North Carolina

North Carolina family says animal shelter mistakenly euthanized its dog

LEXINGTON, N.C. — Members of a family say they are hurt after a North Carolina animal shelter mistakenly euthanized their dog in a paperwork mix-up.

The Winston-Salem Journal reports the dog was a 16-month-old Australian cattle dog named Blaze. The dog's owner, Joey Varker, posted on social media that Blaze had been sent to the shelter to be quarantined after biting a child in the family. Varker said his wife went to pick Blaze up but was shown a different dog.

Assistant County Manager Casey Smith says the error was due to a mistake in the intake paperwork. Smith says 10 dogs entered the shelter Saturday for bites, and Blaze was mistaken for a different dog to be put down.

Smith says this was the first time the shelter has made this error.