Shelter refuses to give lost dog back to owner
SCHOHARIE COUNTY " A local woman is pleading for help after she lost her dog, then found him at a local animal shelter only to be told she could not take him home.
Alysha VanDyke says the 13-year-old purebred miniature pinscher was missing for weeks and because he is so old and has so many health problems her family had more or less accepted that he ran away to die.
VanDyke says "Manson," who is partially deaf and blind, slipped out of his collar one mid-September morning and did not come home.
"We let people know on Facebook, friends and family, we checked around and we're kind of like on a big plot of land," VanDyke said.
VanDyke said no one had seen him, which is why she was so surprised when one of her friends saw a posting with a dog that looked like "Manson" up for adoption on Facebook this past Saturday.
"We were like, 'Oh my God here he is!' And we thought that this was the greatest ending and everyone would be happy. Only to find out that was not so," VanDyke said.
VanDyke says the Animal Shelter of Schoharie Valley refused to give her dog back when she called and then showed up at the shelter the very next day.
"It felt like I'd been kicked in the stomach. It's like he's here but I can't see him? And now I can't have him?" VanDyke said.
New York State Police say the dog legally belongs to the shelter because it was brought to them by animal control after it went unclaimed for more than five days.
But VanDyke says that is not the only reason she was denied her dog.
"They said he wasn't neutered so we weren't taking care of him then. He was originally studded out. He was a breeding dog young so we decided to not have him neutered for health reasons," VanDyke said.
State police say the shelter had a trooper escort VanDyke off the Howe Caves property. Neither the shelter nor its attorney, Michael West, would give CBS6 News any indication as to why.
Meanwhile, VanDyke is left confused and heartbroken.
"So at this point we're kind of just relying on civil court and anyone who can kind of assist us. We just want our dog back. He's old and he's feeble and being at a shelter at this point is not in his best interest," VanDyke said.
State Police say it is possible VanDyke could get her dog back if the shelter reviews the case with its adoption board. It is unclear what kind of fees the family would then have to pay.