Foster dog dispute hits Internet

HALIFAX, Nova Scotia, Oct. 23 (UPI) -- An Internet campaign has been started to help a 75-year-old Canadian man burned out of his home to get his dog back from a foster home.

Earl Shadbolt lost his house in Eastern Passage, Nova Scotia, to a fire in April, and the apartment he took while repairs were made wouldn't allow him to keep his terrier-mix dog Willie, The (Halifax) Chronicle-Herald reported Friday.

Shadbolt made arrangements with fellow church member Laura Naugler to board the dog until he could move back in, but things turned nasty in August when he moved back home and asked for his dog back, the newspaper reported.

Naugler reportedly demanded $1,700 for what she described as kenneling fees, and when Shadbolt refused, she allegedly put the dog up for sale to cover costs.

Naugler further defended her actions and told the newspaper Willie "was in love with a neighbor's dog and she thought it was not right to separate them."

Shadbolt has initiated a case in small claims court to retrieve the dog, and a site on the Internet Facebook site has been set up to support his cause, the newspaper said.