Vet says shooting injured mule was only humane thing to do

Car struck animal near Byron Highway

KNIGHTSEN >> A veterinarian is speaking out about Sunday’s death of a mule along the side of a rural road in East Contra Costa County, saying that killing the animal was the only humane thing to do.

Dr. Renee Golenz, a Brentwood-based vet who works with horses and other big animals, gave officials the recommendation to shoot the animal in the head, because the injuries described to her over the phone were too catastrophic.

A blue Audi sedan hit the mule as it walked with a rider aboard on Delta Road by the Byron Highway around 7:05 p.m. Sunday. An officer at the scene later shot the mule.

Fire officials said Monday that animal control officers were unable to reach a vet but that observers at the scene with expertise in big animals agreed the animal couldn’t be saved.

But Golenz said Monday that she talked to officials with Contra Costa County Animal Services before the decision was made to shoot the mule.

“I was 45 minutes away, and based on how the injuries were described to me, there was no reason to let the animal keep suffering,” she said. “So I recommended euthanasia by bullet.”

According to Golenz, animal control officers relayed to her that the 5to 6-year-old male mule suffered severe fractures to two of its legs and a broken pelvis. It also was bleeding profusely, she said.

Golenz has been a vet for 30 years and specializes in working with equines

“I’m very dedicated to what I do, and I wanted to do what was best for the animal,” she said. “In this case, the injuries were so catastrophic, it was really a matter of trying to end its suffering as soon as possible.”

Animal Services took the body of the mule from the scene.

The mule’s rider complained of pain, and the driver of the Audi was not injured.