Tug-of-love: Pound rehomes lost dog

Heartbroken owner says pound gave her pet to another family without any warning, writes Lee Kenny.

A pet owner is heartbroken after attempting to collect her dog from the pound only to discover he’d been given to another family.

Amy Burfield was told by Christchurch City Council’s Bromley animal shelter that her 7-year-old dog, Charlie Brown, had been given to another family and there was no possibility of getting him back.

The Maltese Spoodle escaped from Burfield’s cousin’s house in Waltham on February 8 and was found and taken to the shelter.

There, staff scanned the dog’s chip and contacted Burfield, but she was at work.

When she phoned the following day she was told she would have to pay $183, which she could not afford.

‘‘They said he would be kept there until I had the money,’’ she said. ‘‘It was going to cost an extra $10 a day but I had no choice and I thought he would be fed and looked after.’’

She said she contacted the shelter 10 days after Charlie Brown went missing, on February 18, to be told he was no longer there and he had been rehoused.

When she asked to have the dog returned she was told the new owners were not willing to give him back, she said.

Burfield, 40, said the rules needed to be changed to ensure other owners are notified if they are about to lose their pets.

‘‘I was not given any warning, any notice, that he would be rehomed. When I said, ‘there must be something I can do’, I was told ‘you are not the dog’s owner’. We are heartbroken. He’s a lovely dog.’’

Burfield had ‘‘accepted’’ the dog would not be returned. ‘‘I know he’s in a good home with a nice family but we are still very upset. It’s not the family’s fault, it’s the council’s fault, they should let people know what is happening to their pets.’’

The new owners declined to comment and Christchurch Council was too busy to respond to questions.

Its website shows dog impound fees start at $50 and increase via a $10 sustenance charge per day. Fees are also higher if the dog has previously been impounded.

All impounded dogs must be held for seven days while trying to find the owner, and if the dog isn’t claimed after the seventh day, the council legally retains ownership of the pet.

‘‘We are heartbroken. I know he’s in a good home with a nice family but we are still very upset.’’ – Amy Burfield

Charlie Brown went missing in February but her owner has now discovered he was rehomed with another family and she has no way to get him back.