Rebecca Jones and her family from Nebraska were heartbroken when their dog Bella suddenly disappeared.
When she had been gone for three weeks and never turned up, the family’s hopes of seeing her again dwindled – but they kept looking!
Then suddenly a miracle happened
Finally, something happened that they hadn’t expected for a long time. The family discovered Bella at the Nebraska Humane Society shelter.
But the joy was short-lived – because someone else had already filled out the adoption papers to take Bella home.
Rebecca pleaded with the shelter staff to get her four-legged friend back.
But legally, the state of Nebraska has what is known as the 72-hour rule. If a found animal is not picked up by its family after this period, the animal shelter becomes the legal owner.
A difficult situation
Bella arrived at the shelter and waited there for three days – when no one came to collect her, she was put up for adoption. Because Bella wasn’t chipped, nobody knew that she actually had a family.
When Rebecca visited the shelter, she saw Bella sitting in her kennel, but unfortunately it was already too late..
Without the new owners‘ permission, the shelter staff couldn’t do anything. In order to reunite the family with their dog, they contacted the new adoptive parents to explain the complicated situation to them.
Fortunately, the new family were very understanding. Although they had fallen in love with the dog, they could not stand by and watch her old owner suffer.
Reunited
Rebecca and her family were overjoyed to have their beloved Bella back with them!
Even though the new adoptive parents were briefly sad that things didn’t work out with Bella, they quickly showed interest in another four-legged friend.
On their Facebook page, the Nebraska Humane Society writes:
„The new adopters were kind and friendly, and although it was difficult, they agreed to return the dog to the shelter so the original owners could take the dog home.
The dog was returned this afternoon. We are so grateful for the compassion and empathy of the adoptive family.
We are sorry for how the situation turned out, but we are truly grateful that the dog is back home and the adoptive family is willing to open their doors to a new dog.“
What a happy ending for Bella and her original family – even though the situation seemed hopeless at first, Rebecca and her family are even more grateful that the new adoptive family agreed to give their dog back.
Source: 6 News WOWT
