After a dog-napping at Christmas, an anonymous tip led to a happy ending for this Jack Russell terrier.
By Frank Klimko
July 21, 2011
Oahu shows off her belly. Volunteers were just happy to get Oahu back home and are treating her like a “hero.”
Animal rescue volunteers are scratching their heads over the tale of Oahu, a Jack Russell terrier mix that was stolen from an animal shelter last year and recovered last week following an anonymous tip to authorities.
That should have been the happy ending to this story about a purloined pooch. However, before the dog could be reunited with her rightful owners, she spent two nights in the Loudoun County animal shelter while animal-control officers established who the dog really belonged to.
Up until last Christmas, Oahu gladly spent her nights snuggled up on a doggie bed at the Friends of Homeless Animals shelter (FOHA) awaiting a permanent home. FOHA is a no-kill shelter and Oahu was looking for an adoptive family, said Linda Moringello, a shelter volunteer. The shelter is in Aldie, but it is supported through its second-hand store in Chantilly, The Treasure Hound.
One day around Christmas, she disappeared from her locked outdoor dog run. Shelter officials were dumfounded, since all the animals at the facility can be adopted for a reasonable fee, but eventually came to the conclusion that she has been stolen.
Shelter president Laura Dove reported the theft to Loudoun County police. Volunteers weren’t optimistic. “Usually when somebody steals a dog, they don’t get returned and it’s very bad,” Moringello said.
However, they didn’t give up and got lucky last week when an anonymous tipster called the shelter with the whereabouts of the dog. Apparently, Oahu had been locked up in a Loudoun County residence ever since she had been taken from the shelter, Moringello said.
The man who was looking after the dog had been picked up and taken to jail on charges unrelated to the dog theft, Moringello said. An acquaintance of the man, who was not named, called the shelter and left a tip, which Dove then reported to Loudoun County authorities.
Police found Oahu in a locked bedroom, said Moringello, but the terrier was not returned immediately to FOHA.
Thomas Koenig, director of the county’s Department of Animal Services, said that animal-control officers were required to take Oahu into county custody until a determination over ownership was made. Even though Oahu’s microchip listed FOHA as her owner, that is not considered conclusive in disputes over dog ownership, which normally has to be decided by a court, Koenig said.
However, Oahu got a break when the caretaker of the dog relinquished any ownership claim, Koenig said. Oahu was returned to FOHA on Saturday night, he said.
Loudoun County Supervisor Jim Burton, who had asked animal control officials to expedite the matter, applauded their work. “Once in a while, fortune smiles,” Burton said.
Volunteers were just happy to get Oahu back home.“It’s such a wild story and everybody has got to hear more,” Moringello said. “Right now, everybody is treating Oahu like a hero.”
Source: http://chantilly.patch.com/articles/homeward-bound-purloined-poochs-journey-comes-to-an-end-2
Another version of the story: http://www.leesburg2day.com/news/article_bce1cc34-af24-11e0-95ee-001cc4c03286.html
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