http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/articl...n193646D81.DTL
Animal charity pays $5,000 to keep dog away from original owners
Monday, May 23, 2005
(05-23) 20:49 PDT Palmdale, Calif. (AP) --
An animal rescue group has paid $5,000 to the original owners of a lost dog rather than surrender the mutt to "his previous life of abject misery."
The Labrador mix escaped from his owners' yard in October and was picked up by county animal control officers, who turned him over to Palmdale-based 2nd Chance Animal Rescue.
The dog's owners, the Gormonts, discovered the animal was still alive when 2nd Chance's Jill Parnham called them. She had gotten their name and phone number from a microchip the dog, named Bomber, wore and assumed the family had surrendered him to the county shelter.
When the Gormonts learned 2nd Chance had their dog, they and the county asked Parnham to turn Bomber over. Parnham refused, saying Bomber — now known as Judd — had lived in inhumane conditions, spending his days outside or in the garage. She said he hadn't been housebroken and was in bad condition.
A small claims court judge ordered Parnham and the rescue group to turn the Labrador mix over to the Gormonts or pay $5,000. The rescue group paid the money at the last minute — a sum Parnham says is equal to half their annual budget.
"In all good conscience, our committee and board members felt we could not return this dog to his previous life of abject misery," Parnham wrote in a printed statement.
"He is now on his way to a loving home with a warm indoor bed, daily walks and regular grooming."
The Gormonts, who have adopted a new dog, say they are heartbroken at the outcome of the case. They say they never expected 2nd Chance to pay so much to keep a dog they wanted back.
"I was really under the impression that Bomber was coming home. Any reasonable person would not really go to that extent," said Ann Gormont. "I didn't need the money. We just wanted our family pet back."
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I sure hope the animal group gets repaid by animal lovers backing them.
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