Animal rescue fighting to save abused dog in limbo due to paperwork issue
EAST PATCHOGUE, Long Island (WABC) -- An animal rescue on Long Island is fighting to care for an abused dog after it was flown to the U.S. to find a home but its fate is now in limbo due to an issue with its paperwork.
Paws Unite People is calling on the airline that flew the dog to the UnitedStates to release it to their care rather than have it put down.
The dogs at Paws Unite People in East Patchogue have a pretty good life.
It's a sort of transition facility until they're ready to be adopted.
They take some special and difficult cases, but few as special as Berrie.
Berrie was just a puppy when she was found back in February in Amman, Jordan, her hind legs paralyzed from a brutal beating.
A group there arranged for her to be flown to the U.S. to find a home.
"The dog was flown here for a better life. We should honor that," Paws Unite People's Meredith Festa said.
But along that long road, there was an issue with her paperwork that complicated matters.
As a result, the airline that brought Berrie here is now left with a stark choice, it could board the dog in a special facility for a month, at considerable expense.
"The other option, is the cheaper option, whereas the dog is humanely euthanized, the head is removed and sent to a CDC facility where it is tested for rabies,"Festa said.
The name on Berrie's medical history didn't precisely match the name on her transit papers and at the airport, officials feared she might have rabies.
Nobody thinks that now, but there's still the paperwork issue.
"There are many people interested in adopting this dog from all over the country right now and my organization would make sure she gets placed appropriately," Festa said.
Ms. Festa's group, Paws Unite People, has agreed to pay for that month of boarding at a special kennel and has agreed to find Berrie a good home.
They're just waiting for the airline now to give them the opportunity.
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