Despite all the excuses and apologies, something sadly went wrong at the Lawrence County Dog Pound.

A communications breakdown recently resulted in a family pet being put to sleep. The problem is that it occurred after the owner was contacted and told he could pick his dog up.

The specifics of how it got to that point vary a bit depending on whom you ask.

Dog warden Bill Click attributed the problem to an employee error but was adamant that the system itself was not flawed.

That is where we disagree.

More can be done to ensure this never happens again.

Let’s be clear. We don’t think Click or anyone who works there intentionally did this or would do anything to harm these animals.

These county employees were simply trying to do their jobs, as unpleasant as that may sometimes be.

But terrible mistakes were obviously made. Admitting that is the first step.

Looking at the process for contacting owners and also the record-keeping would be good first steps toward addressing this problem.

Secondly, the dog pound must do a better job of informing the public of the animals that have been picked up and what animals are available for adoption.

The Tribune is willing to help.

We will offer the county free space to better communicate with the public.

If dog pound officials provide a list of animals that have been picked up in a given week, we will print this in our Found Pets section of the Sunday classifieds.

Plus, if officials submit photographs and a brief description on animals up for adoption, we will print those each Sunday as well.

These steps could go a long way toward ensuring every family has the opportunity to have a pet of their own and those who already do can keep theirs as long as possible.