[News] Truly unbelievable! Animal control officer gives lost pet away as gift!
 

An animal control officer in Stoughton, Mass. found a woman's lost dog -- only to give it away as a gift.As reported by the Brockton Enterprise, an animal control officer, Kristin Bousquet, was fired after an internal investigation and hearing revealed that she had found a lost dog belonging to Janet Torren, and inexplicably gave it away to a police officer and his girlfriend to keep as a pet, all the while telling Torren that she had not found the dog, a four year-old Yorkshire Terrier named Shai, who went missing on September 18. "Shai is like my child," says Torren, 59. "How could [Bousquet] think that I didn't love my pet enough to go all out to try to get her back?" Speaking with Paw Nation, Torren recounted the story of the efforts she made to find Shai -- and just in the nick of time. When Torren finally was reunited with Shai on October 1, the dog was en route to the airport with her new owners, who were moving to Florida.On September 18, Torren and her husband were visiting their son in a neighboring Massachusetts town when Shai escaped through a sliding glass door while the family was at breakfast. "I was frantic," Torren says. "We went searching for her, but couldn't find her." Torren called the local animal control office and left a message with her dog's name, description, microchip number and microchip company name. That evening, Torren and her husband drove home and called the microchip company, 24PetWatch.com, who told her that Shai's chip had not been scanned. Over the ensuing weeks, Torren returned to her son's town, where neighbors helped her search for her dog to no avail. Torren received a phone message from animal control officer Bousquet stating that she had not seen or found a dog that fit Torren's description. After leaving several messages for Bousquet, Torren finally spoke with the animal control officer by phone. "She was so sharp and rude to me, it was unbelievable," Torren recalls of her conversation with Bousquet. "She was telling me I needed to show her respect and that she was a police officer. I was frantic and so sick to my stomach, but it wasn't going to stop me from looking for my dog. I couldn't picture Shai just vanishing off the face of the earth."Torren received instrumental advice from a couple she met who told her to keep calling the microchip company. "I kept calling 24PetWatch saying that there must be something that could be done," Torren says. Finally, after numerous calls, she spoke with an employee who suggested she call another microchip company. "I said, 'wait a minute, don't they have one database to scan all the microchips?'" recalls Torren. The surprising answer was no. "There is no single database for all microchipped pets," says Torren. "It's only in the database that your pet is registered with." On October 1, Torren called a second pet microchip company, who said that her pet had not been scanned in their database. Unwilling to give up, Torren asked the employee to check back through their records. Lo and behold, Shai's microchip had been scanned -- at 9:15 in the morning on the very day that Shai had disappeared on September 18. More shocking was the name of the individual who had had the dog's chip scanned: none other than Kristin Bousquet of Stoughton Animal Control. "My whole body was freaking out," says Torren. "All that time I was looking for the dog, calling for the dog and crying for her -- and to think about the way [Bousquet] treated me."Torren immediately called Bousquet and left her a message, letting her know what she had learned and that she would be calling the police. Bousquet phoned her back, denying everything. "I told her exactly what I found out, and that I would filing charges against her," says Torren. Bousquet finally admitted that she knew where Torren's dog was: with her new owners at the airport in Boston, waiting to fly to Florida. (Bousquet had given away the dog on September 22, reports the Enterprise.)At the police station, Torren told her tale to the police chief, Thomas Murphy. "He just kept shaking his head," Torren says. "Then he got up and he left and he brought Shai in to me." Murphy had apparently located Shai and had the dog returned to the police station from the airport. "Shai was jumping on everything and on me. She was off the wall, she was so happy," says Torren. Though Bousquet has refused to talk to various press outlets, she did write an e-mail to the Enterprise on October 28, admitting that she was "not 100 percent truthful," that she was disappointed in herself and that "If I get fired, then so be it. I guess I will move on." Police Chief Murphy declined to comment on what Bousquet told him to explain her actions, other than to tell Paw Nation that "the matter was internally investigated, a hearing was held, and Bousquet is no longer employed" by Stoughton Animal Control. Torren decided not to pursue criminal charges against Bousquet. "I knew she [Bousquet] has three young children, so I couldn't do that to the children. She got her job taken away, plus the embarrassment, so that was enough."As for Shai, Torren says that her dog is happy to be home with Torren's dachshunds and cat. "They all get along great," says Torren. "Shai is the leader; she tells everybody what to do. When she was gone, the other animals seemed down. They kept looking for her, not knowing what was going on. They were so thrilled to see her, even the cat!"Did they have a party for Shai? "Of course!" laughs Torren. "She got a little Carvel ice cream and some toys. We're doing fantastic. I have my family back!"

Read the full story and see photos at http://www.pawnatio n.com/2009/ 11/06/saga- of-animal- control-officer- who-gave- away-lost- dog-ends- happi/?icid= main

Yah I'm from Mass and when i saw this story on the news....it disgusted me. We rely on our town officials to help us...not try to scheme us. I am so happy Janet was able to get her little baby back.....no help to the dog officer. This story was a learning experience cause I , too, didnt know that there wasnt a central database for dog chips. I pray i never have to go thru what Janet and her furbutt did.

:thumbdown:mad:Shame on the officer....I am so glad That Janet and Shai were finally reunited....:D:D

What an amazingly sad and happy story. I'm so glad that Shai is home with her family where she belongs!

what a a hole for doing that, what is wrong with people

Yes truely unbelievable!:eek:

I'm so glad this has a happy ending!

some people have no idea how much we love our furbabies....what a shame someone would abuse their jobs like that, i am glad that shai was reunited with her family=)

I am so happy she got her dog back. I still can't believe that lady...how could you work for a place like that and know her owner was looking for her, and then just give her away.:confused:

Well, thank the universe the fur baby was reunited w/ her family, but this is just UNREAL. That animal officer did the opposite of what their job was!

So they were fired...or suspended or ? I can't really tell...

The last i heard on the news was the dog officer was "suspended" and the town manager will be looking into it. So basically a slap on the wrist. :thumbdown

How could this lady let the animal control officer get away with what she did by not filing charges. What a stupid idiot.:mad:

I just read this story again to make sure I read it correctly. She did'nt press charges because the animal control officer had children? PLEASE!!! Do you think she for one minute was concerned that the yorkies owner might have had children that were heartbroken over their lost dog?Janet Torren, if you're a YT member I'm calling you out. You are a fool!!!:mad:

Maybe she's happy enough now to get her dog back not to ruin it by being vengeful.

That's a good point I had not thought of.It just seems like people get away with too much. Hopefully she will never work with animals again. I apologize for calling Ms. Torren a fool.

Reunited...
 

I am so happy that the Torren Family has been reunited with Shai. I know that our furbabies are the world to a lot of us and our families. I'm also impressed with Ms. Torren for having a heart to not press charges against Ms. Bousquet because of her children. It takes a strong person to overlook the terrible things people can do to one another, but on the plus side, Ms. Bousquet will have to answer to the big guy upstairs when her time comes and she will receive her punishment from him, which I believe will be the worse punishment anyone can ever receive. She will have to answer to God for the cruelity she has put the Torren Family though. God Bless you, Ms. Torren and your family.

This is sad. I wonder how often these things happen. Im glad this one had a happy ending but it does make you wonder about those people who never did find their dogs.

she should really file charges what if she goes somewhere else and gets a job with animal control because she only got a " slap on the wrist " I have to say sh'e a better person than I, I would have given her the smackdown after I got my baby back

D. mother to mickey :aimeeyork

I agree, she's definately a bigger person than me, because I would have filed charges.

And... Welcome to YT!! :welcome4:

Thank God!!
 

Thank God you got your baby back! I can't even imagine life without my Bella! Shame on that animal control officer. Lucky for her that you didn't press charges. That was very big of you.

Annee :)

I think it is a blessing that she got her baby back home safe and sound. As for the officer, it will be on her record regardless of how they choose to discipline her, not to mention the publicity it obviously got. As for the dog's owner not filing charges, I feel she had the woman's children's welfare at heart more than being vengeful against the officer. I can see that part of it. The most awesome thing is that this woman never gave up searching for her baby, and taught the officer the most important lesson of all - that she couldn't get away with what she did, and was publicy humiliated for her actions, not to mention disciplinary actions to work, which whether fired or not, will follow her in her career from here on out. I think the important part here is the dog is home safe and sound with its true family. If its owner was that distraught, imagine how poor Shai felt in a strange place wondering where is my mama? So happy this story had a happy ending for Shai and her family! Isn't that what matters the most here? Reva ~ Smokie's mama :aimeeyork

That was an amazing story. I'm glad you and your baby are together again. They really do have a special bond with their people like no other dog I have known.

OMG !!! I am from Mass, and today is the first i hear of this, i just had a hard time since july , family issues that kept me away from the world !
Yesterday my good friend's yorkie died in Gloucester, she is in pieces, her baby was 3 years old YESTERDAY and she passed away because someone gave her poison.... THAT IS RIGHT !!!! Although her vet could not say he is 100% sure that this is what happen he is convinced! And so am i and all her family and friends, just a little while back she found a "baby snake, a stone and a bunch of her dog's hair" all tied up and tossed in her doorsteps....
:confused:
sound like what you everyone else??? She is a sweet christian girl, beautiful inside and out, and she and her husband have been trying to have a baby for so long ... her Yorkie was her baby !!!! The vet broke in tears when he saw her crying !!! Her Yorkie was Ill since saturday, she had it all going on and nobody could control it: diarrhea, vomiting, foaming at the mouth, blood in urine , low temperature, she lost 2/3 of her weight since saturday. My Friend is devastated over this. All the vet could do is try to stabilize the dog and it never happened !!!!! She kept going down fast, on tuesday we thought she was going to snap out of it !!!! She was a fighter !!!!!! But this was too much for her little body !
This is a very young healthy, well socialized yorkie female that was up to date on all her care and just a week before had her annual check up and shots done, heartworm test, anual blood work... all UTD !!! ! To add to this to be even more Bizarre... this dog was bred once, had a healthy litter that my friend found great homes for, 2 of the puppies live with the kids of her Pastor... so she gets to see them often and they are perfect! Before breeding her she had her tested all over, she did all the right steps! Anyway: yesterday the pups were one year old!
So here is the list of the Bizarre...:
Her Yorkie girl was born three years ago yesterday.. so it was her birthday, the birthday of her litter turning one and she passed ... all in the same day !
The vet told my friend that an autopsy to confirm the cause of death and gather evidence of the poisoning will cost another 800.00 and since she has no suspicion of who could have done such a horrible thing she would have no one to accuse anyways, if she was ever to press charges and i doubt it because she knows that the lord is her Justice !!! Anyways, she spent a fortune since saturday trying to save her yorkie !
Now i see this post and i wonder... our society is getting worse by the day !!!!
The people that should be protecting are stealing ????!!!!!!

I do admire the lady that had forgiveness in her heart ! She made a difference to my day !
A Glance of hope !!!!!
That there are still a few good, honest and loving human beings out there... I wish people like that would be making the news ! Maybe our youngsters would see the good and imitate !!!

I am sorry for invade the thread... i seldom post here , but today i needed an outlet !

I WANTED TO SCREAM: SOMEONE KILLED MY FRIENDS INNOCENT DOG ! And there is nothing we can do about it !
She is bringing home her ashes tomorrow ! All that was left for her !

Again, I am so sorry for the invasion! :mad:

Wow horrible story.
From my experience with the ACS I deffinatley wasnt surprised.
I realy hate those orginizations they can be so corrupted.
It just makes me so happy when I meet some of the good people who work there.
Thanks for sharing.

I just joined this site..I have a 2 year old yorkie teacup. I cannot find out where to post my information. I am not to computer skilled. Any ideas on where the place is to post info.. Thanks:)

some people don't understand, our yorkies are not pets! they are family members and it hurts just like when one loses blood! :{ very sad!! grrrh! makes me angry!!! we count on this officers to help not make it worst..!
shame on u!!!:mad:

Wow, So Happy for you and your Baby
 

All I can say is WOW!! Unbelievable....:eek:
Its sad that someone working in animal control doesn't understand that these animals are loved and considered children.
I am so happy that you reunited with your Baby!!!
Shame on the Lady!!!

That's so sad. Here this lady was longing for her baby, and that horrible person gave it away.