Animal shelter: Licensing dogs best chance for reunion
NEWARK – Britni Dennison wasn't in the market for a new dog, but when she saw a German shepherd on the Licking County Animal Shelter's Facebook page, she couldn't help but fall in love with it.
Dennison and her boyfriend stopped by the shelter a few days later to visit her. After bringing their current dog in to make sure the dogs could get along, the couple decided to take the German shepherd home with them, adopting her last Monday.
They renamed the dog Piper. Everything was great for about 24 hours, Dennison said, until she started getting strange friend requests and messages on Facebook. The messages said that Piper's original owner had come forward and wanted her dog back.
The woman who owned Piper was on her honeymoon when the dog got out of the house, and the person who had been dog-sitting for her never reported it missing. It wasn't until after the original owner returned home that she went to the shelter to report her dog missing, but at that point, it was too late.
"Me and my boyfriend talked about it, and we knew how we would feel if it was our dog," Dennison said. "So we said as long as the owner could provide proof we would give the dog back."
But the more she thought about it, the more she began growing concerned for Piper's well-being. Dennison was troubled by the messages she had been receiving from strangers on Facebook, saying many of them were harassing, and wasn't sure why the original owner hadn't asked about Piper's well-being or given the couple the dog's real name.
She called the animal shelter to let them know what was going on, and the staff informed her that, under the law, Piper belonged to her now. That meant the choice of whether to give her back was up to Dennison.
When she saw how much Piper had bonded with her and her family, and in light of what she deemed potential red flags with Piper's original situation, she and her boyfriend decided to keep the dog.
Things changed when Piper's original owner came to Dennison's house the following evening to ask for her dog back, and Piper eventually went back home. Piper's original owner declined to comment.
The situation has left Dennison heartbroken and wary of adopting another animal from the shelter.
"It's been really sad. We were playing with our dog in a kiddie pool the other day and wondered if Piper would have liked it," Dennison said. "We think about her all the time."
John Silva, director of the Licking County Animal Shelter, said the situation was unfortunate for all parties and hopes it will encourage more people to license their dogs.
"If this dog had a license, it would have gone home with its owner," he said. "We hear all the time from people whose dogs get out, they get used to saying it will come back. If it doesn't have a license and you don't see it coming back, at a minimum show up at the shelter the next day to see if we have it."
When a dog wearing a license is picked up, an automatic 14-day hold is placed on the animal, Silva said. A letter is then sent to the owner informing him or her that the dog is at the shelter.
Dogs not wearing a license are held for the state-required minimum of three days and are then released to be adopted after five days.
Even if a dog doesn't have a license, shelter staff do what they can to identify the dog's owner, Silva said. Employees will scan the dog for a microchip and check the lost-and-found page to see whether the dog matches any descriptions for lost pets.
As soon as the shelter receives knowledge that one of its dogs might belong to someone, Silva said, staff will place an additional 48-hour hold on the dog to give the owner a chance to come and claim it.
"If you know your dog got out, come to the shelter on day one and check each day," Silva said. "The purpose of a shelter is for dogs to be redeemed, and if they can't be redeemed, to be rehomed. But once a dog is adopted, it legally belongs to the new owner. It is imperative these owners come in or their dog could go home with someone else."
emaddern@newarkadvocate.com
740-328-8513
Twitter: @emmaddern
Lost pet?
If you are looking for a lost pet, visit the Licking County Animal Shelter at 544 Dog Leg Road in Heath or call 740-349-6562. The shelter is open from 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. daily. Information on lost pets also can be found by clicking the Lost/Found tab on the animal shelter's website, www.lcounty.com/ac/lcaso.