Jessica Lewis says all she wants is to get her pet dog back. The story began shortly after Lewis was evicted from her home in Oshkosh, and she decided her female black lab-border collie mix Sadie would stay temporarily with her mom’s friend until she found a new place to live. But Lewis says the dog was too much for him to handle, and because he thought she (Lewis) was dealing with the stress of not having a home he decided to take the dog to the Fond du Lac Animal Shelter. Lewis says at first the shelter manager was very nice and told her to fill out an application and she could get her dog back. But a little more than a week later Lewis said she was told the dog did not get along with other shelter animals and needed to be euthanized. Lewis says her dog is healthy, almost eight years old, grew up with a cat, loves kids, and has never been aggressive before. “But she (shelter manager) said nope, you can’t have her back if you have a cat.” “I even sent her pictures showing them cuddling together,” Lewis said. Lewis says the shelter manager told her she obviously doesn’t know her dog like she thinks she does. Lewis says she has had the dog since she was eight weeks old. Lewis says when she went to the animal shelter to talk with the manager she was told to leave and that she would be arrested for trespassing. She says later she got a call from a person who said he was a police officer telling her that she was not allowed to be on the property. The shelter board issued a brief statement following a closed door meeting Monday night stating that Lewis’ account of the events are inaccurate and omitted important information, but did not offer any further explanation for the decision. The board said their protocols prevent them from talking about specific individuals or cases. Lewis showed up for the meeting in an attempt to ask questions about her dog, but a police officer arrived on the scene and told her a member of the board had made a trespassing complaint and that she would have to leave the property.
