Shelter refuses to return lost dog

[Catherine]

It is a scary thing to have a dog out there lost. Imagine the joy when the dog was found...at a shelter...and then horrors, the shelter won't release him. This is an old dog. He doesn't understand all the legal, procedural issues. He just wants to go home.

http://news.google.ca/news/url?sr=1&ct2=...t=2&at=dt0

There are lots of things the family could have done differently. Certainly they could have done a better search. The dog could have been micro chipped and licenced. None of that matters to the dog. He just wants to go home.

Why does the shelter exist if it is not there to help animals. In this case they should just hand the dog over and be happy that a lost dog has found his way home. What they are doing is not right even if it is legal. It certainly isn't fair or kind to the dog.