A woman is mourning the loss of her pet dog put down before she could collect it from a pound in south Auckland.
The death of Kaos, a shar pei-cross belonging to Michelle Griffiths of Manurewa, has been blamed on a a staff error at the at animal shelter in Manukau City, The New Zealand Herald reported.
Kaos was impounded on September 17 and was killed eight days later.
"I got a little handwritten card -- they said they would hold her until the 26th," Ms Griffiths said.
"I went to the pound to pick my baby up and they said, 'She was killed yesterday. Sorry, we got the kill date wrong'."
Barry Gillingwater, managing director of the company that operates the animal shelter said staff member who got it wrong had been fired on an unrelated issue.
He said his company, DSS Animal Management, owed Ms Griffiths an apology.
"We don't delight in putting dogs down."
Ms Griffiths said although Kaos was seized on grounds of abandonment, she had simply been at work and thought her pet was safe at home.
