Decision to fire Spencer Co. Animal Control director tabled following family’s outrage over dog’s killing

TAYLORSVILLE, Ky. (WAVE) – The Spencer County Fiscal Court met Friday night to decide if the animal control director gets to keep his job after shooting an injured dog in the head. However, the court decided to hold on making any decisions regarding David Wood’s employment until their next meeting.

The room filled with outraged animal lovers was reduced to angry murmurs as they left the meeting with no resolution Friday.

Tommy Lewis was among the disappointed crowd and was the owner of Abigail, the 9-year-old Chihuahua in question.

Abigail was hit by a car on Sunday, and when a passerby found her injured in the road with no identification, they called Spencer County Animal Control. The officer, needing to make a quick decision, reportedly brought the dog to the animal control director, David Wood.

Kentucky state law allows a dog to be put down by gunshot only if it is suffering from an injury.

Wood told WAVE 3 News through his lawyer on Thursday that he made the call to shoot Abigail in the head to end her pain. His lawyer said Wood made the decision because the dog didn’t have a collar on, and the nearest animal hospital was an hour away.

After Abigail was killed, her body was thrown in the dumpster behind the courthouse.

Now, Lewis and others in the Taylorsville area are calling for Wood to be fired based on his decisions. Abigail’s owner told WAVE 3 News he won’t give up on pushing for action to be taken against the animal control director.

“I’ll keep waiting,” Tommy said. “This ain’t going to go away. It’s going to keep getting bigger and bigger. You lie to me and then you dump my dog in a dumpster? You just going to make it rough for me, so, I’m going to keep pushing it, and I ain’t going to stop.”

Spencer County Fiscal Court members, including Judge-Executive John Riley, were present for Friday’s meeting, unlike Thursday night’s meeting, which was quickly called by only four magistrates.

Riley declined to comment on what was discussed but previously said he will be working to create a euthanasia policy for animal control to follow.

It has not been made clear if Wood currently has the proper certification for animal euthanasia.

The next meeting is Monday, March 16 at 5:30 p.m. at the fiscal court building in Taylorsville.

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