A simple microchip would have prevented this guy's lost dog from being adopted out

MISSOURI -- A Kansas City man is fighting to get his dog back after he says it ran off and a local animal shelter adopted it out.

Billy Eads is having a hard time coming to terms with the possibility he may never see his dog  again - a pet that had been part of the family for three years.

He said Hank ran away from home near West Blue Ridge Boulevard and Wornall Road, where his friend was dog sitting.

"I made up flyers. I posted them all over that neighborhood. I went door-to-door. I looked extensively," Eads said.

Eads admits Hank wasn't microchipped or registered. He filed a lost pet report and continued his search.

"I called several shelters, including Great Plains SPCA. I called Wayside Waifs and the Kansas City Pet Project, which also doubles as the animal control shelter," Eads said.

Hank went missing Sept. 4. He ended up at Wayside Waifs where he was later renamed Mr. Snaggle because of his crooked smile and visible teeth.

"What happened was a good Samaritan found the dog at a busy intersection of Blue Ridge and Wornall," said Sarah Little with Wayside Waifs.

Little said Hank came to Wayside Waifs Sept. 4 and was put on the website for seven days. She said he was wounded and taken to a veterinarian for treatment. During that time, Hank was taken off of the website.

He was put back Sept. 16 and adopted three days later.

"Because the dog was injured, we decided to keep it here. We felt it was in his best interest to keep the dog here," Little said.

But Eads said his pet was already treated for the jaw injury.

He saw Hank's pictures on a local television station's Facebook page that had a partnership with the shelter. He says staffers lied to him when he inquired about his dog.

"He had been adopted that day. I called the day he was adopted out and didn't hear back from anybody for four or five days," Eads said.

Wayside Waifs denies any misconduct and says it followed state law. Eads says he is now seeking legal counsel.

If you find a lost dog in your neighborhood, Wayside Waifs recommends you take it to the local animal shelter. Wayside Waifs staff said they didn't do that, in this case, because the dog was hurt.

(KCTV - Oct 16, 2013)