Valdosta, GA - Can you imagine the nightmare? You hand your pet over to animal control, then change your mind and want them back, just to find they've already been put down.

It has happened, but the Lowndes County Commission made a new policy Tuesday night to prevent it. Now there is a 24-hour "Cool Off" period before the animals can be euthanized. Commissioners tell us that wait time is not for the animals, but for the owners to make a final decision.

"At times owners have turned in an animal and once the animal is assessed, if our staff does not feel the animal is adoptable the animal might be euthanized," said Crawford Powell, Lowndes Commissioner for District 3 who fathered the plan. "And then all of a sudden they call back and say hey, I've got a friend that wants my dog, wants my cat, and the assessment has already been done."

There are some exceptions to the waiting period however. It will not be observed for animals with owners requesting euthanasia, or that are aggressive to humans, that kill other animals, that are suffering from contagious diseases, or are injured.