Animal shelter's clean-up of dead dog in Elmont angers locals

A photo of a dead dog covered in sheets surfaced on Facebook on Oct. 29, after it was hit by a vehicle and killed on Oct. 28, near the corner of Hempstead Turnpike and Evans Avenue in Elmont, and local residents became concerned about the amount of time it took for the Town of Hempstead to respond.

According to several residents, after the Town of Hempstead Animal Shelter was called, it took the shelter more than 15 hours to arrive and remove the dog. During that time, residents maintained a discussion online about the issue.

"How cruel!" Tricia Lafontant, an Elmont resident, wrote on Facebook. "Totally unacceptable. We pay all these high taxes and they can't even end someone in a reasonable time to tend to this?"

The town confirmed that a dead dog was at that location in Elmont last week and, according to Mike Deery, a spokesman for the Town of Hempstead, the delay in the removal of the dog "may have been due to confusion" between the animal shelter and the state, regarding whose responsibility is was to remove the dead animal.

"Ordinarily, the responsibilities for removing dogs from state roadways fall upon the state, and for other roads, it falls upon the shelter," Deery explained.

Deery said that it was the shelter's responsibility to remove the dog and that it was picked up by the shelter at some time in the morning on Oct. 29, but could not confirm the time.

Diane Madden, an East Meadow resident who volunteered at the animal shelter until she was banned by the town in October of 2010, and who filed a lawsuit against Town of Hempstead Supervisor Kate Murray and seven other employees after being removed from the shelter, wrote in a Facebook post, "We are paying nearly $4 million in TOH shelter salaries, and they leave this dog in the street for 15 hours? ... Our taxpayers and animal lovers need to be aware of what is still going on at TOHAS."

Rita Odwin-Smith, of Elmont, also commented under the photo. "This is why we need to all come together as a community on Nov. 8 and speak for our community," she said. "Elmont is not a slum — we are a working community paying our share of taxes."

Carl Achille, co-owner of The Shop, located on Hempstead Turnpike and Evans Avenue in Elmont, commented under the photo after the dog was picked up by the town. "It's sad that we had to post this on Facebook for the Town of Hempstead to act," he said. "Thank you to those that assisted. Sixteen hours on the side of the road is way to long. This isn't some Third World country."

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