Charlotte Woman Reports Lost Dog, Discovers He's Already Been Adopted

A Charlotte woman received quite a shock recently when she discovered that her beloved pet she had reported as missing had been adopted by another family just a few days later.

"He's my heart and I just want him back," Denise Tatum said of her 2-year-old Shih Tzu Ace.

Ace escaped from the home around 1 a.m. Saturday (February 13), sparking a days-long search by Tatum, WCCB reports. She called 311 on February 15 to see if Charlotte-Mecklenburg Animal Control had picked him up, but she was told there were no reports matching his description.

The problem, however, is that animal control did find Ace not far from Tatum's home. Even though he is microchipped, the chip didn't show up in scans. As per North Carolina state law, they kept him for 72 hours before he defaulted to property of the city, according to WCCB. Ace was then neutered and adopted by a new family just a few hours before Tatum showed up looking for him.

When the shelter learned what happened, they reached out to the couple who adopted Ace, but the new owner reportedly hung up on them. The shelter received a voicemail hours later saying that the couple would not return Ace.

Tatum undergoes dialysis treatment three days a week and has a heart surgery scheduled soon. After her treatments, Ace is always there to greet her and help her feel better.

"He means the world to me," she said. "When I come out of treatment, he's waiting at the door for me to come in."

According to the news outlet, Tatum is considering pursuing legal options to get Ace back, and she has set up a GoFundMe page to help cover potential legal costs.

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