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A recovering heroin addict took his cat to the Arizona Humane Society for treatment earlier this month after the cat was injured while crawling through some razor wire. That turned out to be a mistake — because Daniel Dockery was unable to immediately pay for the cat’s treatment, the AHS killed it.
Now, after taking a beating in the media and on its Facebook page, the AHS says it will review its payment policies.
Dockery, who says he’s been off of heroin for about a year — much thanks to the 9-month-old cat — brought the animal, “Scruffy,” to an AHS facility on December 8. He couldn’t pay for the cat’s treatment — and the AHS refused to allow his mother to pay for it using her credit card over the phone — so the AHS told him they would only treat the animal if he signed ownership rights over to the organization, which he did.
Dockery says he went to the AHS to find out about his cat several times over the past three weeks, but was ignored or not given any information (the AHS says Dockery was given phone numbers to call but he never actually made the call).
On Tuesday, the AHS told Dockery the cat was dead — and a media shit-storm followed.
The story has since gone national — even Fox News posted an Associated Press story about the dead cat on its website.
In response to the negative ink, the AHS posted the following note on its website:
Scruffy’s story is heartbreaking, and
underscores the worst-case-scenario of need eclipsing resources
available. Despite recent media coverage, AHS has always done what is
best for the animals and the people in their lives.
Scruffy was brought to AHS after getting tangled in razor or barbed
wire. Her injuries were significant. She was suffering, her muscles were
exposed. Her owner could not pay for treatment himself, and allowing a
day to pass without treatment was inhumane. AHS is not allowed by law to
hold an animal until payment is made. Scruffy was in urgent need;
therefore Mr. Dockery made the heart-wrenching decision to surrender his
pet on Dec 8th.
AHS transported Scruffy from the vet clinic to its Second Chance Animal
Hospital™, with the hope of treating her extensive wounds.
Unfortunately on this same day AHS took in 178 animals, many of whom
also required urgent medical care.
Each of the animals was medically evaluated. Some were cruelty cases,
seized in cooperation with police, and required to be held for 17 days
with urgent care required by law. The Arizona Humane Society did its
best to treat all of the animals that came to the shelter that day.
Again, all were in need and their treatment couldn’t wait. AHS took the
most compassionate action with the animals it couldn’t treat that day.
Scruffy was euthanized.
On Dec. 13, Daniel Dockery visited the Sunnyslope shelter to check on
Scruffy’s whereabouts and staff provided the direct phone number to the
Director of Shelter Operations who did not receive a call from Daniel.
On Friday, Dec. 16, AHS received a letter from Daniel’s mother. On
Monday, Dec. 19, after speaking with his staff and learning the status
of Scruffy, AHS Executive Director Guy Collison called Daniel and left a
message. Daniel didn’t return his call. On Dec. 21, the media called,
and given the sensitive nature of this particular situation, AHS was not
comfortable releasing details about Scruffy to the reporter before
speaking to Daniel himself. Tuesday, Dec. 27, after repeated attempts,
Guy finally reached Daniel and explained that due to Scruffy’s extensive
injuries she was euthanized. Although we know Scruffy can not be
replaced, we empathized with his loss, offered grief support resources,
and encouraged him to visit the shelter when he was ready for another
companion. With Daniel’s permission, AHS also resumed dialog with the
media.
AHS again expresses its most sincere condolences to Daniel Dockery. In
addition, AHS is committed to reviewing its policy of not taking payment
for services over the phone.
Since 1957, the Arizona Humane Society has fostered the belief that
every pet deserves a good life and we are passionately committed to
doing what’s best for pets and the people in their lives. Ultimately,
this is the worst case scenario for the AHS staff, volunteers, donors
and friends. We are heartbroken that need continues to overshadow
resources available and again, express our heartfelt condolences to Mr.
Dockery.
