DETROIT – A Detroit woman got her lost dog back Thursday after she said an animal rescue shelter found the husky and gave her away.
Local 4 introduced viewers to Bonita on Wednesday. The husky ran away after last month's historic wind storm.
After weeks of searching, Yesenia Garcia said she learned her dog was found by a local rescue, but the organization refused to give the dog back, saying she had already been adopted.
The shelter changed its mind when Local 4 got involved.
Garcia said she got her dog back from the shelter, which was holding her dog since early March and had apparently refused to give her back.
"I'm thankful for you guys and the people concerned who shared all this," Garcia said.
After the report, Garcia got angry phone calls. She wouldn't say who was calling, but when the calls stopped, Bonita was returned to her by Home Fur-Ever Rescue in Southwest Detroit.
But there are problems. Bonita was spayed without Garcia's permission. Garcia said she was lied to, and that the rescue shelter told her the dog was adopted by a family living in a 7,000-square foot home.
She said there are no vet papers, and her dog appears anxious.
"I hope they do not do this to another family," Garcia said.
Home Fur-Ever is a pet rescue run out of houses on the city's southwest side. They said the business is nonprofit, and it has helped 6,500 dogs.
Volunteers for the rescue shelter said Bonita had no collar and no chip. They said they received threats that delayed the reunion.
"Home Fur-Ever took the dog off the street before someone else with bad intentions could have used the dog as a bait dog," a spokesperson said. "Social media threats got in the way of this return."