LA PLATA, MD -- The owners of a lost dog in Charles County, Md. are heartbroken and angry.
Their beloved Bassett Hound named Jordan was euthanized in late July, within hours of going missing.
Multiple sources helped WUSA9 Investigative Reporter Andrea McCarren piece together the following timeline:
- On July 22, 2018 around 8 p.m. - a 12-year-old Bassett Hound named Jordan escapes from his fenced yard in La Plata. His family launches a frantic search.
- 9:02 p.m. - An animal control officer is dispatched to Woodhaven Drive where a homeowner has found an unidentified dog. No collar. No ID tag.
- 9:52 p.m. - The officer takes Jordan to WE Care, an emergency vet clinic. He later tells the family the dog wasn’t hurt, wasn’t hit by a car and was not in pain. He did note an abscess on his rear.
- 1 a.m. - Jordan had been put down. His owners never had the chance to claim him.
RELATED: Valor the fledgling eagle is euthanized after falling from DC nest, wandering through Northeast
WUSA9 asked Ginny Crane, President of The Humane Society of Charles County, why the elderly dog was euthanized so quickly.
"The case that was presented to us was a neglected, emaciated dog with a broken open tumor on his hip," she said.
When asked who made the decision to euthanize Jordan, Crane said, "The Humane Society made that decision."
In Jordan's case, the veterinarian did not recommend euthanasia, but did suggest immediate surgery. The cost: a thousand dollars for that surgery, and that didn't include aftercare.
"We don’t have that kind of money," said Crane.
The Humane Society of Charles County is dependent on private donations and deals with more than three thousand animals a year, according to Crane.
"It came down to doing what was best for Jordan based on the facts that we were given," she said.
Maryland law requires a stray dog to be held for at least 72 hours. But there are three exceptions: if an animal is seriously diseased, severely injured or younger than three months.
If that surgery didn’t cost $1,000, WUSA9 wondered aloud whether Jordan would be alive today.
"I don’t know. I can’t answer that," she said.
Jordan’s owner said the dog had a microchip that was registered. The Humane Society said the vet never provided that information.
