PHOENIX, USA - A dog named Target that lived through explosions in war-torn Afghanistan could not survive a brief stay at an Arizona animal shelter.An unidentified employee at the Pinal County facility was placed on administrative leave after putting the female Alsatian to sleep by mistake, county Animal Care and Control officials said.
Target, a shepherd mix who was featured on The Oprah Winfrey Show and in local media, for her heroics in Afghanistan, got loose from her owners on Friday and was put down on Monday, after spending the weekend in a county shelter.- The employee who euthanised the dog has been placed on administrative leave, Pinal County Animal Care and Control Director, Ruth Stalter, revealed."I'm heartsick over this," Stalter said in a written statement."I had to personally deliver the news to the dog's owner and he and his family are understandably distraught," she added.
- Stalter said that the shelter works hard to reunite lost pets with their owners and that an investigation had been launched to determine how the mistake was made.
- "When it comes to euthanising an animal, there are some clear-cut procedures to follow," she said. "Based on my preliminary investigation, our employee did not follow those procedures," Stalter added.
According to The Oprah Winfrey Show website, Target and two other stray dogs, Sasha and Rufus, were adopted by US troops in Afghanistan after wandering into a military compound there.- The three dogs were hailed as heroes after attacking a suicide bomber who entered the compound, apparently headed toward barracks with some 50 allied soldiers inside.
- Sasha was badly injured when the bomber detonated an explosive device and had to be euthanised, but Target and Rufus survived and were brought home with soldiers, returning from their tour of duty in Afghanistan.
- "He had personally been profoundly affected by this dog's heroism and had worked very hard to bring the dog back over here," Pinal County spokeswoman Heather Murphy said.
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