Since the public learned about the euthanasia of Gunner, a nearly 13-year-old dog, within 24 hours of his arrival at Denton’s animal shelter last week, people all over the world have been sharing their anger — and some threats — with city officials.
New details have also come to light, including that Gunner was found 2 miles from home instead of 12 miles away and that management at the Linda McNatt Animal Care & Adoption Center had not been in consultation with a veterinarian last week when they euthanized Gunner.
Friday afternoon, the animal shelter shared a statement via a spokesperson with the Denton Record-Chronicle that briefly appeared on the shelter’s Facebook page to explain the actions of director Nikki Sassenus and manager Mindy Henry, both of whom Gunner’s owner John Gilcrease has been blasting on social media.
“After monitoring the dog overnight and into the next morning, staff in consultation with a licensed veterinarian made the difficult decision to humanely euthanize Gunner based on his condition, in accordance with shelter policy and City Ordinance,” the Friday statement read.
However, according to the Sept. 3 intake report, the shelter staff was not in consultation with a licensed veterinarian over whether to euthanize Gunner.
Relief Services for Veterinary Practitioners (RSVP), which offers contract vets at the Denton shelter, reaffirmed that its veterinarian had prescribed two medications for Gunner to treat pain and incontinence “and had no further recommendations or input into the dog’s care after that afternoon,” Monica Hughes, RSVP’s national manager, wrote in a message shared with the Record-Chronicle on Tuesday.
The Record-Chronicle contacted Hughes, who replied in a message Wednesday that she had forwarded the messages to the city of Denton. Chief city spokesperson Dustin Sternbeck, in turn, verified that what Hughes had written was correct: The shelter wasn’t in consultation with a licensed veterinarian when it euthanized Gunner.
An independent investigation will be conducted, City Manager Sara Hensley announced Sunday.
“As part of our commitment to continuous improvement, we will be conducting a comprehensive review of our shelter’s processes and policies to identify additional ways to support the animals in our care,” Sternbeck wrote in an email Sunday announcing the investigation. “We will share the findings of this review with the community once it is complete.”
But a review of the animal shelter’s processes and policies was already conducted a year ago, finding numerous issues that needed attention at the animal shelter, including feeding schedules and staff certification for euthanasia.
Some of the anger that has erupted over the story of Gunner’s death has come in the form of death threats against shelter staff members and doxxing — spreading someone’s public or private information as a form of revenge.
Reached by phone earlier this week, Gilcrease said he doesn’t agree with people threatening city staff, saying that wasn’t his goal when he first posted a TikTok video about the situation last week.
The video has been seen by more than 5 million people.
“Here’s the goal I want,” Gilcrease said. “They [city staff] are trying to debunk this and trying to put out this statement without an apology, and all I want is for their lies to be aired and for the people to have a clear sight that they lied and force them to apologize.”
Last year’s shelter review
In an August 2023 report, city staff pointed out that euthanasia decisions are made by members of the shelter management, who don’t have veterinarian medical expertise, instead of a veterinarian. They base the decision on a review of the animal’s records in the shelter system, as well as its medical and behavioral history.
The shelter’s euthanasia standard operating procedure (SOP), which was implemented in 2021, includes the reasons that an animal like Gunner would be euthanized.
The policy requires staff to offer, among other things, the reason for euthanasia, animal weight at the time of the procedure, and the dosages of sedative and sodium pentobarbital used.
“While there is evidence that the Division believes all staff members who have performed euthanizations are certified, actual certification documentation for four staff members who had performed euthanizations during April, May, and June 2023 was not readily available,” staff wrote in the 2023 report.
City Auditor Madison Rorschach, who conducted the investigation, found that the shelter’s health monitoring practices did not align with guidelines.
“According to Animal Shelter staff, animals are not required to receive monthly medical assessments or a comprehensive medical exam every six months,” Rorschach wrote in the report. “In addition, while all animals should be observed every day, the staff is not required to document those observations.”
The shelter also didn’t have any formal documented training program for staff members, according to the report.
There was also no evidence that canine feeding practices were being followed since, as Rorschach pointed out, it was not being clearly documented.
In response to the August 2023 report, Assistant City Manager Frank Dixon appointed Sassenus as the new animal services director in October, according to the city manager.
At the time, Sassenus was an assistant director of the Parks and Recreation Department and had no previous experience with animals or working at a shelter.
“I do know that we were looking for a leader that understood the foundational aspects of running a department,” Hensley said in an email Wednesday. “We needed an effective leader with a clear vision that could motivate staff and help them work strategically to create a better department.”
Hensley said that since her hiring, Sassenus has received two certifications and continues to go to conferences and training.
It’s unclear how many of the issues pointed out in the August 2023 report have been addressed since a follow-up audit wasn’t released.
Hensley said that all techs at the shelter have updated euthanasia certifications.
The shelter also began offering bimonthly training programs in October, followed by the decision to close the shelter to the public on Wednesdays to allow for ongoing training development while limiting overtime, according to the city spokesperson.
“To be honest, Nikki is a good leader with great skills, and she has made great strides and improvements since being hired,” Hensley wrote. “Per the Review completed by Madison Rorschach, Nikki has the information of all the items and will provide the status on each.”
When Gunner was found
An older man from Tarrant County told the shelter that he had found Gunner near University Drive and Interstate 35, which is about 12 miles from Gilcrease’s property, Sternbeck told the Record-Chronicle earlier this week.
But on Wednesday, Sternbeck said that Denton police, who are investigating the case, discovered that the man had actually found the Labrador mix at J.J. Truck Stop northwest of Ponder, about 2 miles from Gilcrease’s home. The man had lied to the shelter because he thought the animal shelter wouldn’t accept the dog.
Sternbeck said the man felt horrible about it after he learned what had happened to Gunner.
The elderly man dropped him off at the animal shelter shortly before 11 a.m. on Tuesday, Sept. 3, according to the intake form from the shelter.
“So he followed me out of the gate,” Gilcrease said. He hadn’t been sure how Gunner had walked 12 miles given his poor health.
In May, Gilcrease posted on social media saying that Gunner had been diagnosed with degenerative myelopathy, a disease that would eat away at his spinal cord until he was paralyzed, and that the veterinarian said the dog had less than two months to live.
“No, I won’t let it get that far,” Gilcrease wrote at the time. “But when it comes to something like this, I don’t like to play God and take a life. The doctor says that he is not in any pain and to enjoy as much time as I can with him until we have to make the choice.”
John Gilcrease and his wife, Courtney, told the Record-Chronicle that after he wrote the post, Courtney took Gunner to another veterinarian for a second opinion and discovered that he didn’t have the disease; instead, Gunner was diagnosed with chronic arthritis.
In the shelter’s Sept. 3 intake form, the licensed veterinarian who examined the dog wrote that he was a geriatric pet with severe arthritis. She examined him at 3:52 p.m. and prescribed him 300 milligrams of gabapentin, one cap for three days, and 100 mg of carprofen, also one tab for three days, warning not to give it twice a day until his diarrhea improved.
Gabapentin is a short-acting drug (within 24 hours) and commonly prescribed for dogs for pain, seizures and anxiety, while the most commonly reported side effect is sedation and loss of coordination, according to an American Kennel Club article. Carprofen is an anti-inflammatory drug that’s often given in combination with gabapentin to help relieve pain in dogs.
The shelter staff began trying to contact the dog’s owners via the information on his microchip. According to the Sept. 3 communication sheet, staff tried to call Gilcrease’s ex-wife, Jennifer Reeves, at 12:24 p.m. on a 916 area code number that is no longer in service.
About an hour later, shelter staff called the implant facility in Sacramento, California, according to the intake form.
Staff sent an email to Gilcrease’s old Yahoo email address listed via the chip. It was returned undeliverable at 12:31 p.m. Sept. 3.
“We only hold the animals for 72hr stray hold,” the email said. “To reclaim all you need is proof of rabies, and an ID, however, some fees included. It is $20 impoundment fee, and every night that it spends here it is an $8 fee. You can call us at (940) 349-7594 between the hours of 10:00AM — 5:00PM Monday, Tuesday, Thursday–Saturday.”
At 9 a.m. Wednesday, Sept. 4, animal services manager Mindy Henry wrote in her notes: “Geriatric dog is very arthritic. Can barely move due to pain and arthritis. Unable to control bowels and bladder. Will hold until 11 a.m. to see if reclaimed. If not, will sign off for EU due to suffering of pet. Have not had any success in contacting owner on microchip.”
Gilcrease discovered the animal shelter had Gunner from a post on the city’s website. He said his wife called the shelter around 8:30 a.m. Wednesday to let them know that her husband would be there at 11 a.m.
Courtney Gilcrease told the Record-Chronicle she couldn’t get anyone to answer. She called again, picked a different option and spoke with the after-hours dispatch and learned that her husband wouldn’t be able to pick up Gunner since the shelter is closed on Wednesdays.
“There are people there, but it’s not open to the public,” Courtney Gilcrease recalled the dispatcher telling her. “She said that ‘we can transfer you back over to the shelter to see if they pick up,’ but they did not answer.”
Gunner’s pre-euthanasia began at 9 a.m. that Wednesday, and he was euthanized at 11:26 a.m., according to the intake report.
Later that day, one of the shelter workers saw John Gilcrease’s post about Gunner on Nextdoor and reached out via social media, Sternbeck told the Record-Chronicle on Tuesday.
According to a screenshot of the message, they contacted him at 4:51 p.m. and again at 7:40 p.m. Wednesday to let him know to contact animal services via email.
But since his wife had already spoken with them, Gilcrease said he didn’t contact them.
“Little f------ late! Maybe if they would have reached out to me that way in the first place they wouldn’t be going through this,” John Gilcrease wrote in a message to the Record-Chronicle.
Aftershock
Since posting his TikTok video last week, Gilcrease has continued to post videos about the incident. Other users are posting videos, and people are beginning to come forward with their own stories about the Denton shelter.
The social media ire — including death threats — that followed has gone beyond just those who work at the shelter.
In a Monday email to the Record-Chronicle, City Council member Brian Beck said he met with Hensley on Monday morning and learned that while she supports and stands behind the city’s animal services staff, she understands that “there is a public trust issue, and calling for an outside assessment of events in order to transparently demonstrate to the public exactly what our animal services practices are and what events were.”
“So what should have been a sad but relatively straightforward review of the case of an unfortunate event and whether: (a) we appropriately followed our standard operating procedures (SOPs); (b) did those SOPs match animal care industry standards; and (c) is there anything we could do to improve animal services, instead blew up on social media and went viral,” Beck wrote.
“The important story has sadly become not one of transparency, but rather of the dangers of incomplete information on social media. It’s import[ant] that people realize and absorb that public officials, civil servants and their families across the city from animal services, the shelter board, emergency dispatch, customer service, and even former volunteers with the shelter have been the subject of harassment, doxing, statements of violence, and even death threats, not just from the residents of the city of Denton or even the United States, but across the world.”
The Denton Animal Support Foundation also released a statement Friday, letting people know that the nonprofit’s mission is to support the shelter through community outreach and fundraising and helping homeless and neglected animals in Denton.
“We at the Denton Animal Support Foundation want to express our deepest sympathy for the tragic loss of Gunner and the distress it has caused,” the foundation’s statement says. “It is important to clarify that DASF is a separate nonprofit entity and not part of the City of Denton Animal Shelter (Linda McNatt Animal Care & Adoption Center). We have no role in the shelter’s operations, policies or decisions regarding animals in their care.”
Shortly before Hensley’s announcement about the investigation on Sunday, Courtney Gilcrease started a petition via Change.org, demanding accountability. Nearly 37,000 people had signed the petition as of Wednesday afternoon.
“We are calling for an urgent and thorough investigation into the euthanasia practices of Linda McNatt Animal Care & Adoption Center to ensure that no more families need to suffer as we have,” the petition says. “No pet deserves such a fate, and no family should have to endure such a loss. Please sign this petition to seek justice for Gunner and to ensure that no other pet falls victim to such unfair and distressing practices.”
On Monday afternoon, John Gilcrease said he has asked people to stop making death threats via a TikTok live video over the weekend.
“Listen, death threats are not the way to go,” Gilcrease said. “This whole time I’ve been taking legal ways. I’m not advocating for it. There are people who are crazy dog lovers and more pissed off than I am. I don’t want to go down that avenue. Enough killing has happened for my family.
“People are mad that they haven’t put out an apology to the family. People are mad about it. They are tired of the city and the government sweeping stuff under the rug, as they were trying to do with this case. It is not happening this time.”