Woman's American Kennel registered dog mistaken for coyote, set loose in wild

[Liberal_in_LA]

Woman's dog mistaken for coyote, set loose in wild

pic too big... see pic here: http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474978395287

Friday, July 23, 2010

(07-23) 14:53 PDT Frankfort, Ky. (AP) --

An American Kennel Club-registered dog has been turned loose in the wild after the Frankfort Humane Society mistook her for a coyote. Copper is a female Sheba Inu.

Lori Goodlett told The State-Journal her pet of 11 years disappeared from her fenced back yard on July 3. It was after she put up posters that a police officer recognized Copper as the dog he had taken to the shelter. A shelter worker later called police and said it had to be picked up because coyotes weren't allowed there.

The department turned the animal loose behind a home improvement store after consulting with a wildlife expert who said coyotes were nuisance animals and should be returned to the wild or killed.

Humane Society board chairman John Forbes said he backs the shelter's decision.

"If our manager assessed the animal to be a coyote, then it is against the law for it to be at the shelter. We rely on the people who work there," Forbes said.

Goodlett, however, said she can't understand how her dog was misidentified.

"People would say when Copper was young, she looked like a fox with her pointy ears and red coloring," Goodlett said. "But no one has ever mistaken her for a coyote."

Frankfort Police Maj. Frank Deaton said the dog didn't have a collar or other identification. He said he doubted it was a coyote since it peacefully went with the officer who released it.

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Police and volunteers are helping Goodlett search for her pet and have set cages in hopes of capturing her.


Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2010/07/23/national/a122127D96.DTL&feed=rss.news_nation#ixzz0v6NiH3sq

[sharp_stick]

1. How stupid are some people?

Can you touch the animal without losing your hand? If yes, it's not a fuckin' coyote!!

[Liberal_in_LA]

2. It doesn't look at all like a coyote to me.

coyote:

Sheba Inu:

[sharp_stick]

5. Ne neither

but my hand test idea is almost guaranteed to prove it to those that disagree. ;-)

[Whoa_Nelly]

11. Agreed! Not at all!

Idiots! That poor dog! How could it have been mistaken for a coyote is beyond understanding.

[EFerrari]

3. I think I would have to be restrained if that happened to my girl.

:wtf: is the matter with these people. I saw a coyote this morning up on the ridge. They don't even walk like dogs.

[Liberal_in_LA]

4. that 'wildlife expert' needs a refresher course

[Chulanowa]

10. Needs to be arrested for fraud

'Cause anyone claiming to be a "wildlife expert" that mistakes a domestic dog for a wild dog is clearly an idiot. There is one breed of dog i nthe world that actually resembles a wolf or coyote; the Czechoslovakian Wolfdog



And frankly it's still pretty easy to tell the damn difference.

Pro tip; there are no wild dogs with a curled tail. But almost every domestic dog breed has some curl to their tail, even if it's just an upward curve. Wild dogs also tend to be longer in the body and have more "defined" faces (even the breed above has a short, thick muzzle and broad face compared to an actual wolf, or even a dog-wolf hybrid)

[aquart]

14. Oh no, not an idiot. A fraud.

[montanacowboy]

6. YOU KNOW THAT DOG HAD TO BE CHIPPED

All kennels/shelters have to check for chips - why didn't they do that?
I wouldl sue their fucking assess off

[kestrel91316]

13. They had probably already decided it was a coyote, therefore no need

to check for a chip.

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

7. That dog resembles a coyote the way a giraffe resembles a goat. I guess having four legs is enough.

[ceile]

8. That is the dumbest thing I have ever heard....

Idiots.

[Gormy Cuss]

9. Her dog looks like a very well fed, oversized fox.

I've never seen a coyote with that much body bulk. The HS had better pay whatever it takes to search the area where the dog was released.

Poor Copper.

[Xithras]

12. Never seen a coyote with a curled tail!

And I can't believe they didn't check for a chip!

The problem with the Humane Society is that most of their shelter workers are volunteers. This one apparently needed more training.

[Liberal_in_LA]

15. me either. Hope the poor woman gets her dog back

[Bluebear]

16. 'We rely on the people who work there,' - who shouldn't be working there, obviously