Five years ago, a dog named Molly went missing from her home in St. Louis, MO. Her owner, Jason Senseney, adopted her when she was a puppy, and he was devastated when weeks and months passed with no sign of his family dog.
Eventually, he gave up hope and assumed he’d never see Molly again. But a few days ago, he received a surprising phone call.
The call was from Avid, a company that manufactures and manages pet microchips, and they told him that after five years, Molly had been found. Not only that, she was currently waiting for him at a shelter in Denver, CO.
Shocked and overjoyed, Senseney couldn’t believe Molly was still alive. He had missed out on nearly half her life, and she was 800 miles away, but Senseney didn’t hesitate to make the trek across state borders to bring back his lost dog.
This is the point in the story where everyone—Senseney included—expected a heartwarming reunion between man and man’s formerly lost best friend, but that’s not what happened. While Senseney was on his way to Colorado, another person showed up at the Denver Animal Shelter claiming Molly as their own.
The shelter and city officials have confirmed there are now two people vying for the right to bring Molly home, but information on the second party has not been released. The second person has so far denied offers to tell their side of the story, but the shelter says that like Senseney, this person is also from out of state.
How Molly ended up at a Colorado animal shelter after allegedly living with families in two different states remains a mystery. The even bigger question mark about this story is who the dog will be allowed to go home with. Senseney spoke with 9News and said,
“They told me someone else is trying to claim her, and I was like, this dog is micro-chipped, that’s the point of the microchip, to show who the owner is. How is this guy trying to claim her?”
While it’s been confirmed that the microchip information connects Molly to Senseney, this case isn’t as straightforward as it seems. The shelter is also looking at other information in an attempt to fairly determine who the dog belongs to. They plan to consider previous adoption paperwork and witness evidence before making any kind of decision.
Customer Care Manager at Denver Animal Shelter, Tracy Koss, said,
“It’s a really challenging situation to be in for everybody. Its very emotional. We’re struggling to make sure that we are being responsible, and again, that we are looking at all the information that —we have, not making any rash decision, and taking guidance from our legal team.”
There’s also the added complication of having both potential owners from different states. Should the shelter follow Colorado state laws, or make their decision based on the laws in the states where the two families are from? Shelter officials are attempting to set up a timeline of Molly’s life to determine where has lived and who she lived with, but it’s not an easy task. They’ve given no information on when they’ll make a decision, but Senseney plans to stick around until they do.
We want to know: Who do you think is Molly’s rightful owner?
h/t: 9News
Featured image screenshot via 9News
