Sgt. Terry Young’s dog, Target, went missing last Friday. He put up fliers, put a lost dog ad on Craig’s list and contacted tv stations in the area. He found her picture on a website where she was being held. Young went directly to the Pinal Animal Shelter this past Monday morning to pick up Target. What ensued is a nightmare for all people whose pets are lost.
After workers -going back and forth- bringing out the wrong dog to him, wasting time, Sgt. Young’s worst unimaginable nightmare came true. Target was euthanized. Only 72 hours in the shelter and Target was mistakenly euthanized, according to the shelter. Now this would be beyond devastating to me if I found out a shelter euthanized either of my dogs. Target, well, she was a hero- a war hero to US soldiers in Afghanistan. She and two other dogs saved 50 servicemen this past February. She and the two others dogs warned the soldiers of a suicide bomber. The suicide bomber blew himself up and seriously injured one of the other dogs. That dog was subsequently euthanized due to the extent of her injuries. Target was now a hero. Target received her own facebook page and had appeared on Oprah. Target was brought to the states in August to be reunited with Sgt. Terry Young, who was done with his tour of duty, where she was going to have a great life. A life that had once been the target of the enemy. She was shot in Afghanistan. Hence, the name, Target. There has been a national outrage over this senseless death. And rightly so. The animal control official did not follow proper protocal, according to the shelter. This certainly is not an isolated case. Sgt. Young and his family are devastated. Target was only two years old. She saved our men and women who are fighting for our country. How did this happen? Everyone wants to blame the shelter and yes, they deserve the blame they are receiving, without a doubt. Sgt. Young stated in an interview that Target wore a special medal for her heroism (seen in video) that was not given back to him when the shelter gave her collar back. The person who orginally found Target and called animal control has stated that Target did have that medal on her collar while waiting for animal control to pick her up. Why was the medal now missing? What I find puzzling is Target had no license or microchip. There are different groups who assist soldiers in returning dogs from these wars to be with our soldiers. Why didn’t the organizations involved make sure Target was licensed or microchipped? A number of these dogs do escape when they come to the states. This is unfamiliar territory to them. They don’t where they are. When I adopted three of my dogs, I had the same problem. I had Buddy for approximately one month when he ran away from my dad while he was dogsitting for me. Buddy had been a stray when I adopted him. Now he was staying at my dad’s but only for the day. This poor guy was confused. It was New Year’s Eve….fliers were posted, called the radio stations and placed an ad in the paper. Luck was on our side…Buddy was found after four days in the country after hitching a ride. These organizations need to realize the potential pitfalls when bringing dogs over to the states. I hope this tragedy will change their procedures as well as this animal shelter’s procedures. The official who euthanized Target has been suspended. We can place blame on a number of people concerning Target. Sadly it won’t bring back Target. RIP Target- you are and will always be a hero! My deepest condolences to Sgt. Young and his family.