Petition targets animal shelter

Dan Kulin

Thursday, March 27, 2003 | 11:19 a.m.

A family whose dog was accidentally killed at the Lied Animal Shelter is petitioning the city to revoke the contract with the group that runs the shelter.

The Nevada Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals and the Las Vegas Valley Humane Society are also involved in the petition.

Tami Murrieta's dog Becky, a 6-year-old Aussie mix, was euthanized at the Animal Foundation shelter by mistake after being quarantined after biting a neighbor, Murrieta said.

Murrieta said the mistaken identity should never have happened because the dog had identification on its collar.

Animal Foundation spokesman Mark Fierro said a shelter worker was fired as a result. Two or three dogs have been accidentally killed in the past five or six years, he said.

Fierro said he is not concerned about the petition costing the foundation its city contract, worth $487,500 this year.

"Our excellent record will speak for itself," Fierro said.

Murrieta said the petition will be circulated for at least a couple of weeks.

In February the Clark County Commission voted to have the Animal Foundation run the county shelter program beginning in two years.

Janie Greenspun Gale, a member of the Greenspun family which owns the Sun, is on the Animal Foundation board.