City workers accused of dumping of five dead dogs
The mystery of who deposited five dog carcasses at an illegal dump site has been solved, Kansas City officials say.
Turns out it was the work of two of the city’s own, city spokesman Chris Hernandez said Monday night.
Two workers with the city’s Public Works Department stand accused of dumping the dogs’ bodies in a remote spot in the Northland instead of taking the carcasses to the city’s animal shelter for proper disposal.
The bodies were found last week stuffed into four garbage bags in the 5500 block of Oak Ridge Drive, a dead-end street north of Stroud’s Oak Ridge Manor restaurant. The bodies had been there for several days.
“From all appearances, this is something that should not have happened, and we do not condone this,” Hernandez said. “It appears we have two employees who did not complete their responsibilities. They have set a very bad example and are making their co-workers look bad.”
The two workers, longtime employees of the department, face severe discipline and possible termination, Hernandez said.
Residents can call 311 to have the city pick up dead animals left in bags at their curbs within 24 hours. A special public works crew is assigned to take the carcasses to animal control, where they are incinerated.
In this case, Hernandez said, “that apparently did not happen.”
After the carcasses were found, the city said it was reviewing hidden-camera photos to learn who dumped them. The city’s animal control department also assigned a special investigator, who determined that one dog had an implanted microchip and another had a rabies tag. The investigator tracked down the owners and traced the animals to the two workers, Hernandez said.
“We are glad the investigation worked so quickly,” he said. “They did a really good job tracking down what happened and kept following the trail even when it led back to City Hall.”
This story was originally published March 17, 2014 at 8:29 PM with the headline "City workers accused of dumping of five dead dogs."