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Hospitalized Woman’s Dog Gets Adopted Without Her Consent

By: Molly Weinfurter
Molly Weinfurter is a writer for iHeartDogs, and she’s passionate about helping animals in need. She volunteers for Bailing Out Benji and a local dog rescue.Read more
| June 3, 2021

During a woman’s hospital stay, she was told that her dog would be safe. Instead, she found out that her best friend was put up for adoption while she was away.

After a nervous breakdown, emergency medical workers escorted Denise McCurrie to the hospital, where she stayed for about two weeks. With no one else to watch her 6-year-old Schnauzer named Roscoe, a New York animal care center stepped in. Yet, McCurrie soon found out that they’d let an animal organization adopt Roscoe and give him a new name. McCurrie refuses to give up without a fight.

Woman with emotional support dog
Image: Denise McCurrie Facebook

A Never-Ending Nightmare

McCurrie suffers from depression and anxiety, so Roscoe is an emotional support dog that helps her with that. Roscoe has been a part of her family since he was a tiny puppy. One day, McCurrie called 911 amid a nervous breakdown. She lives alone, so when the medical team arrived, she asked them to care for Roscoe.

They brought the pup to the city’s animal care center, which has been involved in a lot of controversial situations involving neglect and euthanasia. It was McCurrie’s only option at the time. To ensure that Roscoe was safe, McCurrie called the center several times during her hospital stay. Eventually, they revealed some disturbing news to her.

A few days after the incident, McCurrie learned that Roscoe had been adopted by one of the animal care center’s rescue groups and even had a new name already. Staff told her that she wouldn’t be getting her dog back. McCurrie claims they didn’t give her much of an explanation why.

Schnauzer puppy
Image: Denise McCurrie Facebook

“I had to take him off my screensaver because it was just too painful to see him,” said McCurrie. “We were inseparable.”

Fighting for Roscoe

McCurrie had called the animal control center multiple times to confirm that Roscoe is her dog. But since he had no tags or microchip, they transferred him to a rescue after three days. However, the state law requires pounds to hold unidentified dogs for five days.

Officers who initially picked up Roscoe claimed that he was in poor condition. Yet, when vets analyzed the dog, they determined that he is healthy other than an ear infection, which was already in the process of being treated by McCurrie’s vet. Officials also claim that there was a man at McCurrie’s home when they picked up the dog, but she insists that no one else lives there.

Happy Schnauzer
Image: Denise McCurrie Facebook

Many people are supporting McCurrie, including Assemblywoman Linda Rosenthal. McCurrie says she’ll do anything to get her dog back, including paying fees and doing home visits. She spends her days making phone calls, trying to fix this situation.

“It was so sad, it could happen to anyone who is single and living alone and has a medical emergency and has an animal that needs to be taken care of during that time period,” Rosenthal said.

There is still a lot of unknown information about this situation, but it’s clear that McCurrie loves her dog. Hopefully, everything will be resolved soon, but what’s most important is that Roscoe stays safe.

H/T: nypost.com
Featured Image: Denise McCurrie Facebook

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