New Westminster woman hopes to reunite with surrendered dog

NEW WESTMINSTER (NEWS 1130) — A New Westminster woman who gave up her dog because she was facing homelessness is now trying to get her pet back.

Genevieve Carrier, who is on disability, says her dog, Emma, acted as an emotional support animal to aid with reducing anxiety and stress.

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She gave up the black border-collie-lab-mix to a shelter in November, as it appeared she would soon become homeless.

“I was going to be homeless in November, so my sister told me that I should surrender the dog, [to] look out for the dog’s wellbeing,” Carrier said.

Now that she’s found stable housing, she wants Emma back, but the dog has since been adopted to another family.

“I’m just missing her, and I just wish I could get her back,” Carrier said. “Now I’ve found a place I can afford, and to do things with her.”

The New Westminster Animal Shelter says while it is empathetic to her situation, it has no control over the situation because Emma has been adopted out to what it calls a very lovely family. It notes Carrier signed away her rights to the dog when she surrendered it.

The shelter also suggests Emma’s health and behaviour had “drastically improved” in the roughly two-month period she was in the shelter.

The new family is under no legal obligation to give the dog back, but Carrier is still holding out hope for what would appear to be an unlikely reunion.