Denton Co. man heartbroken after missing dog is euthanized at city shelter

DENTON, Texas - A Denton County man is furious after his missing dog was euthanized at the Denton Animal Shelter before he could pick it up.

John Gilcrease says the last time he saw his 13-year-old labrador, Gunner, was sunbathing in his driveway on Tuesday, Sept. 3.

"I snapped a picture not knowing that would be the last picture I would ever take of him," Gilcrease said.

Gilcrease says when he came home from work, he didn't initially realize Gunner was missing until he didn't come for his food at dinner.

After searching into the early hours of the morning, he says he turned to the internet.

 "I made a post on Facebook, and I made a post on Nextdoor saying, ‘My dog is gone! Somebody please help me!" recalled Gilcrease.

One of the responses to the post on Wednesday morning was a screenshot from Denton Animal Services' website with Gunner's photo.

Gilcrease's wife called the shelter and was told it was closed to the public on Wednesday.

"We have Gunner. Gunner's here. You are free to pick him up on Thursday at 10 o'clock," Gilcrease says his wife was told.

When he arrived at the shelter on Thursday, Gunner was nowhere to be found.

"I was ushered into the director's office, and she said, ‘We had your dog, and my heart sank," claimed Gilcrease. "I said, ‘Did you kill my dog?’ and she said, ‘Unfortunately, we did.’"

Denton Animal Services says an individual brought in Gunner after he was found near I-35 and West University on Tuesday, about 12 miles from Gilcrease's home.

Animal Services says the dog was not able to walk without assistance, had no control over his bowels or bladder and was clearly uncomfortable.

Gilcrease says the dog was microchipped, but Denton County Animal Services says email addresses tied to the microchip bounced back and phone numbers were disconnected. Staff members researched the name connected to the microchip and called all associated numbers, but they were not able to reach anyone.

The animal remained under the watch of Denton County Animal Services overnight and gave him medication to manage his pain, but Gunner's condition did not improve.

"With his continued pain in mind, the difficult decision was made to humanely euthanize Gunner the following day, in accordance with our policy and with his quality of life as our priority," wrote the city in a statement to FOX 4.

The animal shelter's website says it has a 72-hour stray hold before it becomes property of the city of Denton Animal Shelter and is put up for adoption.

"While the hold period typically applies, there are exceptions, such as when an animal is suffering or has a poor quality of life, which allow staff to forgo the 72-hour requirement," wrote the city.

Gilcrease disagrees with the city's assessment, calling Gunner "a healthy dog" and questioning the shelter's story.

"My dog was picked up by a stranger, taken to a strange place and killed by a stranger. And it was done without me by his side, and that's the part that breaks my heart," he said.

In a lengthy Facebook post, Gilcrease said a physical diagnosis from a veterinarian months ago determined Gunner had a degenerative disease that was possibly life-threatening.

But Gilcrease claims after doing some testing, it was determined that Gunner actually had chronic arthritis. He said Gunner was improving with medication and a change in diet.

Gilcrease has filed a report with Denton police.

A Denton police detective showed up to Gilcrease's farm in Krum on Monday and said an investigation is underway.

Gunner's story has taken off on social media with multiple posts on TikTok and Facebook.

The city of Denton says its animal services team has been threatened and harassed since the story was shared online.

"This behavior is disheartening, but we remain committed to providing compassionate care with the well-being of the animals as our top priority," the city wrote.

Denton says there will be a review of the shelter's processes. The findings are expected to be made public once the review is complete.

"I want change. I want laws to be followed. I want ordinances to be followed, but here's the situation: they are not," said Gilcrease.

Denton city leaders are expected to address the incident at a city council meeting on Tuesday night.