An Illinois couple is in disbelief after their dog was mistakenly euthanized at an animal shelter last Thursday.On Aug. 3, a city maintenance worker came into their backyard unannounced, Tong Wang, the dog’s owner, told WMBD. Wang’s dog, Moses, was in the backyard and bit the maintenance worker, adding that the dog is not vicious and must have thought the man was an intruder.READ MORE: Grizzly cub euthanized after woman tries to save itWang and his wife, Jennifer, were then ordered to take Moses to the local animal control to make sure he did not have rabies or any other diseases.“They said they would like to keep him for 10 days under quarantine, just to make sure that everything was safe with him,” Jennifer told WMBD.Over the next few days, Wang said he visited Moses during his lunch break and brought him food, toys and special treats.WATCH: Baby bison euthanized after Canadian tried to “help” it
But Thursday morning, the couple received a devastating phone call from the shelter.The company director said Moses had accidentally been euthanized.
“He very calmly and matter-of-factly said that he accidentally euthanized Moses,” Jennifer told Fox News. “I thought it was a cruel prank. I couldn’t believe this was happening.”
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The Wangs rushed to the animal control facility and discovered Moses’ lifeless body.
Wang said he asked the facility director over and over, “How did this happen?”
The facility’s director claimed he “didn’t know” how the mistake happened, adding that he was told to put down a “gold-coloured” dog and assumed that dog was Moses, Fox News reported.
The couple said they are planning to take legal action against the facility.
“If he needed to be euthanized because he was vicious, which he wasn’t, he deserved to be with his family. We wanted us to be the last thing that he saw before he passed away, not some stranger who was poking him with a stick,” she told WMBD.
In a statement to WMBD, the facility, Tazewell County Animal Control said: “Tazewell County truly regrets this error. Tazewell County will be reviewing policies and procedures to prevent any such occurrence from happening in the future.”WATCH: Cat taken to vet and euthanized without owner’s knowledge