Shelter mistakenly euthanizes Fla. woman's cat

[July 24, 2009]  SPRING HILL, Fla. (AP) -- Officials on the west coast of Florida are crafting new safeguards after mistakenly euthanizing a woman's cat. Maria Velez's cat "Buddy" had been quarantined for four days at a Hernando County Animal Services shelter after biting a pet sitter.

But when she and her 11-year-old son went to pick up the orange, tiger-stripe cat they found it had been mistakenly euthanized.

An animal services worker who thought she was calling Buddy's owner called the wrong person. That person, who had also brought a cat to the shelter, said they did not want the cat and gave permission to have it euthanized. Buddy was euthanized instead.

Code and Animal Services manager for Hernando County, Liana Teague, calls the mistake a "tragedy" and says they will work to make sure it doesn't happen again.

[Associated Press]

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