By admin 
LILLINGTON, N.C. (WNCN) — Harnett County staff will not perform a euthanasia procedure at the animal shelter until they are retrained, a spokesperson told CBS 17.
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This comes after The North Carolina Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services’ Veterinary Division issued a notice of civil penalty and warning to the Harnett County Animal Services Animal Shelter, alleging violations from a recent inspection.
The Harnett County spokesperson told CBS 17 that officials are consulting with Wake County to schedule training to make sure their team abides by the correct euthanasia documentation process moving forward.
According to a letter dated May 29 from the North Carolina Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services to a Harnett County official, an inspection was completed on March 24. Issues were found related to the documentation of intracardiac injections, an injection directly into the heart, for euthanasia.
The notice says the inspector reminded technicians about the required paperwork for these injections.
A follow up inspection was completed on April 29, according to the document. It states all 42 dogs that were euthanized from March 25 to April 29 received an intracardiac injection.
“In violation of [state statute], the records for 41 of the 42 dogs euthanized by intracardiac injection did not indicate that, due to the medical condition of the animal and/or size of the animal, intracardiac or intraperitoneal administration was not practical or humane,” the notice reads.
“One record indicated the certified euthanasia technician was unable to find the vein on a young dog,” the notice continues. “The intake record of this dog indicates that it was a thee-month-old Boxer mix that tested positive for canine parvovirus.”
The document also says for 31 of the 42 animals euthanized during this time, it’s alleged there was no verification or documentation of the absence of a pain response before injection.
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The letter goes on to say for records for 30 of the animals, there’s no documentation that they were scanned for a microchip before being euthanized.
It also says five cats weren’t given appropriate amounts of the euthanasia drug. Furthermore, there were some dirty fans in a kennel and the area outside of the shelter was unkept with weeds and cracks in the concrete of the exercise area.
In total, the shelter was fined $19,150.
A Harnett County spokesperson told CBS 17 the county’s facilities team was at the shelter on Monday and Tuesday, completing work on the outdoor area and cleaning fans. The team will continue to make sure the area is maintained and new fans will be purchased soon.
Harnett County affirmed it is committed to fixing the issues the inspector found.
A statement CBS 17 received from the county on Wednesday said in part, “The humane treatment of animals will remain our highest priority. We want to ensure our community that every animal euthanized at our animal shelter was first placed under sedation.
“Our animal shelter would never euthanize an animal without sedation. Please know the euthanasia method ‘intracardiac’ used by our animal shelter, is an approved-allowable procedure under the state’s guideline.”
The Harnett County Animal Shelter has reduced the fees for “Adopt a Cat” month. It also hosts adoption events and partners with some rescue organizations.
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