SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE - A Yellowknife woman is devastated after her beloved family dog got loose while on vacation and was adopted out by the animal shelter.

Terri-lynn Hynes left Tyson, a 16 year-old shitzu-terrier mix, in the care of her husband Jonathon's co-worker for two weeks at the end of August while the couple went to Newfoundland to get married.

"I kept wondering if he was OK," she said.

Tyson had been a part of Hynes's life since he was born on her 12th birthday - Oct. 7, 1994.

She didn't learn that Tyson had run away from the dogsitter's home until her return, after which Hynes called the Great Slave Animal Hospital, which operates the city's animal shelter.

They told her Tyson had been picked up after being seen running through the McDonald's drive-through on Aug. 20, only a day after the couple left Yellowknife, said Hynes. The shelter kept Tyson for 11 days before a woman adopted him.

Under the NWT Dog Act and Yellowknife's dog bylaw, if a dog has been seized, the owner has five working days to claim it. After that, possession of the animal goes to the Great Slave Animal Hospital. The bylaw also states dogs must be tagged but does not specify what happens if a dog is registered but isn't wearing the tags.

Hynes said Tyson was registered but wasn't wearing tags because she hadn't re-attached them to his collar after getting a new licence.

If pets don't have identification the shelter has no way of knowing who they belong to or whether they've been abandoned, said Laureen Schidlowsky, general manager of the animal hospital.

Schidlowsky said at least once a year a family goes on vacation, and the people taking care of the animal lose the dog.

"If you're getting a house sitter, make sure it's a reputable, reliable house-sitter. They need to know where to look for the dog," said Schidlowsky. "I have a real issue with somebody entrusting somebody else with that. If they're not concerned enough to look for the animal, why would you trust them?"

Hynes said the dog sitter told her she had called the animal hospital to let staff know that Tyson was missing, but staff there say no one called them about the dog while it was impounded.

"No one called. I'm 100 per cent sure," said Roxanne Peckford, administrative supervisor at the hospital.

She did acknowledge that when the dog was brought in, it appeared well-cared for."We knew for sure it had an owner and we kept it for over 10 days before adopting it out," said Peckford, adding it was a "very sad situation."

"Someone came forward who wanted to take care of this dog for the rest of its life."Hynes asked Peckford to contact the woman who adopted Tyson and inquire whether she was willing to have any contact with her. Hynes said if there wasn't any possibility of getting her dog back, she wanted to at least see him.

Peckford said she talked to Hynes when she reported Tyson missing and contacted the new owner. She said the owner chose not to have contact with her dog's former family. "She (the new owner) just didn't want to go that route. She said, 'no he's my dog. I love him very much.'"

Last Friday, when a preview headline appeared in Yellowknifer "Shelter gives away family pet, new owner won't give back 16-year-old dog," the dog's new owner contacted the newspaper.

The woman, who asked not to be named, said she had no idea the family wanted the dog back and had been told by the animal shelter that the family only wanted contact with the dog.

She said had she known Hynes wanted the dog back, she would have gladly returned him. She was unsure of how she would proceed after hearing the family might still want Tyson back.

Schidlowsky said she has never encountered a situation where the adoptive family agreed to give up the dog.

Schidlowsky said pet owners should tag their animals and phone the shelter before they travel on the off chance that the animal does go missing.

"When someone shows up two and a half weeks later, what can we do?" she said.

She said the shelter is currently full to capacity. There are at least 16 dogs, which the staff is eager to find good homes for.

Hynes said she just wants to know that Tyson is fine.

"I kind of don't blame (the shelter). It falls on the lady who was taking care of the dog ... if I had known I would have contacted the SPCA," Hynes said, adding that she never considered contacting the shelter before she left.

"You think your dog is being taken care of and you wouldn't have to."

Hynes said she hoped Tyson was well cared for in his adopted home, adding she has a young child and she can't give him her undivided attention.

She hopes his new owner will contact her, and maybe let her see Tyson.

"I know his time is coming because he is so old. If he were to die, I'd want to know," she said.