Family Claims Shelter Won’t Return Their Stolen Dog

When Fayette County Sheriffs raided a puppy mill in Georgia in 2021, they turned all the recovered animals over to the Fayette County Animal Shelter. Among those survivors was an American Bully dog, who a local family alleges actually belongs to them.

The family’s dog Porkchop had been missing for months, and they were shocked to see a picture of her coming from the animal shelter’s Facebook page. Hoping to prevent Porkchop from being adopted out to someone else, they immediately contacted FCAS.

Unfortunately, the matter would be a little more complicated than just picking up the dog and going home. Jewell Andrews, who claims to be Porkchop’s rightful parent, described the situation to CBS 46:

“That dog went everywhere with us, our kids love the dog, she’s part of the family. We appreciate [the sheriff and shelter] for getting those dogs out of the situation. I am more than grateful and thankful because we never thought we’d see her again.”

Porkchop Reappears Unexpectedly

According to Andrews, Porkchop was stolen from her backyard earlier this year. The family posted about the missing dog online several times, but eventually came to the conclusion that whoever had her would not be returning her.

Then, when Fayette County Animal Shelter shared photos of their adoptable dogs, Andrews’ friends recognized Porkchop.

“A few of my friends saw it and tagged me, there goes your dog, that’s your dog.”

After calling the shelter, Andrews arrived with papers and photos to prove the dog was hers, but the shelter wouldn’t just hand Porkchop over to her. They said she would have to be spayed first.

“[The shelter] told us this is the process to come get her and here we are with more than enough paper work, more than enough proof. For you to be in the business of reuniting animals with their owners and for us to be met with so much combativeness to try to get our dog back, it’s just insane to me.”

A Matter For The Courts

Representatives from the shelter declined to participate in an interview. However, they did tell a reporter from CBS 46 that “a number of people claimed the puppy mill dogs as stolen from them,” and the shelter is trying to protect the dogs. They don’t intend to let any of the dogs go without first spaying or neutering them.

Andrews does not want Porkchop to be spayed, so she and her partner have filed a stay order against the shelter adopting the dog out. A court date has been set for September 22nd, 2021.

Now it’s up to the law to decide whether the shelter is right for taking this stand or Andrews deserves a say in the matter of spaying Porkchop.