ANDERSON — A city animal control officer was fired Monday after officials say he released a vicious dog that he had picked up back into the community.

Joe McClain, director of Anderson Animal Care and Control, fired animal control officer Robert Stone after a pre-disciplinary hearing and investigation by the city as to whether Stone was responsible for releasing the dog.

City Personnel Director Stephen Priser said Stone had been called to a home a couple of weeks ago to pick up three dogs whose owner claimed they were “vicious.” When Stone returned the dogs to the shelter, paperwork had been changed to say he had only left two dogs there, releasing the third to someone waiting for him at the shelter when he got back.

“When we take possession of an animal, the animal becomes property of the city,” Priser said. “It appears that the third animal was given away by Mr. Stone without the city’s authority.”

The situation is especially grievous because the dog Stone had given away had been deemed vicious and was scheduled to be euthanized because it could not return to the community, Priser said.

“We responded to a call to take a vicious dog out of the community, and Mr. Stone on his own determined to reintroduce it back into the community,” he said. “We felt that was a clear violation of his trust and authority. He should have allowed the policies and procedures to run its course.”

Priser thought Stone might have given the dog away out of compassion before it could be euthanized, but said his actions put the city in a situation of liability if the dog had attacked someone.

“I in my heart believe that it was probably a compassionate decision,” Priser said. “Having said that, it still was not within his authority to put a vicious dog out on the street.”

Calls to the only Robert Stone listed in Anderson were unsuccessful on Tuesday.

McClain acknowledged that he had fired Stone on Monday after having been told to do so by Priser and Dick Wiley, president of the city’s Board of Public Safety, which oversees the animal shelter.

McClain had turned in a report of Stone’s alleged actions to the Board of Public Safety and Personnel Department, which did the investigation and had a hearing that included Stone and representatives from his labor union, United Auto Workers Local 1963.

McClain has only been the animal control director for about three months and hadn’t had a chance to evaluate Stone’s performance on the job, he said.

“He’s worked for the city a long time,” McClain said.

Stone’s duties included cleaning cages at the animal control facility and picking up animals from homes and off the streets. The incident comes just after the shelter dealt with complaints from the community about its operations.

“Right now down here at the animal shelter we’re having sensitive problems a lot,” McClain said.

A grievance has been filed by Stone and his union after the firing, and Priser, Wiley and McClain plan to discuss it and meet with union representatives. Grievances are common when a union employee is fired, Priser said.

A final answer to the grievance will come from the Safety Board, and if rejected by the union, the issue can go into arbitration and be decided by an impartial party, Priser said.

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What’s next?

Anderson city officials fired animal control officer Robert Stone after allegations arose that he had taken a “vicious” dog on its way to the shelter and released it back into the community. Stone’s union, United Auto Workers Local 1963, filed a grievance with the city after his firing, and city officials will look into the grievance. If no agreement is made, the case can be decided by an impartial arbitrator.