A one-eyed cat named Kevin was taken to the Lee County animal shelter as a stray. One hour and 54 minutes later that morning in mid-May, Kevin was euthanized.
There were no posts online about his short stay at the shelter and apparently there wasn’t any paperwork readily available when Kevin’s owner called the shelter looking for her pet.
Angela Tardiff called a second time and was given the same answer: No one-eyed gray cat was there.
The following day Tardiff went to the shelter and on the countertop was Kevin's intake form. He had arrived at 8:36 a.m. At 10:30 a.m. he was gone.
She was told he was put down because of his bad eye. Days later, Tardiff relayed the sad story of Kevin to the Lee County Board of Commissioners because the shelter is county-run.
“What made Kevin unique and strong may have been wrongly seen as the reason to end his life," Tardiff said at a May board meeting explaining that Kevin's eye has been bad since he was a kitten. "No photo had been posted, no public notice was made, no stray hold period was observed and no effort was made to reunite him with us.”
As it turns out, Lee County’s policy to hold small animals like Kevin who come in as “strays” isn’t days or even hours long, it’s zero hours, Marc Mora, the county’s assistant manager told the board of county commissioners on Tuesday.
But Mora also said Kevin’s unfortunate death is fostering change and there is now a 24-hour hold policy in place after an emergency decision was made. The board is expected to take official action on a hold policy later this summer.
“This additional time is intended to improve opportunities for reunification with owners whenever possible,” Mora said.
Mora encouraged pet owners to have their animals microchipped or wearing a collar with identifying information at all times.
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