12 DOGS ACCIDENTALLY EUTHANIZED, COUNTY SAYS.

Byline: Lee Condon Daily News Staff Writer

When Maria Finucan turned her three dogs and nine puppies over to the county's Department of Animal Care and Control, she was promised they would be kept for at least two weeks while she tried to find people to adopt the pets.

Instead, all 12 were euthanized less than 24 hours after being brought to the Downey Animal Shelter.

``I loved my animals,'' Finucan said. ``I don't feel what they did was fair.''

``There's nothing we can do about it now except cry,'' added Jannet Finucan Monico, Maria Finucan's daughter. ``They were part of our family.''

Frank Andrews, director of the department, said an ``absolute breakdown in communication'' caused the dogs to be killed despite the promises made to the Finucan family.

The incident has ``given all of us a black eye,'' Andrews said. ``This was not handled well.''

The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday accepted a written report on the incident from Andrews, admitting the department broke its promise to Finucan. He said policies will be clarified to make sure dog owners know the potential consequences of handing over their pets to the county.

The dogs were put to sleep Aug. 6 by a health technician at the Downey shelter who found that all 12 animals were in poor health. Andrews said all the dogs were flea-infested, emaciated, dehydrated and anemic. The puppies were thin and had bloated stomachs, which suggests they had parasitic infections, Andrews said.

The department got involved because of complaints from neighbors that dogs were being neglected at the Finucan home, a charge the family disputes.

Andrews said the technician euthanized the dogs because Finucan had signed papers surrendering ownership to the department. Normally the department must wait 24 hours to euthanize animals but can do so more quickly if they are found to be severely sick or injured.

In this case, the technician was not told that an animal control officer had promised that the dogs would be kept for at least two weeks.

``If (the officer) had told us he promised we would keep them, we would have honored that,'' Andrews said.

The animal control officer who responded to the call found that Finucan had five adult dogs on her property, in violation of the county limit of three, and that nine puppies were in poor condition and had no access to food or water.

Finucan was given a choice: Hand over the dogs to the department or accept a citation from the county ordering her to comply with local codes regarding the care of animals.

Finucan said she chose to hand over the dogs to the county.

Andrews said the animal control officer should have just issued a citation and done a follow-up visit a week later to make sure Finucan had complied.

In reaction to the Finucan incident, Andrews said the department would let people know in writing that relinquished animals may be put to sleep after 24 hours, or sooner if the animal is sick or injured.

In addition, he will require that color pictures will be taken of all animals requiring immediate euthanasia to document their condition.

The Finucan family has complained that the dogs were not in poor health and should not have been killed.