Shelter President Suspended After Pepper Spraying Puppy In Training Exercise Hours Before His Death

Sadly, sometimes even the people we think should care the most about animals, like shelter workers, simply do not. Which brings us to a story about an animal shelter president in Cheyenne, Wyoming named Bob Fetch. You see, Fetch got upset with an 8-month-old puppy when it bit an employee. Allegedly, Fetch then ordered someone to use pepper spray on the pup a full 24 hours after the incident occurred.

Tanner, the puppy, was already scheduled, so they put him down the very next day.

Residents of Cheyenne are absolutely furious, though, and they aren’t going to let this one go without a fight.

‘TRAINING EXERCISE’

It all started during a training exercise at the shelter. Tanner, the dog in question, bit one of the shelter employees. A full day after the incident, Fetch offered the employee in question a chance to pepper spray Tanner. When she refused, another employee did the dirty deed. Fetch told employees, in the back room where it all went down, that he hoped that no one had a recording device.

Workers at the shelter flushed Tanner’s face with water. The poor baby was coughing up blood and likely terrified and confused when they put him back into his kennel. The following day Tanner was euthanized; alone, terrified, and hurt.

Fetch absurdly claims that he did not mean to hurt the dog, according to the Animal Rescue Site.

“There was never any intent to cause injury or damage to the animal involved,” said Fetch.

In his statement, Fetch went on to say that the decision to spray the dog was personal and driven by “an intense desire to protect our employees.” He said that he regrets that he didn’t consider any alternatives before making the order.