[StBernard] this makes me sooooo mad !!!! and sick!!!!!

[Westley Annis]

I told the the friend who emailed this to me that's the reason I think it is
soooo important to spend that relatively small amt. to have the chip
implanted on your pet.





	 

	 

	Target, the dog who survived Afghan war and melted hearts on Oprah,
mistakenly put down at Arizona animal shelter

	By Daily Mail Reporter
<http://www.dailymail.co.uk/home/search.html?s=y&authornamef=Daily+Mail+Repo
rter> 
	Last updated at 6:06 PM on 16th November 2010

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	Target the dog lived through explosions in war-torn Afghanistan,
saved the lives of U.S. soldiers and was featured on Oprah - but she
couldn't survive a brief stay at an Arizona animal shelter.

	An employee at the Pinal County facility was today on administrative
leave after euthanizing the shepherd mix by mistake.

	'When it comes to euthanizing an animal, there are some clear-cut
procedures to follow,' said Ruth Stalter, director of the Animal Care And
Control centre.
	'Based on my preliminary investigation, our employee did not follow
those procedures.'

	Scroll down for video report

	Target befriended American soldiers in Afghanistan, and helped scare
a suicide bomber who showed up at a base wearing 25 lbs of explosives,
barking at and biting the terrorist

	Target befriended American soldiers in Afghanistan, and helped scare
a suicide bomber who showed up at a base wearing 25 lbs of explosives,
barking at and biting the terrorist

	Target was hailed a hero and her injuries were treated by medics as
though she was a soldier. She lived, came to live in Arizona and appeared on
Oprah with her owner Sgt. Young

	Target was hailed a hero and her injuries were treated by medics as
though she was a soldier. She lived, came to live in Arizona and appeared on
Oprah with her owner Sgt. Young

	Sgt. Terry Young, the owner of the dog, told The Arizona Republic,
'I just can't believe that something like this would happen to such a good
dog.'

	Target and two other dogs, Rufus and Sasha, were mutts who
befriended soldiers stationed in Afghanistan, who began to feed them and
treated the canines as pets on the military base.

	One night in February a suicide bomber came to the base in the
middle of the night, wearing 25 pounds of explosives and intent on killing
Americans. 

	The three dogs frightened, barked at and bit the bomber, scaring him
and waking the sleeping soldiers in the process. Deterred, the terrorist
detonated himself outside instead of coming in.

	The lives of 50 soldiers were potentially spared because of the
dogs' actions.

	Sasha was killed, but Target and Rufus lived. Medics treated the
injured dogs like soldiers and the two were saved. 

	Only five soldiers were injured in the bombing and all recovered

	Sgt Young said the dogs was treated like royalty from then on at the
base at Dand Patan, near the Pakistan border.

	With the help of aid groups, Sgt Young brought Target to the San Tan
Valley area south-east of Phoenix in August, when he returned home from his
tour of duty. Rufus went to live with another soldier in Georgia.

	Target was featured on 'Oprah' in September in a show about amazing
animals. 

	On Friday of last week the dog escaped from the family's backyard.
Sgt Young then put out notices and contacted TV stations that did reports on
the missing dog.

	Sgt Young's 4-year-old son (seen here when Target arrived from
Afghanistan) has been devastated by the pet's death and asked his dad to
take out the poison and bring the beloved animal home

	Sgt Young's 4-year-old son (seen here when Target arrived from
Afghanistan) has been devastated by the pet's death and asked his dad to
take out the poison and bring the beloved animal home

	She wore a special pink camouflage collar

	She wore a special pink camouflage collar 

	A neighbour found Target wandering later that day and put her in his
backyard and called the shelter. The dog did not have a microchip or tag.

	On Friday night, Sgt Young found Target's picture on a website used
by Pinal County's dog catchers to help owners track lost pets. He thought
the shelter was closed for the night and weekend.

	He showed up at the shelter in Casa Grande to claim his dog on
Monday, only to find out she was dead.

	County officials say the employee mistakenly took the dog out of its
pen Monday morning and euthanized it.

	'My four-year-old son just can't understand what is going on with
Target and keeps asking me to get the poison out of her and bring her home.
They don't want her to go be with God yet,' a teary Sgt Young told the local
CBS TV station.

	The Arizona Republic said Sgt Young and his family will get the
dog's cremated remains.

	 

	 

	 

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	Pakistan
<http://explore.dailymail.co.uk/locations/countries/pakistan> , 

	Afghanistan
<http://explore.dailymail.co.uk/locations/countries/afghanistan>  

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