TAMPA, FLA. (WSVN) - An Army veteran working overseas is pleading with a family to return his dog after she was wrongfully surrendered to a Florida shelter, then adopted.
According to Fox 13, 25-year-old Michael Takacs placed his 3-year-old dog Precious into the care of a close friend when he took on a year-long job in Kuwait as a military contractor.
“He was supposed to be watching the dog temporarily until I could get someone else to come get the dog,” Takacs told Fox 13.
However, Takacs said his friend instead took Precious to the Humane Society of Tampa Bay, telling the facility the dog was a stray. The friend didn’t notify Takacs of what happened until after Precious was adopted by another family.
[protected-iframe id=”b014ec3a18b04d18535e2a7e9a5317cc-110336915-112670968″ info=”https://w3.cdn.anvato.net/player/prod/anvload.html?key=eyJtIjoiZXBmb3giLCJwIjoiZGVmYXVsdCIsInYiOiI0MjM1MjMiLCJhbnZhY2siOiJhbnZhdG9fZXBmb3hfYXBwX3dlYl9wcm9kX2IzMzczMTY4ZTEyZjQyM2Y0MTUwNGYyMDcwMDAxODhkYWY4ODI1MWIiLCJwbHVnaW5zIjp7ImRmcCI6eyJjbGllbnRTaWRlIjp7ImFkVGFnVXJsIjoiaHR0cHM6Ly9wdWJhZHMuZy5kb3VibGVjbGljay5uZXQvZ2FtcGFkL2Fkcz9zej02NDB4NDgwJml1PS82Mzc5MDU2NC93dHZ0L25ld3MmY2l1X3N6cz0zMDB4MjUwJmltcGw9cyZnZGZwX3JlcT0xJmVudj12cCZvdXRwdXQ9dmFzdCZ2cG9zPXByZXJvbGwmdW52aWV3ZWRfcG9zaXRpb25fc3RhcnQ9MSZ1cmw9W3JlZmVycmVyX3VybF0mY29ycmVsYXRvcj1bdGltZXN0YW1wXSZkZXNjcmlwdGlvbl91cmw9aHR0cCUzQSUyRiUyRnd3dy5mb3gxM25ld3MuY29tJTJGbmV3cyUyRmxvY2FsLW5ld3MlMkZtYW4tcGxlYWRzLWZvci1yZXR1cm4tb2YtYWRvcHRlZC1kb2cifX0sInJlYWxUaW1lQW5hbHl0aWNzIjp0cnVlfSwiaHRtbDUiOiJ0cnVlIn0=” width=”480″ height=”270″ frameborder=”0″ scrolling=”no” webkitallowfullscreen=”” mozallowfullscreen=”” allowfullscreen=””]
The Humane Society contacted the family and told them what happened, but they decided not to give the dog back since they legally adopted her.
“You had the dog for three days, I had the dog going on three years,” Takacs told Fox 13. “I had the dog since she was a puppy, I held her head up while she ate, you know, this dog means the world to me, and I want her back.”
Takacs said he has offered the family $1,000 and to pay for another adoption if they let him have Precious back. He also told the station that he is considering hiring an attorney.
Copyright 2025 Sunbeam Television Corp. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.