Major Happy Dance Going On Here

So, I was just sitting here, reading over the latest Google News Alert containing the keyword "dog" and I see the very last link and I wanted to scream and do a happy dance and tell everybody I knew that MASTER TANK AND NILA ARE FINALLY GOING HOME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I guess this means I can stop sending hate mail to Pam Bondi.

Ok, I never did send her any hate mail but whenever I saw her on television, I would tell her to STFU and then change the channel.

After Hurricane Katrina, Pam Bondi adopted a St. Bernard from a Florida shelter. The dog, Master Tank, had been left at a temporary shelter in Louisiana with his doggy pal, Nila, by his owners, the Couture family. The owners were told they could come and get the dogs when they were settled in a new house. At some point, the dogs were moved to a shelter in Florida. It took a few months but the Coutures finally tracked them down, and said Ok, we want our dogs now. The shelter said Sorry, but we adopted them out. Pam Bondi, who adopted Master Tank, refused to give him back. Another woman, Rhonda Someone, had adopted Nila, the other dog, and she also refused to give her back to the Coutures.

Unlike many dogs rescued after Katrina, the shelter in Florida knew exactly who these two belonged to, so why they let Pam and Rhonda adopt them doesn't make sense. If I could track down owners of Katrina animals, then surely the shelter could have found the Coutures had they bothered to look.

This custody battle was actually going to go to court in July. (Residents of Hillsborough County in Florida should be beyond pissed off that their tax dollars would be funding this case.) But, apparently, Pam has come to her senses and has decided to return Master Tank to the Couture Family. So, did the woman who adopted Nila. It was the right thing to do.

This article has a couple of pictures of the dogs with Steven Couture and one of his grandkids.

What wonderful news!

UPDATE: If you happen to read that Pam Bondi will be paying for vet care for Master Tank for the rest of his life, it's not true. The Coutures will get their court costs paid for but that's about it.