This is an 8-month-old puppy named Raffiki who went missing from his home in Los Angeles last month.
Rosa Torres and her four-year-old son Daniel were heartbroken. They were planning on getting the new puppy microchipped, but she ran off before they could.
Rosa and Daniel put up a Facebook page and scoured the area for Raffiki, visting local shelters, all of which denied seeing their puppy.
It turns out, Raffiki actually ended up at an animal shelter a few miles away from their family's home. They held Raffiki for seven days before she was given over to an animal rescue group.
Karma Rescue, the organization that rescued Raffiki from the shelter held her for 3 days before she was adopted. Raffiki's name was then changed to Kami.
Rosa's furious and claims she called Karma Resuce only hours after the dog was put up for adoption.
Karma Rescue wrote a lengthy response to an LA Timespiece:
Unfortunately, the recent publicity and prolonged social media assault surrounding the adoption of "Kami" has disseminated misinformation about our organization's practices. In this press release, we hope to state our case clearly for the record and affirm our commitment to helping homeless dogs in our community. Though this has been a sad experience for everyone involved, our aspiration is that something good can come of it: more people will microchip and tag their dogs. Our rescue offers free microchipping and spay/neuter to anyone who contacts us. These minimal simple, cheap, accessible precautions prevent these sorts of situations from happening in the first place.
Support is building for Rosa and Daniel online, with a petition bringing in almost a thousand signatures. Also, the family is pursuing legal action.
Rosa told local reporters that she believes the group is refusing to return her dog to her because of her family's economic status. Even so, the LAPD has said Karma Rescue worked completely within the law.
According to the Times, a member of the Karma Rescue has resigned from the group over the conflict.
