Wagga dog owner accuses council of lying about fate of her pet

In reality, boxer-staffy cross Cindy had been accidentally put down by council staff days earlier.

Fighting back tears, Mt Austin single mum Skye Paproth said she would pursue legal action against council for the heartbreaking mistake.

She said her two children, aged three and four, were grief-stricken by the loss of their beloved pet, which she described as a “family member”.

“My four-year-old just keeps asking, ‘is Cindy dead?’ … they both haven’t stopped crying,” Ms Paproth said.

“My worst fear is that this could happen to someone else. It’s just unbelievable.”

Ms Paproth received a letter on May 20 to notify her she had 14 days to collect Cindy from the pound.

When she went to collect the pet last Thursday, she claims council staff told her Cindy had escaped from the highly secure facility.

She said a senior council officer contacted her late yesterday to inform her the pet had in fact been accidentally euthanised.

“They lied to my face to cover their tracks,” Ms Papworth said. 

“It’s absolutely disgusting.

“She was good at jumping and digging holes but we did everything we could to prevent her from getting out (of the backyard).”

The dog was microchipped and registered, she said.

Under the Companion Animal Act, council must wait 14 days before destroying stray pets.

Council apologised to Ms Paproth and said the staff member involved had been stood down pending an investigation.

“Council has personally notified the dog owners of the incident today and has apologised,” council general manager Phil Pinyon said.

“The staff member involved has been stood down pending the outcome of an investigation. Appropriate action will be considered once the investigation is complete. Council takes breaches of legislation seriously and an internal review of the current process is being undertaken to ensure it does not re-occur.”