Josie Harris with her French mastiff dog Gus and manx cat Bigsypuss. Photo / ODT
By Shawn McAvinue
Dunedin student Chelsea Evans weeps when she thinks about never being able to say goodbye to her cat Patrick, who was dumped by Dunedin City Council contractors.
The 21-year-old University of Otago student called SPCA Otago recently to ask if her missing cat had been taken to the shelter.
He had not but SPCA staff suggested she contact Downer to see if any of the dead animals collected from Dunedin streets matched a description of her pet.
A Downer staff member told her they had found Patrick near where she lived in The Glen but the cat had been "dumped in the landfill". Evans said the news left her "gobsmacked". "My cat was only missing a week."
Pet owner Josie Harris said she called Downer yesterday to question staff about dumping dead pets in the landfill without attempting to find the owner.
She expected the contractor to bag the animal, and put it in a council-owned freezer, while attempts were made to find the owner, including publishing a photo and description.
Council transport group manager Richard Saunders said it was "very upsetting" for anyone to have a pet run over.
"We'd hope the driver who hit them would stop and try to find the owners or take it to a nearby vet clinic or the SPCA for identification."
When the council's animal services team or Downer found a dead dog they checked for a registration tag so the owner could be contacted. As cats were not registered, and most were not microchipped, it was hard to find their owners.
When a dead cat was found it was left by the road to allow time for the owner to collect it. The council did not have plans to store dead animals.
Emergency services were called to the incident around 4pm.