Call Kurtis: The Shelter Gave Away the Dog I Adopted; How Did They Know Who It Belonged to?

SOUTH SACRAMENTO (CBS13) — Six-year-old Legend was excited her mom Arisha Miles was letting her adopt an 8-month-old German Shepherd. The family filled out the paperwork at the Sacramento County Animal Shelter, but couldn't bring her home until she was spayed. They decided to name her Jada. Hours later, while buying toys for the puppy, Arisha says she got an upsetting call.

"I was in the middle of shopping and I just froze," she recalls. "They told me she's not mine."

Arisha says an animal shelter clerk told her the dog's real owner claimed her. Arisha wants to know how they know it's the original owner.

"They said they based it on the way they played," she said. "But I was like I have video of how I played with her and she could be mine."

The county's website says the shelter cannot release a dog until a rabies vaccination history is verified.

Sacramento County Animal Care's David Dickinson says while they prefer vaccination papers, they can also verify an owner if he or she brings in paperwork from a breeder or pictures of the animal. We wanted to know how this dog was verified.

"He described the dog to our attendant as being a shepherd with one floppy ear," he said.

He says the owner did in fact have vaccination paperwork to back it up.

Dickinson says the shelter waits three days before adopting out pets. As long as the pet is at the shelter, he says the original owner can claim it. Once it leaves the shelter, the original owner can't claim it.

The county agreed to waive any adoption fees the next time Arisha comes in. Her family decided to adopt a German shepherd somewhere else.