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A.J. is back, after family pays $568 for vet bill, fees
By Linda Golz Beacon Journal staff writer
Published on Saturday, Oct 13, 2007
LAKE TWP.: Getting A.J. home was a long and expensive ordeal for Tim and Stacy King and their three children.
The case of the lost-and-finally-found 3-year-old purebred golden retriever is a tale filled with unexpected twists.
The Kings, of Lake Center Street Northwest, blame their own missteps, a chaotic time in their lives, an unhelpful county agency and a suspicious animal rescue group for their pet's three-week absence.
September was more hectic than usual for the King family.
Aside from the normal confusion of getting children Kyler, McKala and Kaleigh back into school and other activities, Tim and Stacy King celebrated their 20th anniversary with a cruise, Tim's father was rushed to the hospital and Stacy's father was moved to a nursing home.
It was amid that chaos that A.J. disappeared.
It was on Sept. 9 that Stacy King opened the garage door to let the dog out. With 71/2 acres, A.J. had plenty of room to run, but not stray too far.
But on this night, there was a strange white horse standing in the front yard when the dog stepped outside. In an instant, the chase was on.
The horse, newly acquired by a neighbor, returned home, but A.J. was simply gone.
With her father-in-law sick, Stacy King said, she decided to go to the hospital.
''Am I going to go look for the dog or go to the hospital to be with my father-in-law?'' she asked.
When A.J. didn't return home, members of the family called the dog shelter and the Humane Society several times. They canvassed the neighborhood and made fliers.
Tim King said they didn't call the shelter more because they assumed at first that the dog would return home on his own or would turn up with a neighbor.
Family members also thought that, since they had called the shelter, workers at the shelter would notify them if A.J. turned up there.
The Kings learned on Sept. 24 that A.J. had been brought to the shelter on the 11th and was adopted on the 15th.
The Kings say workers at the dog shelter initially refused to tell them who had adopted A.J. They later learned A.J. was adopted by a golden retriever rescue group.
Instead of being reunited right away, the family said, the rescue group Golden Retrievers in Need (G.R.I.N.) said the Kings couldn't have their dog back because they were ''neglectful.''
The group eventually let the Kings have A.J., on Oct. 1, but only after the family paid $568 for the adoption costs and vet bills.
The Kings are upset with the group and not just about the money.
''They made us feel like a terrible family,'' Tim King said.
He said the group chastised the family for spending only $350 for A.J. when they bought him as a pup, saying a quality breed should have cost more.
Rescue group members listed other things they felt the Kings had neglected to do for the dog, King said. ''The kids were still crying,'' he said.
G.R.I.N. director Chris Sebrasky disputed King's account.
''We never said we wouldn't give their dog back,'' she said. ''We wanted proof it was their dog. We asked for vet records and photos.''
Sebrasky said the documents came in the mail on Sept. 29, two days before A.J. was returned to the Kings.
Sebrasky said board members were concerned about what kind of home they would be sending A.J. back to. She pointed out that the dog had no identification and had been running loose.
Sebrasky said the dog hadn't been seen by a vet in three years and had ear infections and ''shelter cough'' that was treated by the group's vet. The vet also neutered A.J. and updated his shots.
She said G.R.I.N. board members wanted assurances that the family understood what was needed to take proper care of a dog.
''We want to do what's best for their dog,'' Sebrasky said. ''There's no doubt they love their dog. We want to return the dogs, but, are they a good pet owner?''
Tim King said the family put off taking the dog to the vet because he was never sick.
''It's not because we're not a caring family,'' he said. ''We love him. We treat him well. The kids spoil him.''
Stacy King said the ordeal has taught the family valuable lessons they want to pass on.
''I would like people to know two things: You have to contact the dog shelter every day. A mistake we made is we didn't call every day.
''And you have to have their tags on.''
Kaleigh King, 6, said she and her sister McKala, 12, cried when A.J. finally came home.
''I was just so happy A.J. came back,'' Kaleigh said. noweb
Linda Golz can be reached at 330-996-3640 or lgolz@thebeaconjournal.com.
LAKE TWP.: Getting A.J. home was a long and expensive ordeal for Tim and Stacy King and their three children.
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