Sunday, April 12, 2009

Update on Dog Bite incident

Well, that was Thursday. All day Friday I waited for the stupid pound to come, because I called them first thing in the morning. I called them 4 times during the day to check and the first 3 times I was told the trucks were still "out" and she had no idea if the dog had been picked up or not.
When I called at 4:25 pm on Friday, it was only then that I was told "we can't pick up the dog without a copy of the bite report from the health dept". I was furious! I asked why I had not been told this any of the other times I had called and she said she didn't know that until just now (like I really believe that!) Plus... she told me there was no supervisor there to open the office (so, the faxed report could have been in the office that whole day!) I said, there is no supervisor at all ALL day long? and she said yes.
She tells me to call the health dept and get them to fax the report and I said I think they are closed by now and she said "oh no, they don't close until 5 pm", so I get the phone number, call and guess what???? they closed at 4 pm!! and of course, by this time the pound is closed!!
So I called the medical records at the hospital I took him to, and begged the lady to fax a copy of the report to the pound. She said she would

Now, it's Saturday morning. I called the pound (again) and once again demand they pick the dog up. I inform them the hospital had faxed the report they needed. Once again, the idiot girl at the desk tells me they can't!! Why not???????? Because (once again) there is no supervisor there to open the office where the fax machine is!
Lots of yelling, cursing and gnashing my teeth folllow the completion of this call!

So, light bulb over my head! I sit down in all my righteous anger and write a very long, very angry (yet polite) letter to the mayor. I explain the whole situation and who asinine it is to have a pound that does nothing! I also write a letter to the police chief complaining about the police who never showed up.
Of course, I wrote these letters, never believing I would get any kind of response. After all, we do live in Huntington where the police can do anything and nobody seems to care!

Surprise, surprise, surprise!! At about 6 pm (on a Saturday evening) I answer the phone and it is the mayor! He seems to be very concerned with the whole mess. He said he had read all the letters (apparently dh had sent 2 letters also) along with the forwarded on from the police chief. He said he needed to find out if police had been dispatched and I said no, and he said he needs to find out (then I know, police may have been sent out and just not come)and he wants to listen to 911 tapes. I told him I would be on there about 3 or 4 times.
I told him no where in the city or county code does it say anything about needing a "bite report" before picking up a dog that has bitten. Plus, I told him I see police and pound at dog bites before in the paper, on the news and now I feel like my son is not as important as other because nothing has been done so far!

So, the upshot is--it has been over 60 hours (as of this posting) and that stupid dog is still loose and nothing has been done!
I really can't wait until Monday! All hell will break loose!

2 comments:

Remy said...

Jean,
The bigger government gets, the easier it becomes to have something, even a serious incident, slip through the cracks. It's always able to be pawned off as some other person's/department's/agency's job. If the dog is rabid or otherwise diseased, it is a huge health risk, and a huge public relations risk for those who are NOT doing what they are being paid to do. Maybe a local radio or TV station could be contacted, esp. if they have a citizen/consumer advocate who takes on lazy bureaucrats.
Remy

ArianaGE said...

Don't hold your breath till monday. It might well be there's no supervisor at the pound due to Easter. Friday was Good Friday, so I guess vacation time, as will be Easter Monday. Be prepared that they will make you wait till tuesday before you see any action. Sorry you have to deal with all this.

ArianaGE