Dog may return to Katrina-hit family

CONCORD, N.C., Sept. 24 (UPI) -- A North Carolina family whose dog wandered off earlier this month said the canine will likely return to his previous owners in Louisiana.

Ta'layza Miller, 15, of Concord, and her grandmother, Oclisha Miller, said Shorty the dog wandered off Sept. 10 and ended up at the Cabarrus Animal Hospital in Kannapolis, where veterinarians discovered a microchip implanted by his previous owners, a Louisiana family, WCNC-TV, Charlotte, N.C., reported Monday.

Blake Peurifoy, a veterinarian at the animal hospital, said the family told him they had been forced to put Shorty up for adoption after Hurricane Katrina six years ago but they would now like to have him back home.

Ta'layza Miller said she would be OK with returning the dog to his previous owners.

"I do want him back, but since they lost everything in Hurricane Katrina and they lost him ... I wouldn't mind them keeping him or anything because it was their dog first," she said.

The girl's grandmother said she wants Shorty's family to know he was loved during his time away.

"I want him to be taken care of. If they do keep him take care of him. Let him ... let them know he's just like a child. He's been very well taken care of," Oclisha Miller said.