3rd dog killed — by mistake

SPANISH FORK — A Provo family expecting to pick up its two dogs Wednesday at the South Utah Valley Animal Shelter arrived to find that one of them erroneously had been euthanized.

It is the third case of mistaken euthanasia in five months at the Spanish Fork shelter, leading some to call for director Shirley Bybee to be fired.

The most recent fatal error happened on June 12, the same day findings of a police investigation were released clearing Bybee and her staff of wrongdoing in an April case of mistaken euthanasia.

As in the previous cases, an inexperienced and shorthanded staff's failure to follow procedures has been cited as the reason for the latest mistake.

Belle, a 2-year-old black Labrador, was picked up along with a golden retriever by animal control officers for running at large June 9, said Mike Morgan, a former shelter director who was hired earlier this month to assist Bybee with the training of her staff.

Both dogs were scanned for microchips when they arrived at the South Utah Valley shelter and were found to belong to the same owners.

The family was on its way out of town when contacted by the shelter and wasn't able to pick the dogs up for 12 days. Shelter staff agreed to board the dogs at cost to the owners until they returned, Morgan said.

The fatal mistake was made when the dogs were moved, he said. The golden retriever ended up in the right place, but the black lab didn't and ultimately was euthanized.

"The staff, being inexperienced, made a mistake, and it's been tearing them apart," said Morgan.

Bybee explained what happened to the owners in person Wednesday, and presented them with an urn containing Belle's ashes. Because the shelter was unable to contact the owners while they were out of town, staff elected to have the dog cremated.

Shelter officials declined to provide the names of the dog owners. Morgan said they were upset but not angry at the shelter.

"They were very thankful (Bybee) was up front with them," he said, "and they seemed to be accepting of her apologies."

Though she wasn't directly involved in the mistakes that led to the dog's death, Bybee said she takes full responsibility for that breakdown among her employees.