GRAY, Tenn. (WJHL) — A Gray woman tells News Channel 11 she had trouble contacting someone about her dog, which was found severely injured and was ultimately euthanized.

The story of the Blue Heeler named Rebel played out on social media as the woman, who didn’t want to be named, was distraught and posted that she was unable to talk to someone at the Washington County-Johnson City Animal Shelter about her dog. When she finally was able to speak to someone, they told her Rebel had already been euthanized.

A good Samaritan found the injured dog on Possum Hollow Road in Washington County around 4:30 p.m. on Monday. The person who found him posted to Facebook to try and find if anyone knew the dog. No owner had stepped up immediately, so animal control was called to pick up the dog.

The shelter’s offices closed at 6 p.m. on Monday and didn’t reopen until Tuesday at 1 p.m. It was after 6 p.m. when the owner found out about Rebel and told News Channel 11 in a Facebook message that she tried in vain to contact someone.

“I did everything but go to sleep in the parking lot last night trying to get ahold of anyone to give me the after-hours number,” she said.

Shelter director Tammy Davis says the after-hours number is a simple one: 911. Davis says 911 dispatchers will contact one of three full-time animal control officers who rotate being on call after hours, and those officers will do what’s best for the animal.

“If we go out on an after-hours call, we are going to make decisions in the best interests of that dog. If that dog needs immediate medical care, we will route that dog to the emergency clinic and we will proceed with doing whatever needs to be done to make the dog comfortable until we locate the owner.”

Although Davis couldn’t talk about Rebel’s case specifically, she says sometimes it’s necessary to euthanize the animal before the owner is located.

“We rely on veterinarians to guide us and their opinions. Unfortunately, sometimes there are situations where the injuries are so severe that the dog or cat cannot survive. In that case, we are not going to allow an animal to suffer,” Davis said.

Davis added that if there’s a cost involved, they will pay up front and then sometimes they will ask for donations later to help pay for a procedure if the owner isn’t found or if the owner can’t afford it.

Rebel’s owner told News Channel 11 that when she went to the shelter on Tuesday, she was told his back was broken and had been put to sleep. She said she did call 911 but it’s unclear why she did not receive a timely call back. She said she felt bad that Rebel got out of her yard and just wished she would have been able to say goodbye to her dog.

Davis emphasized 911 is still an emergency line.

“We don’t want everyone bombarding 911 with calls. So make sure that it is truly an emergency if it’s something that can wait until the next morning. That would be great. But if it’s an emergency, call 911 and they’ll get in touch with us,” Davis said.

The shelter has offered to pay to have Rebel cremated free of charge.