[Loboto-Me]

Airport worker fired after refusing to load dog - Yahoo! News

We need more people like this in the world. I hope and pray that she gets her job back and that her higher up get's penalized for firing her and ignoring the situation.

 

[Dallas Gold]

My hubby is a commercial airline pilot...he will refuse a dog that looks in distress if he happens to see one during his pre-flight inspections.

Our dogs will go on a slow boat before flying in cargo, even on a good day....that's my husband's opinion and I agree totally with it.

 

[Megora]

While I definitely sympathise with that worker and feel I would have done the same thing...

It is a fact of life though when you work in an industry which interacts with pet owners and their pets.

My sister assisted at obedience classes and she briefly worked (temporary part time job) at a vet. The vet especially sat her down right at the beginning and told her that she may see dogs come in who are not receiving the best care. There was a certain protocol for handling abusive owners. This did not involve confiscating the animal and refusing to surrender to the owner.

 

[Pumba19]

That makes me so sad they sent it back to the owner!

 

[Loboto-Me]

I went searching for more info on this story because I'd missed the part where she was refusing to give the dog to the owner. I don't see where the worker confiscated the dog. Rather it was animal services who kept the dog, nursed it to health and then sent it back to his owner.

The worker is upset about that, and wished she could have adopted the dog instead. From my understanding, it was the airport, after much fuss from Lynn Jones who phoned animal welfare.

Really, her supervisor, IMO, is the one who needs re-training.

 

[C's Mom]

I read this this morning and it made me sad/mad too. What is wrong with people. Years ago I came across a Siamese cat outside my workplace and refused to go back into the office until animal control came by to pick it up. I was a bit worried that I may get fired and a few of my co-workers were worried for me - we had a she-boss from hell. My boss did question where I was and I told her. She gave me one of those looks but I didn't get fired.

 

[Ninde'Gold]

The supervisor needs to be trained better on how to notice when a dog isn't doing well!!

When I was a dog groomer I had this one dog come in with mats, goopy eyes, ear infections... It took all I had in me to give the dog back and not scream at its owner...

Last year I was a manager at a restaurant and there was this JRT outside in the rain running around our parking lot. I spent a good 45 minutes trying to chase it but it kept running off.

I went inside and called the humane society (who weren't open until 8 so I left a message) and was just about to go back outside to try and lure it with bacon when one of the employees came in and said someone just hit a dog with their car and drove off.

I was SOOO upset. I spent the whole day crying. I felt at fault for not being able to catch the poor dog. The humane society came and got its body and took it to the shelter.

It was a horrible day It sucks to feel so helpless.

 

[Kristin]

I don't understand why animal cruelty charges couldn't be laid against the owner if the dog was obviously in such bad condition that it required being 'nursed back to health' prior to being given back to the owners.

I don't know if maybe the laws don't work if the abused animal is in one state and the owner is in another, but this is a very heartbreaking situation.

Laws need to be in place to prevent this kind of thing from happening. This man should never have received his dog back, period.

In extreme situations I've known of so-called 'owners' who were offered a lump sum of money for their abused animal in an effort to rescue them, and I haven't known a case yet where the legal owner hasn't gladly handed the dog over for a bit of cash. My friend did this when she found an abused Collie chained to a tree 24/7. The owners were content to be relieved of dealing with the animal. Although I'm sure there are other cases where these people just go right back out and get a new dog and start all over again.

Animal cruelty laws do seem to changing for the better but very, very slowly. Most lawyers push for cases and laws where they have paying clients that will benefit them. Animal welfare laws never seem to be forefront of immediate change and action.

 

[mylissyk]

Dog's hero praised - rehired
Dog's hero praised - rehired - National Dogs | Examiner.com

 

[C's Mom]

From the article above:

That dog, a Pointer who belonged to a Texas hunter, was nursed back to health at the Washoe County animal control, and then shipped to his owner.
The agency is refusing to release the name of the dog's owner due to a law which makes animal abuse cases "secret" from the public.
Why an animal welfare agency would ship a dog who had been abused back to his abuser is a mystery.

I didn't know that animal abuse cases are kept secret? Is this so?

 

[Mssjnnfer]

From the article above:

That dog, a Pointer who belonged to a Texas hunter, was nursed back to health at the Washoe County animal control, and then shipped to his owner.
The agency is refusing to release the name of the dog's owner due to a law which makes animal abuse cases "secret" from the public.
Why an animal welfare agency would ship a dog who had been abused back to his abuser is a mystery.

I didn't know that animal abuse cases are kept secret? Is this so?

They probably worry that people will harm or harass the abuser. I think they should be on a registry like sex offenders. Let them be punished with their own shame... Maybe less peole would do it if they knew their names and pictures would be posted everywhere for everyone to see.

 

[Dallas Gold]

The story may not be over if Texas keeps on searching for the owner (it should not be hard since the shipping airline will have records). Nevada is not releasing the name because of Nevada law. I believe if charges of abuse are filed in Texas it is public, based on previous local abuse cases here. There is even a website that lists them by county but I don't have the link anymore.

QUOTE]The agency is refusing to release the name of the dog's owner due to a law which makes animal abuse cases "secret" from the public.

Why an animal welfare agency would ship a dog who had been abused back to his abuser is a mystery.

Animal welfare agencies in Texas are attempting to locate the dog's owner.[/QUOTE]

source: Dog's hero praised - rehired - National Dogs | Examiner.com

 

[mylissyk]

Those of you who hunt, what do you think about this follow up?

Owner of Dog Flagged by Baggage Handler Says She Overreacted

 

[Florabora22]

Frankly, I can believe the hunter. Hunters normally love their dogs, don't they? It doesn't make sense to me that a hunter would abuse a dog he expects to go out and flush birds for him or retrieve his prey. I could see a dog running through the brush getting scratched up, and at the end of the day looking pretty darn worn out. If this is truly the case, then I still think the airline worker behaved appropriately. She didn't know the dog's background and therefore had no idea why this dog looked so weary and wounded.

 

[Dallas Gold]

You don't fly an animal if they are stressed, dehydrated or injured, period. It's a recipe for a disaster. The airport worker did the right thing, as evidenced by the fact the dog required veterinary care. The owner should know better--at least get the dog some treatment and let the dog recuperate before shipping it home in cargo, like someone's roll-a-board.

 

[Florabora22]

You don't fly an animal if they are stressed, dehydrated or injured, period. It's a recipe for a disaster. The airport worker did the right thing, as evidenced by the fact the dog required veterinary care. The owner should know better--at least get the dog some treatment and let the dog recuperate before shipping it home in cargo, like someone's roll-a-board.

Yes, I agree. I wasn't thinking 100% when I wrote my last comment (I'm sick). I guess I was more or less saying it's possible the animal wasn't abused, but I completely agree that regardless of whether or not it was abused or simply stressed out from some hunting, that man should not have tried to fly his dog.