Gunner went missing on Tuesday.
A nearly 13-year-old Labrador mix, Gunner was a member of John Gilcrease鈥檚 family, loved and cared for by Gilcrease, his wife, Courtney, and their four children, ages 3 to 9. Despite the arthritis in his hips, Gunner still had energy enough to chase rabbits near the barn. He loved his life near Krum on an 8-acre property that most city dogs would consider heaven, with a barn to chill in and land to roam, a place where it was safe to sunbathe.
Then, he disappeared.
Worried about Gunner, Gilcrease tossed and turned that night and barely slept because Gunner hadn鈥檛 returned Tuesday evening. He had been there earlier, sunbathing near the pickup. He wasn鈥檛 at the barn, the pond or in the nearby subdivisions.
On Wednesday morning, Gilcrease posted on the Nextdoor social media site and in a Facebook group saying that Gunner had been missing for 12 hours. A commenter shared a photo of Gunner at Denton鈥檚 Linda McNatt Animal Care & Adoption Center.
He asked Courtney to call the shelter on Wednesday morning to let them know he was coming to pick up the dog, only to learn that it was closed to the public and they鈥� would have to wait until Thursday.
Gilcrease arrived at the shelter Thursday morning. He couldn鈥檛 figure out how Gunner had wandered nearly 12 miles to Interstate 35 and West University Drive where he was found 鈥� the dog was taking medication for arthritis.
But Gilcrease鈥檚 relief soon turned into horror when he discovered that Gunner had been euthanized without Gilcrease鈥檚 knowledge or consent before the end of the 72-hour stray hold period, after which the dog would have become the property of the city, according to the city鈥檚 website.
Instead of being reunited with a family member, Gilcrease was offered Gunner鈥檚 body in a red plastic bag and asked about disposal.
鈥淭hey proceeded to tell me that they didn鈥檛 follow city ordinance of 72-hour stray hold and felt that it was in Gunner鈥檚 best interest to kill him due to his age and his arthritis,鈥� Gilcrease wrote in a . 鈥淚 was completely shocked beyond belief as I stated that he was chipped and had a tracking collar around his neck. I questioned who gave you the authority to kill my dog within my 72-hour hold. They both proceeded to tell me that they made this choice amongst themselves within the first 24 hours.鈥�
Gilcrease also and shared Gunner鈥檚 story with his 40,000 followers. He was in tears, asking people to support him. He wants licenses pulled and to hold accountable Denton鈥檚 animal services director, Nikki Sassenus, and shelter manager, Mindy Henry. He also mentioned their names in his Facebook post.
It didn鈥檛 take long for people to begin responding to Gilcrease鈥檚 outcry. More than 42,000 people have reacted to his post, andf more than 5,000 people had shared it as of early Friday evening.
鈥淭he animal facilities and shelters should be a safe place for dogs, for lost and scared dogs to go to so owners can find them within a 72-hour timeframe, and that鈥檚 the city ordinance,鈥� Gilcrease says in his video on TikTok. 鈥淚 have 72 hours and within the first 24 hours, they ... killed my dog. No explanation. They just said that he was old, and he wasn鈥檛 doing well. He was hurting, and we took it upon ourself to stop the hurt.
鈥淎nd I said, he has a chip. He has a tracking collar. My email. My phone numbers. My name. Look me up on Facebook. None of that happened, and they euthanized my family dog ...鈥�
On Friday morning, Dustin Sternbeck, the city鈥檚 chief spokesperson, told the Record-Chronicle that the animal services staff had terminated that Gunner鈥檚 life because 鈥渉e was geriatric, had severe mobility impairment and no control over his bladder and bowels.鈥�
Sternbeck said that staff 鈥渁ttempted to identify Gunner鈥檚 owner using his microchip, but outdated information prevented them from contacting his owners.鈥�
鈥淭he City has a 72-hour stray hold period; however, the ordinance does have a provision to allow for humane euthanasia before the 72-hour period to alleviate animal suffering,鈥� Sternbeck wrote in a follow-up email Friday. 鈥淎fter 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.鈥�
Someone had dropped Gunner off at the shelter.
But it鈥檚 unclear why the animal shelter staff didn鈥檛 check the tracking collar that was still around Gunner鈥檚 neck in the photo that shelter staff posted online Tuesday. Though the battery had gone dead, the Tractive brand GPS tracking collar uses a common USB-C cable for charging, according to the company鈥檚 website.
鈥淧lus he was chipped,鈥� Gilcrease wrote in a Friday afternoon message. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 how they knew his name and all his information before placing his picture on their website that they immediately took down.鈥�
A quick search of Gilcrease鈥檚 name and contact information in Krum reveals a phone number that when called rings his ex-wife, Jennifer Reeves, whom he is still friends with.
On Friday afternoon, Reeves said Gunner used to be her dog, too, and that when they were together, she had taken Gunner to the veterinarian to have him microchipped and that her number was associated with the chip.
鈥淣obody called me,鈥� Reeves said.
Gilcrease reiterated that they also have an email address associated with the chip that is still active.
In his Friday morning email, Sternbeck added that staff became aware of Gilcrease鈥檚 social media post Wednesday afternoon and tried to reach out via social media to let the family know what happened.
鈥淒enton Animal Services strives to protect and serve the community with compassion, integrity, and transparency,鈥� Sternbeck wrote. 鈥淒ata on the shelter鈥檚 intake and outcome numbers can be viewed by the public on the Animal Services Performance Scorecard.鈥�
But Gilcrease said that when they received the message, it simply said to contact the animal shelter, and his wife, Courtney, had done so earlier that morning when she called.
鈥淗e was brought in Tuesday evening, and the very next morning they euthanized him,鈥� Gilcrease said. 鈥淚t wasn鈥檛 12 hours later.鈥�
Gilcrease said that when he arrived at the animal shelter Thursday morning, the staff members he encountered weren鈥檛 sure what had happened to Gunner. They were searching for him as if he were still alive.
鈥淲hen I arrived this morning to retrieve our family baby I was told by a young girl that they couldn鈥檛 find him,鈥� Gilcrease wrote. 鈥淪o we both walked to each kennel looking for my dog that they posted on their website.鈥�
Gilcrease said the photo the animal shelter shared online doesn鈥檛 show a dog in distress but one who is 鈥渃learly alert and healthy.鈥�
In his Facebook post Thursday, Gilcrease said he still had to tell his four children that Gunner wasn鈥檛 coming home after all. Gunner would have turned 13 years old at the end of the month.
On Friday, Gilcrease said online that he has filed animal cruelty charges against those at the animal shelter and in a separate post asked people to leave negative reviews online for the shelter, saying that Gunner had been picked up by a stranger and taken to a strange place where he was 鈥渞ipped from us.鈥�
The animal shelter also defending its actions. As of Friday evening, the post had nearly 900 鈥渁ngry鈥� reactions and 900 comments.
One commenter wrote, 鈥淭here鈥檚 absolutely no way you鈥檒l convince anyone that a geriatric dog who can鈥檛 even pee, and who was in such bad shape according to you all was able to travel 12+ miles. Things don鈥檛 add up. Contact was made with the owner while Gunner was still alive. You knew he had an owner and killed him anyway.鈥�
鈥淲ho gives these people the right to kill?鈥� Gilcrease told the Record-Chronicle on Thursday. 鈥淚 told them I was coming. I go to pick him up and my dog is in a red plastic bag. I鈥檓 heartbroken that he had to die without me by his side.鈥�