Wednesday, July 2, 2014

Lesson learned: Do not wait 10 days to call the shelter about your lost dog

WASHINGTON -- Some odd circumstances for a White Swan family that lost its dog. The pet disappeared a couple of weeks ago.

An animal control officer picked it up and brought the dog to the humane society. By the time the family figured out where it was, another family adopted it.

This is Turtle. The Boston terrier had been a part of the Morales family for two years. Florence Morales says she was special since she was a puppy.



"In hard situations, she knows when you're down, she's very loyal, she knows when you're upset, she knows how to make you feel better," said Florence.

Florence says Turtle was on her front yard the last time she saw her. And, that the dog never wandered beyond that.

"She walks as far as this sidewalk and she will put one paw and look back knowing that she is not to touch that," said Florence.


The Yakima Humane Society tells a different story. KIMA spoke with the shelter manager who says an animal control officer found Turtle in someone else's yard.

KIMA obtained the officer's report that only says the dog was found in Totus Park. That's Florence's neighborhood.

A big problem for Florence is that Turtle didn't have a microchip or tags to identify her. The shelter told KIMA animals that don't have identification are held for two days before going up for adoption.

Florence called the humane society ten days after her dog disappeared. Turtle was adopted four days earlier.

"We would truly love to have her back,” said Florence. “We just miss her so much and it is very heartbreaking."


Florence says she learned her lesson. She will make sure her next dog can be traced back to her.
The Yakima Humane Society says it would be up to the new family to give the dog back. But, the family says it doesn't want to.

If the Boston terrier comes back to the shelter for any reason, the Morales family will be notified.

(KIMA CBS 29 - July 1, 2014)

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