Clayton County K-9 euthanized after handler’s arrest; advocates say shelter drug records incomplete

CLAYTON COUNTY, Ga. (Atlanta News First) — The euthanasia of a drug-sniffing K-9 is raising questions about what happens inside the Clayton County Animal Control shelter, and whether staff followed the rules.

Advocates said surveillance footage and a missing page from the shelter’s logs raise concerns about the procedure, concerns the county says are unfounded.

Kona was donated to the Clayton County Sheriff’s Office after his original owner died in 2022. He was trained to detect contraband inside the county jail.

Sheriff Levon Allen said he discovered Kona’s handler was smuggling contraband in and arrested him in October 2025 on three felony charges .The case is still pending in Clayton County Superior Court, and the former deputy has not entered a plea.

When deputies went to retrieve Kona from his handler’s home, the dog attacked and bit a deputy, Allen said.

Sgt. Pete Thompson, a K-9 handler with the Clayton County Sheriff’s Office, said no one could handle Kona at that point and they could not find a veterinarian willing to board him.

‘They don’t have a voice’ | Clayton County shelter euthanasia practices criticized

“If he’s attacking people, I can’t bring him to my home with my family,” Thompson said. That’s when deputies made the decision to take the dog to animal control until they figured out what to do next.

‘That’s not the same Kona I know’

Clayton County Animal Control is run by the Clayton County Police Department.

“Through the night, there were incidents that took place at the animal control to which they were concerned about the behaviors as well,” Allen said, adding he called the police chief to have the department’s K-9 handler with 30 years of experience evaluate Kona as well.

“Ultimately [they] came to the same conclusion about the aggressiveness,” Allen said.

If anyone was going to get through to Kona, Clayton County sheriff’s K-9 handler Sgt. Ronda Johnson said it’d be her.

“Every time he would see me, he would get playful and jolly,” Johnson said, recalling her interactions with Kona during their team training days. “He was like a son to me. I called him son-son.”

But when Johnson visited Kona in the county shelter after his handler’s arrest, she said he was unrecognizable.

“It wasn’t the Kona that would come to the gate and say, ‘Hey, where’s my treat?” Johnson said. “You could look at his eyes and see something was different... that’s not the same Kona I know.”

Thompson said deputies weighed what humane options existed for a dog who could not be safely handled.

“Are we going to leave the dog in a cage ... and just slide food through a slot?” Thompson said. “Is that humane?”

Allen said the decision to euthanize Kona was difficult.

“That was not a decision that was made lightly,” he said. “I received three opinions from experts… I made that decision for Kona to be put down, and ultimately at that point, it was handed off to the Clayton County Police Department.”

Euthanasia practices under scrutiny

Animal rights advocates said Kona’s case highlights concerns specifically about the use of intracardiac injections, known as the heart-stick euthanasia method. Georgia law requires an animal be unconscious before the painful injection method is used.

Advocates learned about Kona through open records requests, including drug logs and surveillance footage. Mimi Steger, founder of the Shelter Reform Network, said the video of Kona’s euthanasia in a kennel raises questions about whether staff followed proper protocols.

“In the video, you can see that a staff member is using a catchpole for this part of the procedure, but Kona, according to law, should have been unconscious at that time,” Steger said.

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Drug logs obtained by advocates also show the shelter’s staff veterinarian used the heart-stick method nearly 90 percent of the time over a one-year period.

Page missing in Kona’s drug log

The 2025 drug logs provided to advocates are missing the one page that would show what anesthetic Kona received before the procedure.

“It did not show that he was provided an anesthetic, which is different than a sedative,” Steger said. “That’s when we learned that the second page of that month’s drug log had not even been included in the records.”

When advocates requested the missing page, Clayton County said it would no longer provide drug logs, claiming they are exempt under Georgia’s personal medical and veterinary records law. Advocates say that exemption does not apply to animals held in a public shelter, and say the drug logs are the only way to know how animals are being euthanized.

At a June Clayton County Animal Control board meeting, the county’s Staff Attorney India Mitchell addressed upset citizens over the denial for further drug logs.

“There was an error that was made internally with animal control, where there were controlled substance logs that were released inappropriately. If you’re familiar with the Georgia Open Records Act and federal laws and the DEA controlled substance logs, they maintain information regarding the handling of controlled substances and sensitive information. It’s not intended for public dissemination,” Mitchell said.

“All protocols, applicable state laws, and veterinary standards were followed in the euthanasia process of K-9 Kona,” Clayton County Animal Control said in a statement.

Steger said the public learned Kona had been euthanized only because advocates found his name on a drug log from October.

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“Many found it extremely upsetting that Kona was removed in a garbage can,” Steger said. “It wouldn’t have been known to the public had we not picked up his name on that drug log from October.”

Police contradict what staff told inspectors

The Georgia Department of Agriculture (GDA) cited Clayton County Animal Control for a euthanasia violation in March, then removed it the same day. A GDA spokesperson said the shelter told inspectors it was no longer performing euthanasia on-site and had switched to a third-party provider, which inspectors accepted as a resolution.

The GDA inspection occurred while the shelter’s veterinarian was on leave. But in July, when Atlanta News First Investigates asked Clayton County Police who has been performing euthanasia procedures since then, it said in-house veterinarian performs all such procedures, with two outside veterinarians filling in after hours. That answer contradicted its response to the GDA.

GDA confirmed it conducted a follow-up inspection at the shelter on June 25, 2026. That report states “onsite veterinarian performs any euthanasia.” The shelter passed the inspection without any violations.

Some surveillance cameras no longer record

Advocates say because Clayton County shelters do not allow volunteers, their only eyes inside are through records requests of internal cameras. In March, Clayton County police switched several cameras, including those that recorded euthanasias, to live feed only, making recordings unavailable for records requests.

“The change to certain internal surveillance camera settings in March appears to have been an operational or administrative decision,” the department said.

“There is no universal requirement that every internal surveillance camera continuously record, and camera settings may vary depending upon their intended purpose and location,” Clayton County Police Captain Michael Martin said.

Allen said his office was not involved in the euthanasia process itself. Thompson added he regrets he couldn’t do more for Kona, who unfortunately got “got caught in the middle” of his handler’s charges.

Allen said Kona will not be forgotten. “As long as I’m sheriff, his name and his stone will always remain outside of the sheriff’s office,” he said.

Johnson said she will cherish the few photos she has of Kona on her phone and will always remember him as “a hyper little young puppy.”

State records do not cite any county wrongdoing in Kona’s case.

In 2023, an advocate filed a lawsuit challenging the county’s record exemption claims. The case is still pending.

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