Many of you already know about the horrible story and tragic loss of our sweet German Shepherd, Christa. We felt it was time to share the story publicly.
On May 1st of this year, we were hosting a wedding at our home, and we boarded our three dogs (Coach, Flipper, and Christa) at the "Unleashed Dog Hotel" (http://www.dogsunleashed.com/) in Murray, UT. Late that afternoon, we received a call from Billy Meadows, "Unleashed's" owner, informing us there had been an accident and that our German Shepherd, Christa, had been attacked and killed by two other dogs at the facility.
After the initial shock of hearing such horrific news, we, of course, wanted to understand what had happened. An official account of the incident is available through West Jordan Police Records. We also have a copy of all reports along with the video of the mauling.
To summarize, Christa was in an area of the facility with many other dogs in a group play type of situation. Christa, being a harmless, sweet old gal, wasn't much for running around with a bunch of other dogs. So, she did what she did every day at home; she found a quiet place to take a nap. At some point, the staff of "Unleashed" decided to clear the area of the dogs so that they could let two "non-social"dogs into the enclosure. Unfortunately, employees did not look to account for Christa when they cleared the area. It would have been a very simple task that would have taken seconds.
Upon clearing the area (minus Christa), the two "non-social" dogs, as they were described to us, were let into the pen to roam free. After what these dogs did to Christa, I am not sure "non social" is an adequate description. Perhaps viscious or ferocious or savage would be more accurate. Without sharing all the graphic and horrific details of what occurred, the "non-social" dogs found Christa. Upon finding Christa, they viciously attacked and mauled her to death. The attack itself lasted about 15 minutes. It was another 10 minutes or so until it was discovered by the "Unleashed" staff that our harmless, innocent Christa, had been tortured to death.
This poor, defenseless, animal was left alone for around 35 minutes. We cannot imagine the terror she experienced. We know as a family that we will outlive our dogs. Although it is very difficult when they pass, we can accept it as part of life. However, Christa did not deserve to die in this horrific manner. Therefore, we cannot accept this.
We continue to explore the options available to us to remedy this situation. Sadly, we have learned that the law considers dogs as simple property. These animals seem to have no rights in a situation such as this. We are sharing this story for awareness of what happened to our dog at "Unleashed Dog Hotel". We are sharing this story in hopes that we can affect some change in the laws in how the State views dogs.
This story needs to be shared. Someone needs to be held accountable. The laws certainly need to change. Please share with anyone who is a dog lover.
Signed,
The Ron & Vicky McBride Family
The Mark & Kelly Redican Family
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