A dog who alerted American soldiers in Afghanistan to a suicide bomber has been euthanized by a local government animal shelter in Arizona. The incident has been labeled an accident as the dog had been rescued from the war zone and was not supposed to be put to sleep.

The dog, Target, was recently brought over from Afghanistan by a soldier who had returned from his tour of duty. Target was featured by CNN for heroism after saving dozens of soldiers from a suicide bomber on February 11.

“She got her name because the Afghans we lived with were constantly trying to off her. She’s been shot in the leg. … The Afghans actually ran over her,” Sgt. Christopher Duke said, who helped care for Target in Afghanistan and has adopted her packmate Rufus. “There’s no killing this dog for sure. She’s pretty much been through it all, ” he said upon their reunion in July in Georgia.

Target’s new owner, Army Sgt. Terry Young whose life was saved by the stray, helped bring the 2-ish-year-old from Afghanistan to her new home in Arizona. She disappeared from Young’s home on Friday. Facebook postings requested help in finding her.

Animal control received a phone call alerting them to a stray dog, and they proceeded to pick it up. The dog was, of course, Target. But rather than try to find the dog’s owner or give it a chance for adoption, a shelter employee took Target out of its cage and euthanized her.

The shelter employee failed to follow established procedure and that failure was costly.

In an e-mail, Young told CNN affiliate KPHO, “I’m an absolute wreck today, and it’s everything in my power to hold it together for me and my family. My 4-year-old son just can’t understand what is going on with Target and keeps asking me to get the poison out of her and bring her home. They don’t want her to go be with God yet.”

The shelter is evidently funded by the local government and must be held accountable. I’ve sent an email requesting information about pending employment terminations or resignations.

Update: More disturbing details.

The dog escaped from the family’s back garden on Friday. Sgt Young put out online notices and contacted TV stations that carried reports on the missing hero dog.

A neighbour found Target wandering later on Friday, put her in his back garden and called animal rescue services. The dog did not have a microchip or tag.

On Friday night, Sgt Young found Target’s picture on a website used by Pinal County’s dog catchers to help owners track lost pets. He thought the shelter was closed for the night and weekend. He arrived at the shelter in Casa Grande to claim his dog on Monday, only to find out she was dead.

The employee responsible has been placed on paid leave. In other words, paid vacation. Not acceptable. The employee should be named, shamed, and fired.