(Memphis) Two Memphis Animal Control Officers have been reprimanded after mistakenly euthanizing a dog.
But some people say the punishment is just a slap on the wrist.
The two workers, Vincetta Jackson and Glenn Lanton, received written reprimands for violating department policies.
The reports now go into the workers files and warn them if another major infraction like this happens, they could be fired.
Victoria Henry’s dogs Nola and Uno were like her children, “We had a really tight bond. Me and Nola, and sometimes I think Uno would get jealous because he was my baby first.”
Nola was euthanized by the Memphis Animal Shelter when she was picked up by a control officer and not entered into the system correctly.
A letter of reprimand says Vincetta Jackson entered the wrong information into the computer system which lead to Nola being Euthanized.
Jackson’s entry made it look like Nola had been there for one month when really, she was there for one day.
A letter was also sent to Glenn Lanton who actually preformed the euthanasia and did not properly log it.
That`s why Animal Control didn’t know if Nola had actually been put down for several days.
These same mistakes have been made at the shelter before.
Whitney Porter lives in Memphis and thinks the punishment doesn’t fit the mistake, “That`s definitely just a slap on the wrist. I think some type of suspension or unpaid days off would be appropriate instead of just a slap on the wrist.”
Carol Bethshears hopes Nola didn’t die in vain, “I would hope to see that they would learn from this and take a lesson about what`s going on and be a little more humane to animals.”
Last time we talked to the Animal Shelter’s director James Rogers, he said they were investigating what happened and working with employees to make sure they were doing their jobs properly.
Mayor A C Wharton says there will be more training for Animal Services workers,
but it will take time and money.
Earlier this month, the shelter’s Operations Manager Chelton Beamon was fired by the city just after the Nola incident for “failure to perform the duties of his position.”
