A strange twist of fate - dog custody battle

Our journey with Eleanor the black Labrador Retriever took a strange twist when her original owners returned from overseas and wanted her back very much, blaming their pet sitter for letting her escape while they were gone, and blaming the Humane Society for mishandling it when they first reported the dog missing. The Humane Society called us 8 days after the adoption and asked if we would return the dog.

We were the legal owners, but we thought that returning Eleanor was the right thing for the dog and for us. Now she is home with the family that had her since she was a puppy.

We’re going to take more time to get over losing Winston. Then we’ll look for a Great Dane -- one whose ownership is not in question. I hope to introduce our new Dane pup online later this year. Meanwhile, I’ll keep writing about the search for the New Dog.

The video above was made the day before we returned Eleanor, fondly known as Ella.

We feel grateful that a twist of fate brought Eleanor into our home to light up our lives for 10 unforgettable days.