Days after a family moved from a small town in Alabama to Brandon, Florida, their beloved pooch, Delilah, became confused in her new environment and managed to escape.
Delilah’s family, the Westenzweigs, were heartbroken. In addition to being a furry family member, Delilah also had a very important job: she was a dedicated service dog to 8-year-old Zack.
Zack suffers from autism, social anxiety disorder, and epilepsy. A Weimaraner the family adopted as a puppy, 6-year-old Delilah is specially trained to detect Zack’s seizures:
“She would pace and go crazy and start making noises and circling him, and I knew Zack was in trouble,” said his mom, Michele. “They had their own bond.”
Devastated, the family searched high and low, handing out flyers and checking local shelters every weekend. After three months, Michele was delighted to stumble upon a Facebook post from the Humane Society of Tampa Bay. The post featured an image of Delilah, still wearing the collar the Westenzweig’s gave her.
“Oh my gosh! She’s there!” she thought. But when she called the shelter she discovered that Delilah had already been adopted by a new family within days of being found.
The Humane Society said that because the dog wasn’t micro-chipped or wearing tags, “it’s not legally [the Westenzweig’s] property after three days.”
But Michele said the dog was, in fact, wearing tags, and believes that someone must have found her and taken the tags off.
“I can’t think of any other reason why she didn’t have them and was so far away.”
When Delilah’s new family was contacted by the Humane Society on behalf of the Westenzweigs, they reportedly bonded with the dog and had no intention of returning her to Zack.
According to Michele, the cost of a new service dog is beyond the family’s current means, costing anywhere between $1,000 and $1,500.
Barry Cohen, a local attorney, has agreed to take the case in an effort to bring Delilah home.
Featured image cropped from original image available under a Public Domain license via Pixabay.
