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Hurricane Katrina Dog at Center of Legal Battle

By Anna Burroughs, published Mar 12, 2007

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PHOENIX, Arizona: A disabled Hurricane Katrina survivor is in court today fighting for the return of her dog Pablo, a two year old terrier mix.

Paula Duming was evacuated from New Orleans when the city flooded but like thousands of others she was forced to leave her pet behind. As she was airlifted from her house, Ms. Duming snapped a photo of Pablo as he watched her depart without him.

Several days later, Pablo joined over 6,000 pets rescued by Best Friends Animal Society after Hurricane Katrina. He was transported to safety and then placed with the Animal Benefit Club of Arizona.

Four months after Hurricane Katrina, Pablo was adopted by Wendy Shieh and Dustin Jones who were then residents of Phoenix, Arizona. The placement was in violation of an agreement between the Animal Benefit Club of Arizona and Best Friends.

Best Friends president Michael Mountain said in a press release, "For Best Friends and other humane groups, it was the biggest pet rescue in history. And for many people like Paula, their beloved pets were literally all they had left. We promised them that we would do everything in our power to reunite them."

About three months after Pablo was adopted by Ms. Shieh and Mr. Jones, volunteers at Best Friends helped Ms. Duming, who had relocated to Lafayette, LA, locate Pablo and asked the couple to return him.

The couple refused on the grounds that they are able to provide Pablo with better care than Ms. Duming who is on a fixed income. The couple also said that the dog had bonded with them.

Best Friends attorney Laura Allen said "they knew when they signed the adoption agreement that she wanted her dog back." Ms. Allen assisted Ms. Duming in filing the suit against Ms. Shieh and Mr. Jones and is representing Ms. Duming in court today.

Mr. Mountain showed support for Ms. Duming's ability to care for Pablo. In a press release he said, "Paula brought Pablo home on Christmas Eve 2004 when he was six weeks old. She has loved and cared for him all his life."

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Hurricane Katrina Dog at Center of Legal Battle

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Pablo

Credit: Paula Duming

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Takeaways

A disabled Hurricane Katrina survivor is in court today fighting for the return of her dog Pablo.
A Phoenix couple adopted the dog after the storm and has refused to return him.

Comments

Comments 1 - 4 of 4

chloe

Somehow Best Friends Organization, being very familiar with PR tactics, turned the facts around and manipulated public sympathy. Since the beginning, Dustin and Wendy whenever asked, made it clear they would agree to have Boots available for inspection whenever requested. The couple even offered Ms. Duming to fly out and see the dog well after their foster contract date expired. Ms. Duming did not respond. Naturally, they thought Ms. Duming had accepted the fact that Boots was not Pablo. The next contact that was made was a law suit 6 month later. There are so many absolute false accusations being made about them that I feel it is my duty as their friend to tell the public that their side has been consistant since the beginning. it is so unfair to put words in their mouth, and manipulate the truth. I witnessed best friend's attorney do so a few times myself when they met with him, in the dog park where Wendy takes Boots daily. I went as a witness. How would you feel if you starte

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Posted on 03/13/2007 at 10:03:00 PM

chloe

It really make me sad that people in this country are so easily munipulated by the press and the media. Being a very close friend of Wendy and Dustin, I can tell you that i've been there since the beginning. For the record, I was also there when Ms. Duming and Boots saw each other a month ago, there was absolutely no chemistry, in fact, he pulled away from her when she called him Pablo. The picture posted on the internet†doesn't tell the whole story at all. There was also series of other pictures I saw taken along with that one showing Boot's confused and scared and squirming away from Ms. Duming's arms. It was after that observation, Best Friend's Lawyer Ross Mead suggested to settle this litigation outside of court by offering Wendy and Dustin money. They refused and told them money was never an option because Boots was part of the family now after having and caring for him the last year and a half.

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Posted on 03/13/2007 at 10:03:00 PM

Wendy Roberts

"About three months after Pablo was adopted by Ms. Shieh and Mr. Jones, volunteers at Best Friends helped Ms. Duming, who had relocated to Lafayette, LA, locate Pablo and asked the couple to return him." This statement is incorrect. Ms Duming located Pablo almost 6 weeks BEFORE the couple adopted Pablo, but was told that it wasn't her dog. She knew it was her dog and continued fighting to get Pablo back. Wendy Roberts, witness for the plaintiff.

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Posted on 03/13/2007 at 8:03:00 PM

Maureen G Brady

This is just a test to see if I am able to post my comment as I have had some difficulty posting in some U.S papers.

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