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