While I do agree that this was a terrible thing to happen, and I am sure that the family was broken-hearted, it also seems to me that the animal control was not totally at fault here. Apparently, the dog had not been kept in his own yard, or animal control would never have been involved in the situation at all.
Sometimes, dogs can escape, and there is no way that the owner could have prevented it; but usually there is some way that the dog could have been properly contained in his own yard, and the owner failed to do that.
If there were a lot of dogs at the animal control center, it would be possible to make a mistake of which animals had been selected to be euthanized that day. Or maybe, the wrong dog was taken by mistake.
However, the other story, where the dog was left with the vet, and then put to sleep, that seems to me that it could only have been the responsibility of the Veterinarians office, and the dog was placed there in good faith by the owner that the dog would be taken care of.
In any case where it is determined that the company who killed the dog (or other pet) was at fault, then I think there should be a reasonable determination for financial restitution, even when the pet does not have a monetary value for replacement.
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