Dog that wandered off was adopted by new family. Then old family saw shelter’s post
To the Cookstons, Alfie was part of the family. A short, light brown pup with a long wagging tail, Alfie called the Cookston residence home.
The Cookstons first noticed that Alfie was missing on March 20, the same day that a stray was turned in to the McKamey Animal Center.
The family lives on 18 acres of land in Dunlap, Tennessee, 45 minutes outside of Chattanooga where the shelter operates.
Stacey Cookston said Alfie, one of their two dogs, used to spend his days exploring the property, but in the years that he has been part of the family, he has never wandered off on his own.
On March 20, Alfie sporting a purple collar didn’t come home, Cookston told McClatchy News.
“Unfortunately, Alfie was not microchipped. I take full responsibility for that,” Cookston said.
The Cookstons searched for Alfie for days. They put pictures of Alfie on Facebook, they called their neighbors and took long drives looking for him.
They thought he couldn’t have gotten far.
“I never thought to call McKamey, that was the last place in my mind was to call McKamey animal shelter … because it was so far,” Cookston said.
Stray dropped off at center gets adopted
While the Cookstons were looking tirelessly for their dog, a stray was turned in to the McKamey Animal Center, the same day Alfie went missing, according to Cookston.
Following shelter policy, the dog was scanned for a microchip, and finding none, a picture of him was placed on McKamey’s Lost and Found Facebook Page, in a now deleted post.
Cookston said their family had been monitoring local Dunlap Facebook pages, but never thought to look at McKamey’s site since it was far from them.
Five days after the stray had been placed on McKamey’s lost pets page, an update was posted on its adoption page.
Po’ Boy, as the stray had been named, had been adopted.
“Po’ Boy and his new dad were surprised earlier this week with a fee-waived adoption and a basket of goodies after becoming the best of friends!” the now deleted post said. “Po’ Boy is the happiest pup and loves to play with his people.”
The Cookstons knew it was Alfie.
Cookston said her husband Derek called the shelter, and they were referred to a supervisor. They said the supervisor outlined the shelter’s policies and said that protocol had been followed.
Cookston said the shelter told them they would have to reach out to Po’ Boy’s new owner to let him know of the situation.
“It’s up to the new owner now to speak with us and to give our dog back, which as of right now, they’re still refusing to do so. So, we’re really in limbo right now,” Cookston said.
One of the Cookston’s children commented on the adoption post after her parents had reached out to the shelter.
“To the adopter…” she wrote, “if you choose not to reunite me with my baby boy, here are some things you should know. He loves car rides. He LOVES watching tv. He loves being a major couch potato and snuggling as much as you let him. He has a weird obsession with feet, it’s honestly creepy. He likes to go on walks, but in moderation because he’s a lazy boy. He will follow you literally everywhere you go and just stare at you for no reason. He loves bathes, so much. I can’t ever take one myself without him jumping right in the water. If you choose not to gives him back to me, please please please be good to my boy.”
The adoption post was flooded with comments, and the shelter took the post down, Cookston said.
The Cookstons said they continued to talk with the shelter and later was asked to take down the screenshots they had of the original adoption post.
Cookston said she would take it down when Alfie was brought home.
Shelter says it’s a ‘regrettable situation’
The shelter addressed the Alfie/Po’ Boy situation in a follow-up Facebook post on April 2.
“This is certainly a regrettable situation for all involved and it is terribly upsetting that people on social media are spreading hate and misinformation about an innocent individual who did nothing but try and adopt a shelter animal,” the post said.
The shelter also said they learned Po’ Boy had an owner, but since it was after he had been “lawfully adopted into a new home and legal ownership was properly transferred,” the outcome was out of their hands.
“After careful review we are confident that all applicable laws and ordinances were properly followed here at the shelter,” it continued, “At MAC, we go to great lengths to reunite animals with their owners on a daily basis … But once an animal has been adopted, it is our policy to respect the wishes and privacy of the new owner, a policy we believe is completely understandable, appropriate and something that most all other animal shelters hold as well.”
In it’s Facebook post, the center also recommended all pet owners get their companions microchipped. “We encourage everyone to have their pet microchipped and licensed to avoid this very situation,” McKamey Animal Center said. “We understand that this is a highly emotional situation for all involved, but we encourage everyone to remember that neither the shelter, nor the adopters have any malicious intent. “
Family hopes to get Alfie back
The Cookstons said they are not giving up.
“We’ve offered to pay his fees to adopt a different dog, one that actually needs a home. I’ve offered to reimburse him everything he spent on Alfie while he’s had Alfie in his care,” Cookston said.
Cookston has not been in contact with Alfie’s new owner, but said she believes they are aware of the situation after conversations with the shelter.
Cookston said their family hopes “that this changes some policies… (if) the dog actually comes from a good, loving home.”
In an email to McClatchy News, the shelter said it does “not have any plans to change/adjust (its) policies at this time.”
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