The tragic story of Capone, a sixteen-year-old Pit Bull who became lost in Linden, Michigan, recently moved the internet.
Source: Todd MacDonell
At the start of June, the dog was found roaming the streets by Todd MacDonell, a resident of the small city with only around 4000 inhabitants. He recounts:
He was walking across the street. He had on an orange harness and obviously he was owned. I didn’t know how long he had been roaming around. He was whining on the way up, could have been thirsty or scared. He was getting up and down on the seat in my work truck. He obviously wasn’t that bad, he was moving around.
Before entrusting the dog to Genesee County Animal Control (GCAC), Todd posted a photo on the Facebook pageFor the Love of Louie,which aims to find lost animals, in the hope that the canine's owners might see the post and be able to find their beloved Capone.
Source: Serafin Montoya
Shortly after, he received a message from the worried owners and proceeded to give them all the contact details they needed to get in touch with the shelter. However, just three hours later, they were informed that it was already too late. Tragically, Capone had been put down.While his age was an important factor in their decision, the manager of the shelter also recounted that the dog was in a lot of pain. Drew Shapiro,Genesee County Commissioner, announced:
As a dog owner myself, as a longtime owner of a rescue dog, I’m personally appalled that this took place in a Genesee County facility. It is one of my main campaign promises, to continue reforms on GCAC. Although it’s come a long way, this is just a testament to the fact that much more improvements and oversight needs to take place.
Source: Serafin Montoya
This tragic story could have been avoided if Capone were fitted with a microchip to identify him.However, the shelter chose to euthanize the dog much too soon, before he had the chance to be found and picked up by his family, particularly as the dog was not in bad health and was wearing a harness, proof that he had a home to go back to.
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