BRUNSWICK COUNTY, NC (WWAY) — A Brunswick County military veteran received news no pet owner wants to hear. On Tuesday Ashly Kron found out Brunswick County Animal Services euthanized her beloved dog Hershey.
Kron says it was all because of miscommunication.
Playful and kind, that is how Kron remembers her beloved pup. Kron was in the hospital when Hershey got loose and the county picked him up.
Kron says she called the shelter twice, the first time she says they did not have her dog. The second time she said they did. When she knew he was there, she says she told them she was trying to get the money to pay his fees.
But when she went to pick him up on Tuesday it was too late.
“And that’s when he told me that the message was not relayed and that they had put him down,” Kron said.
Kron’s world was turned upside down.
“Upset, angry, devastated. He was my baby. I’ve raised him since he was 5 weeks old. I just don’t want to see this happen to anybody else because this pain. He was like my child. And they took him away from me,” Kron said.
The state law requires shelters to hold animals for 72 hours. Brunswick County holds animals for five days.
“We don’t want to euthanize an animal,” Brunswick County Sheriff, John Ingram said. “But we have to have the community’s help. And being a responsible pet owner is part of that.”
After the five days the animal is then evaluated to be adopted or put down. In Hershey’s case, he was put down because he was deemed aggressive with other dogs.
However, those who knew him say that is not true.
“They’re around people they don’t know,” Ashly’s sister, Misty Kelly said. “They’re going to act differently than they would if you saw them in their own environment. At their house around their family.”
Sheriff Ingram says Kron should have stopped by the shelter last week. Kron says she could not because she was sick and did not have a ride. Kron says the least they could have done was call.
“Could we have done more, yes. Definitely and we’re certainly reviewing that. But even in this situation we went well beyond any requirements. Trying to give ample time to a possible owner to show up,” Ingram said.
The county gave Kron 10 days, but it was what Kron calls miscommunication that took her pup away.
The county encourages pet owners to always have a form of identification on your pet whether it is with a tag or microchip.
They add if you lose a pet you can post a picture to their website with contact information.