A man is considering taking the Department of Agriculture and Fisheries to court for putting his dog to sleep without his knowledge.

After a three-month stay with the Department, Joshua Fox discovered his dog Diamond, an 11-month-old Pit Bull, was put to sleep late last month.

Diamond and Mr. Fox, 21, of St. Luke's Lane, St. George's were returning from a one-month stay in Canada when they were stopped by Customs officers on the Labour Day weekend.

Mr. Fox had been told by Diamond's veterinarian that she needed an operation for a bladder problem.

He had taken Diamond to Canada to have the operation, but when seen by veterinarians there, he was told only medication was needed.

When the Agriculture and Fisheries Department investigated, it was found that Mr. Fox did not have the proper entry papers and Diamond had not been properly vaccinated for rabies.

"They suspected she had rabies, but she had her rabies shot four days before we left,'' Mr. Fox said.

Dr. George Patrick Heslop, a veterinarian surgeon in Southampton, explained that the problem was not leaving the Island, it was returning.

"A dog must be vaccinated for rabies twice a year with the shots being six months apart. And the dog cannot enter the country until one month after the second shot,'' Dr. Heslop explained.

"Normally under these circumstances, Customs would immediately deport the animal. However in this case, the aircraft had already departed the Island,'' Government veterinarian Jonathan Nisbett stated in a letter to The Royal Gazette .

Mr. Fox was told that his only two options were to either remove the dog from the Island or have it euthanised.

"I needed time to get the money together,'' said Mr. Fox.

However, when he contacted the Department of Agricultural and Fisheries last Friday about the deportation of his dog, Mr. Fox was informed that she had been euthanised on November 26.

"They should have called,'' Mr. Fox said. "They should have called before or after they put her down.'' The Department explained that they had attempted to avoid the euthanasia by giving the owner opportunity to remove the dog, but the "opportunity had been squandered''.

Owner angry after dog is put to sleep Mr. Fox denied this, saying that he tried several times to get in contact with Mr. Nisbett to explain that he needed time to collect the money to deport the dog.

"It's been an ongoing battle with them,'' he said. "I've called plenty of times and left messages, but they say they never got them.'' But Dr. Nisbett insisted: "Bermuda is a rabies-free island, and as a part of having this designation, we must have and enforce adequate measures to prevent the accidental introduction of the disease.'' And he pointed out that the department kept Diamond in quarantine for almost three months, paying for her care itself.

"The Island does not have a proper quarantine facility, nor would I recommend that Government take on the care and maintenance of private animals,'' he added.

Gone, but not forgotten : Diamond was put to sleep after a three-month stay with the Department of Agriculture and Fisheries.