Families battle over custody of dog
 

Families battle over custody of dog
The Associated Press

DOYLESTOWN -- A New Orleans family that lost its dog in Hurricane Katrina is in a custody battle with a Doylestown family that adopted him.

Sheila Combs, who lost virtually everything she owned in the hurricane, said she wants Rocket, her 10-year-old son's chow-Finnish spitz mix, returned home.

Lynne Welsh took in the now 2-year-old dog from a local shelter last November. The Welshes have renamed him Rusty. Welsh said she made attempts to find the dog's owner last year, calling the phone number on his dog tag, sending letters and putting information on Internet sites.

Welsh said late last week she was willing to return the dog to Combs if she was willing to come and get him. Combs, a single working mother trying to rebuild her house in New Orleans, said it would be "unreasonable" to expect her to fly to Pennsylvania, but she is willing to have someone visit Doylestown and retrieve the dog. Welsh said she now plans to keep the dog and has hired an attorney to represent her.

Combs said she will do the same. "I will not give up," she said. As determined as Welsh is, Combs said, "I am just as determined to get the dog back.

http://www.centredaily.com/mld/centr...l/14920584.htm

If she's a single mom rebuilding her home and can't find the time to go and get him and thank the family in person then it shows to me that she doesn't care about the dog as much as she says she does. She should be thankful the dog found a good home and wasn't put down. She shouldn't have left the dog behind to die if she cared about it so much. There are many other mixes out there in shelters. She should just find another one and adopt one from a shelter when she's ready to. That dog has been through enough already. He was probably starving when he was found.
Sorry if I'm assuming too much, but I'm just going off of the little info I do know.

I wish all dogs were treated that way. having two or more families fighting over them. How sweet! :)

As usual, Cheryl, I agree with you here! :thumbup:

I am pretty sure if she could have taken her dog with her when they evacuated New Orleans, she would have. The people who were evacuated by the governments help, where not allow to take their pets with them. Which I think is very sad. One of reasons why some people would not leave their homes when the storm hit was because they did not want to leave their pets behind. Luckly they now have evacuation measure in place for people with pets.

I'm glad they have a new measure. But I think that people with pets and kids have more of a responsibility to GET OUT EARLY of there if there is a warning. They shouldn't try to risk staying longer than they have to or waiting it out. We had a tsunami warning last year when I lived on the beach. (trust me, there is LESS of a warning with a tsunami than a hurricane) The second the alarms went on tv I grabbed ALL of the animals and put them in the SUV, gave my husband a call at work, and even put my son in the car without any socks and shoes. I was the first one to leave my apartment complex many of the others decided to stick around while I headed east. I know that my turtles/dogs/cat/lizards/fish probably wouldn't be allowed on a bus, so that's why I made plans to leave in my own car. Thank god the tsunami never happened. I know that every situation is different. But I know many people who wouldn't leave their pets to die and/or starve to death. I know there were people in New Orleans that couldn't get out or wouldn't leave without their pets.
IMO that lady is being ungrateful. She should be ESTATIC that her pet is alive and well taken care of! The new family is already attached and it sounds like they did a lot to find the dog's old home. They sound like a great family. This will make people not want to adopt from shelters anymore. If a family wanted back a dog I LOVE that they abandoned I would be apprehensive about giving it back too. IMO if you love a dog you wouldn't leave it behind, but would have incorporated it into your evacuation plan like the rest of your family. If the house was on fire wouldn't it be on your list of things to get out along with your family? If anything I hope this wakes people up to have a plan. Maybe have one person be in charge of getting each pet ready to go.