Lost Dog Leads to Lawsuit
Posted on August 9, 2007
Filed Under Dogs |
Chip McGee of Murfreesboro, Tennessee lost his red Siberian husky, Ginger, in December. She dug under the fence, escaped and became a lost dog.
But not for long. Chip and his wife Karen searched for their lost dog and filed a report with the local sheriff’s department. Just 10 days later, a neighbor relayed that another neighbor allegedly caught the lost dog. And the neighbor who caught Ginger even paid to have her spayed and to have a microchip implanted, then gave her to a shelter! Ginger was adopted by a couple from Chicago, who want to keep her.
But Chip and his wife Karen miss their lost dog. And so does Cody, another husky they own. Chip and Karen have had Ginger and Cody since they were only seven weeks old. Cody has been howling for Ginger.
Ginger is bred, and she’s a member of the American Kennel Club. The lost dog had just weaned a litter of pups before she escaped. She’s very active and craves attention.
Detective Mark Di Nardo charged suspect Emily Spencer with felony theft of the lost dog. Chip and Karen learned through court proceedings that she had Ginger spayed and implanted with a microchip.
Detective Di Nardo traced the lost dog through the microchip to a couple in Palos Park, Illinois, a suburb of Chicago. They also found out that Ginger was adopted two other times before the Palos Park couple, and that her teeth were filed down. This does not make Chip and Karen very happy; Chip has been physically ill over the whole situation.
Detective Di Nardo contacted the Palos Park police department to try to reclaim the lost dog, but to no avail. The Palos Park police have contacted the couple who adopted Ginger, but they don’t want to give her up. They claim that they have legal standing because they legitimately bought her. And the police can’t take the dog, which is classified as property, without a court order. Palos police consulted that state attorney’s office, which declined prosecution in criminal court and advised handling the case in civil court.
So Chip and Karen will have to get a court order to get their lost dog back. Which they plan on doing after Emily Spencer’s next court date in August. Tony Maples, the attorney who represents Emily, says she has cooperated fully by informing Detective Di Nardo about everything that took place with Ginger. He says that she was merely trying to act in Ginger’s best interest. That’ll make you think twice about what to do when you find a lost dog!
As for Ginger, she must be a pretty special lost dog to have so many people wanting to care for her!
www.murfreesboropost.com
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