Thoughts on this? It doesn’t even seem legal to me.
https://www.nbcwashington.com/news/...wner-Asks-to-Be-Buried-With-It-510236161.html
https://www.nbcwashington.com/news/...wner-Asks-to-Be-Buried-With-It-510236161.html
Haha. You’re right! I guess I should have worded it differently!Well, the thread title certainly buried the lede. I was all like "what's wrong with cremating your dog?"
Yikes. I don't think this is how animal shelters work in general. What a selfish, cruel plan by the owner. How awful he/she apparently was able to find someone who would carefully carry out their plan.One thing I don't understand after having re-read the article is related to the dog being in a shelter. Apparently it was there for 2 weeks before the executor of the woman's estate retrieved it so her wishes could be carried out. The shelter representative said it could have easily been re-homed. If so, why wasn't it during the period it was in the shelter? How did it end up in the shelter in the first place and was it just being warehoused there waiting to be retrieved? Granted, I don't know much about things like this but is that how animal shelters work?
Right - that's what I already read. Doesn't clear up my confusion about why the dog was in the shelter in the first place and why it hadn't been re-homed (if it was such a desirable type of dog). Don't the owners give up their rights to the animal when it goes into a shelter? Can shelters just be used as some sort of cost-free boarding facility?I don't think this is how animal shelters work in general. Yikes.
https://www.nbc12.com/2019/05/16/loved-death-is-euthanizing-pets-be-buried-with-dead-owners-ok/
"Sometimes, people love their pets too much. Such was the case with Emma, a healthy Shih Tzu mix that was recently euthanized after its late owner left explicit instructions the dog be put down - and laid to rest - with her.
It’s a practice that’s not only cruel, but one, that in most cases here in Virginia, is illegal.
“Emma” arrived at the Chesterfield Animal Shelter on March 8. During her two-week stay, shelter personnel had several discussions with the executor of the dead woman’s estate, trying to talk him out of euthanizing the dog so it could be laid to rest with its master, but to no avail.
It’s a scenario that left shelter employees heartbroken.
“We did suggest they could sign the dog over on numerous occasions, because it’s a dog we could easily find a home for and re-home,” said Carrie Jones, manager of Chesterfield Animal Services. “Ultimately, they came back in on March 22nd and redeemed the dog.”
One thing I don't understand after having re-read the article is related to the dog being in a shelter. Apparently it was there for 2 weeks before the executor of the woman's estate retrieved it so her wishes could be carried out. The shelter representative said it could have easily been re-homed. If so, why wasn't it during the period it was in the shelter? How did it end up in the shelter in the first place and was it just being warehoused there waiting to be retrieved? Granted, I don't know much about things like this but is that how animal shelters work?
Right - that's what I already read. Doesn't clear up my confusion about why the dog was in the shelter in the first place and why it hadn't been re-homed (if it was such a desirable type of dog). Don't the owners give up their rights to the animal when it goes into a shelter? Can shelters just be used as some sort of cost-free boarding facility?
“We did suggest they could sign the dog over on numerous occasions, because it’s a dog we could easily find a home for and re-home,” said Carrie Jones, manager of Chesterfield Animal Services. “Ultimately, they came back in on March 22nd and redeemed the dog.”
So where were all these people who would have re-homed the dog? The shelter had the dog for two weeks to find new owners.
Exactly what I was wondering. There seems to be details missing. Since when do shelters kennel dogs? Aren't most of them overrun with animals they have to euthanize because more are coming in all the time? And usually 2 weeks is the limit for animals being there before they get euthanized.
I bet it went something like: the dog was slated to be euthanized since it hadn't been adopted out. Even if they knew from the beginning that the estate wanted the dog to be euthanized, since they had it, they could have shown the dog to people and then told the estate that they have 3 different people who want the dog. PLEASE give the dog to one of those people. They didn't say or do that.
The estate came, only wanting the remains after the dog had been put down. They found out the shelter won't give euthanized animals to people. That's when they told the shelter what they wanted the remains for. Suddenly, the shelter claimed the dog could be re-homed. It's okay for them to euthanize a dog to make room for incoming ones. But, not to be euthanized to be with the dead owner. The estate took back the dog to be euthanized elsewhere and that's when the shelter made a public stink about it.
They couldn't because the executor wouldn't sign the dog over to them.
The article I posted says the staff tried to talk the executor out of the plan (multiple times) because it was a dog they could easily find a new home for.
It could be that placing the animal in the shelter was a temporary legal choice in this specific situation. The executor was working on quite a plan. They probably wanted to dot their i's, cross their t's...so that the executor would not be "responsible" for the death. So, they temporarily placed the dog, without signing her over.
The shelter may have thought that it might be possible to talk the executor out of their determination to see the dog die and bury it with the "owner".
I think the executor was working hard to find someone who would willingly kill the dog, "legally". Sadly, that was their only goal.The shelter had the dog on their premises. They could have shown the dog, even though a gate, pointed and said, "This dog is being housed here. WE would like to tell the executor of the estate that we have people interested in adopting this dog, in the hopes of changing their mind and letting the dog be adopted. Are you interested? You'd be the first/second/third one we'll call if they let the dog be adopted." Words. That's all it took. But, they didn't seem to have people lined up, IN CASE. Or to try to persuade the executor, with an actual number of hopeful people.