On the morning of May 23, many of the staff at Clark County Animal Control said they weren’t feeling well.

Paul Scarpelli, the longtime manager of animal control, had just been abruptly fired and was walked off the premises in front of his staff. On that morning, three members of his former staff called in sick.

County documents show that instead of heading home, they went to Elmer’s Restaurant on East Mill Plain Boulevard. There they were joined by other co-workers and Scarpelli. There they commiserated his firing over a meal that included Bloody Marys, Coors Light and other alcoholic beverages.

Three weeks later, three animal control officers, as well as a code enforcement officer and two office staff, had been fired after a county Human Resources investigation determined that the gathering at Elmer’s violated multiple employee policies.

Earlier this month, members of the animal welfare community expressed alarm over the sudden dismissal of Scarpelli and the number of animal control officers being reduced from five to two before the Fourth of July, a particularly busy time for animal control. The county has described the situation as an “unexpected, temporary reduction” in animal protection service levels.