Family dog mistakenly put down by NZ council

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A family has been left reeling from the sudden loss of their beloved pet dog after it was mistakenly put down by animal control officers.

An investigation is underway after the family dog was taken from a property in the Gisborne area in New Zealand on September 22.

The collared and microchipped family dog named Sarge was taken from a fenced property despite protests from neighbours asking them to “leave him alone”, his family said in a statement.

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Sarge was taken to the pound and “immediately put down” the devastated family said.

“(He was) the victim of gross negligence, incompetency and the most disgusting behaviour you could ever imagine”.

“He was taken from his safe place, his own property” they said, due to what the local council called “mistaken identity”.

“He’d never ever hurt a fly”.

Sarge was taken from the family’s fenced property despite the protests of neighbours asking them to leave him alone. Credit: FacebookInvestigations are underway as to why the beloved family dog was mistakenly put down by animal control officers. Credit: Facebook

Heartbreakingly, animal control officers euthanised Sarge before his owners had the chance to collect him.

“You were never just a dog to us, you were and will forever be our family,” the family said.

Gisborne City Council released a statement apologising for the “very unfortunate incident” where the family’s dog was mistakenly put down due to a “regrettable case of human error”.

“We want to reassure the community that we’re taking this matter seriously,” it said

“We will take appropriate measures to ensure we learn from this and ensure it does not happen again”.

They also advised the animal control officer involved in the incident was “deeply remorseful and shaken” and receiving support.