{"id":1284,"date":"2024-09-22T11:03:26","date_gmt":"2024-09-22T11:03:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/buzzflash1.com\/?p=1284"},"modified":"2024-09-22T11:03:26","modified_gmt":"2024-09-22T11:03:26","slug":"heartbroken-family-seeks-justice-after-shelter-euthanizes-their-missing-dog","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buzzflash1.com\/?p=1284","title":{"rendered":"Heartbroken Family Seeks Justice After Shelter Euthanizes Their Missing Dog"},"content":{"rendered":"

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\nA Texas family is grappling with shock and grief after their cherished dog was euthanized by a shelter following a brief disappearance, and now they are seeking justice.<\/p>\n

John Gilcrease, from Denton County, Texas, recounted the heartbreaking tale of how his 13-year-old Labrador, Gunner, was tragically put down after a shelter picked him up when he went missing.<\/p>\n

Gilcrease stated that on September 3, Gunner did not come home. The family searched the area, contacted neighbors, and posted on social media in an effort to find him.<\/p>\n

Finally, they received news that Gunner had been found and taken in by a local animal shelter, the Linda McNatt Animal Care & Adoption Center. Gilcrease felt a wave of relief, believing his dog was safe and being cared for. He called the shelter, and although they informed him they would be closed the following day, he could pick up Gunner on September 5.<\/p>\n

However, when he arrived, the staff\u2019s behavior was peculiar. After struggling to get a clear answer, he started to fear that his dog was no longer there\u2014a concern that was soon validated.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe took so long to answer that my rebuttal back to that was, \u2018Did you kill my dog?\u2019\u201dGilcrease recounted to CBS News. \u201cAnd she said, \u2018Yes.\u2019\u201d
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\n\u201cKnowing that they put down a family member of almost 13 years, I don\u2019t know how I kept my composure,\u201d he continued, noting that the shelter did not offer an apology and returned Gunner\u2019s body to him in a plastic bag.
\nThe shelter stated that they euthanized Gunner for health reasons, arguing that the dog was \u201cold\u201d and suffered from arthritis and incontinence. They reinforced this argument in a statement released on September 11: \u201cWhile our staff works tirelessly to serve each animal with compassion, there are times when they must make incredibly difficult decisions, including humane euthanasia, when it is in the best interest of the animal,\u201d the statement read.<\/p>\n

The shelter claimed that they chose to \u201chumanely euthanize\u201d Gunner due to his bladder and bowel control issues, asserting he was in \u201cimmense discomfort.\u201d However, Gilcrease contends that his dog was likely just frightened.
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\nAnother contentious issue is that the City of Denton\u2019s website states that owners have a 72-hour stray hold to reclaim their dogs before they become the property of the Animal Services Center. The decision to euthanize Gunner appears to violate this policy, but the shelter claims they make exceptions \u201cwhen an animal is suffering or has a poor quality of life.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHe was brought in Tuesday evening, and the very next morning they euthanized him,\u201d Gilcrease stated. \u201cIt wasn\u2019t 12 hours later.\u201d<\/p>\n

The shelter also asserted that they attempted to contact the family using the information on Gunner\u2019s microchip, claiming the phone numbers and emails were unresponsive. Gilcrease disputes this assertion, stating that his information was up to date and that he had already reached out to the shelter after learning Gunner was there.<\/p>\n

\u201cI said, he has a chip. He has a tracking collar. My email. My phone numbers. My name,\u201d he shared on TikTok. \u201cLook me up on Facebook. None of that happened, and they euthanized my family dog.\u201d<\/p>\n

Gilcrease and his family have been heartbroken by the loss. \u201cMy children are damaged. I\u2019m damaged. I can\u2019t stop crying. My wife can\u2019t stop crying,\u201d Gilcrease, a father of four, told CBS News, remembering Gunner as a \u201charmless, goofy little lab that just captured our hearts.\u201d<\/p>\n

Gilcrease is now advocating for justice for Gunner. In a Facebook post, he announced that he was filing animal cruelty charges against the City of Denton Animal Shelter, insisting that staff members Mindy Henry and Nikki Sassenus should be fired for the \u201cmurder\u201d of his dog.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf they did this to me, they would do it to you! They broke the law!\u201d he wrote.<\/p>\n

As the story has gained traction on social media, many have rallied to support the cause, voicing their outrage against the shelter and demanding accountability. Over 40,000 people have signed a Change.org petition calling for an investigation.
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\nAccording to the Denton Record-Chronicle, the city is looking into the matter and reports that staff did not consult a veterinarian before euthanizing Gunner.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A Texas family is grappling with shock and grief after their cherished dog was euthanized by a shelter following a brief disappearance, and now they are seeking justice. John Gilcrease, from Denton County, Texas, recounted the heartbreaking tale of how his 13-year-old Labrador, Gunner, was tragically put down after a shelter picked him up when…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1289,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_kad_post_transparent":"default","_kad_post_title":"default","_kad_post_layout":"default","_kad_post_sidebar_id":"","_kad_post_content_style":"default","_kad_post_vertical_padding":"default","_kad_post_feature":"","_kad_post_feature_position":"","_kad_post_header":false,"_kad_post_footer":false,"_kad_post_classname":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1284","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/buzzflash1.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1284","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/buzzflash1.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/buzzflash1.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buzzflash1.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buzzflash1.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1284"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/buzzflash1.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1284\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1290,"href":"https:\/\/buzzflash1.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1284\/revisions\/1290"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buzzflash1.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/1289"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/buzzflash1.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1284"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buzzflash1.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1284"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buzzflash1.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1284"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}