Willie is home!

from the Herald just now
N.S. man gets Willie the dog back
By MARY ELLEN MacINTYRE Staff ReporterTue. Nov 3 - 12:37 PM
Willie has been reunited with his owner.Earl Shadbolt, the 75-year-old Eastern Passage man who asked a woman to care for his dog after his house was gutted by fire in April, is sitting at home with his terrier mix by his side.The dog was brought back to Mr. Shadbolt shortly after 11 a.m. by local animal welfare advocates.The woman who had cared for the dog refused to return him unless Mr. Shadbolt gave her money.A combination of insurance money and funds raised by the Animal Rescue Coalition helped convince the woman to give up the dog.
This story has definitely highlighted the importance of two things .... microchipping and licensing one's dog and of getting a written contract for private fostering. I found a fairly decent generic one on www.Petfinder.com and have put a link to it on the front door of the homeless pet site.
Now of course, if Willie had been adopted from a reputable rescue or shelter ... there would have been no quibble because the adoption contract provides pretty solid proof of ownership, eh?
And ... before the keyboards catch on fire, if helping an elderly man get his dog back is somewhat outside the normal parameters of animal rescue, good old fashioned compassion and kindness never goes out of style.