Johnson City (WSYR-TV) -- One hundred pets were left to drown at a Petco in Johnson City during last week’s devastating flood.
– When last week’s flood hit upstate New York, the Johnson City Petco failed to evacuate its animals—and 100 drowned. The news made its way across the blogosphere (see here for one example), and now the village mayor has called for a police investigation to see whether the deaths could have been prevented, noting that he believes the store had enough warning to react. “If someone was aware that those animals were in danger and didn't take the appropriate action to remove them to safety then that is a crime under New York State Law” and charges could be filed against management, he said, adding that some employees may have asked to take the animals home and been told they could not. On its company blog, Petco called it a “tragedy” and says the company accepts responsibility and will “take timely and appropriate steps to ensure that nothing like this can happen again.” Leaders from the company will meet with city officials later this week, WSYR reports, and PETA is looking to get involved. Click for another flood-related animal tragedy.