A woman who describes herself as a “huge animal lover” has criticised the police, the council and the vets after a stray dog was put down on New Year’s Day.
Stephanie Fletcher found the Staffordshire Bull Terrier wandering the streets of Stoke-on-Trent on New Year’s Eve and took the dog into her Birches Head home. However, the dog bit Stephanie and began acting “aggressively” after she took the animal in.
But the 45-year-old struggled to find help as Animal Lifeline was full – and she claimed that Stoke-on-Trent City Council, Staffordshire Police and vets refused to help. Eventually, the dog was put down, and Stephanie said she was left devastated.
‘We had no choice but to put our dog down after fireworks on Bonfire Night’
The dog was later put down
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Image:
Stoke-on-Trent Live)
She told Stoke-on-Trent Live: “A neighbour helped me get him in with a washing line around his collar. When I took him in and posted about it on Facebook, I thought the owner would come and claim it pretty quickly. But they didn’t.
“After about two hours, I went to a vets. They wouldn’t scan him as they said he seemed aggressive in the front of my car and told me to take him to Animal Lifeline instead. But they were full, so they wouldn’t take him either.
“Animal Lifeline told me to take him to Lime Trees Vets, in Meir. They said they’d ring ahead and tell them I was coming. But, again, when I arrived they told me they didn’t know why I’d brought him as they can’t take in an aggressive dog.
“They told me to ring the dog warden for collection. So I took him back to my house and had him in the back. I have a dog and a cat, and I couldn’t have him mixing with them, so I kept them separate in the front.” Stephanie, who nicknamed the Staffy Buddy, added: “My dog got excited and started growling and barking through the doors. This frightened Buddy, who started growling and then nipped me – only very gently, mind.
“I rang the dog warden again and told them he’d nipped me. I wanted to know when they were going to pick him up. After they’d learned that, they told me they wouldn’t get him because he’s a ‘dangerous dog’. They said I’d have to call Staffordshire Police.”
She continued: “The police were really nice at first. They said they’d get a dog handler over to me as soon as they could. One hour later, I rang them back. I got another officer on the line who was much less polite. He told me they wouldn’t be doing anything about it as they’re not a kennel service.
“I phoned back Lime Tree Vets in desperation. At this point, I’d had him for seven hours and I didn’t know what to do with him. They said, ‘Okay, bring him back’. I pleaded with them not to put the dog down. He wasn’t aggressive, he was just scared. A few hours earlier, he’d been lying on my kitchen floor snoozing, happy as anything.
“I begged them not to put him down, whatever they do. I told them I’d found somewhere the dog could stay – a home with no children, no other animals, nothing like that. It was absolutely traumatic. I’m a huge, huge animal lover. It’s just been so upsetting. The police let me down. The animal services let me down. Everyone I turned to just kept letting me down. I felt like nobody cared.”
Buddy had been taken to Lime Tree Vets out-of-hours. His care was handled by Vets Now. A Vets Now spokesman said: “As well as the welfare of the animals in our care, we have a responsibility for the safety of our staff and the wider general public. Having liaised with the relevant local authorities, it was decided on the morning of 1 January that sadly in this instance the most appropriate course of action was to humanely euthanise the dog on public safety grounds, to prevent further injury to human life.”
Stephanie had contacted Staffordshire Police at 1.45pm on New Year’s Eve. A police spokesman said: “We received a report of a dog being found on Eros Crescent. The dog, described as a dark Staffordshire Bull Terrier, had been found in the street and taken in by a woman.
“She tried to take the dog to a local vet and contacted the local authority dog warden. She was advised to contact police as the dog had bitten her. The dog was taken to another vet who advised the woman that the dog was dangerous and would be euthanised.
“Officers visited the address of the registered dog owner and attempted to call the contact number, but no-one was found. After being updated by officers, the vet carried out an assessment and euthanised the dog.”
The Mirror has contacted Stoke-on-Trent City Council for comment.