Concerns Growing Over St. Louis County Animal Shelter After Family Dog Goes Disappeared | Saint-Louis news headlines

ST. LOUIS, Mo. (KMOV.com) – Kerry Obert says there is no care or control within the St. Louis County Animal Care and Control Center. “Your job is to control the animals and now mine is gone,” she said.

Her dog Harley was sent to Animal Control in May after a biting incident with a neighbor’s dog. According to the county ordinance and Missouri law, dogs involved in a suspected bite incident must be quarantined for 10 days.

“They were so excited. We were supposed to get it back that day, ”she said. On the day Ober was due to pick up his dog, an ACC employee who was transporting Harley to a South County vet lost control of the dog, allowing the dog to escape.

Obert said she had not learned that her dog had been missing for almost eight hours before someone from Animal Control contacted her.

“I was’ like where could she be? Where was she? How did this happen? ”She said.

News 4 discovered there had been other incidents involving quarantined animals at the county shelter. In a federal law = lawsuit filed in May, he details the heartbreaking encounter of how county employees mistakenly euthanized a 6-year-old terrier.

According to the lawsuit, animal control personnel euthanized the dog the same day it was dropped off after a biting incident. Court documents reveal the owner told staff before leaving that the dog should not be euthanized. The next day, when the owner came to the establishment to check on the dog’s condition, she learned that the dog was dead.

“They have to get rid of those responsible up there, that would solve a lot of things so that no other family has to go through this,” Obert said.

News 4 has contacted the county for comment on the two cases, they said they could not comment on the pending litigation.

News 4 reported issues around the county animal shelter dating back to 2014. In 2019, the county ordered an audit after several incidents. The audit found that there had been misuse of euthanasia policies and procedures by county employees.

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