Spring woman's lost dog becomes family's Christmas present

SPRING, TX (KTRK) -- It's a story that has a lot of you already talking on our Facebook page. A dog was lost and found, but 'Koda' is not back with his owner. He has a new family, but this isn't necessarily a happy story.

A tattered lost dog flyer still hangs from a neighborhood stop sign in Spring. For Lisa Landes, her 3-year-old Siberian husky is still very much lost.

"He has a family and he has a mommy," she said. "And I want him back."

Landes says she bought Koda three years ago and he's been a part of the family ever since.

"There is a joke that he only listens to me, only obeys me," said Landes. "I love him very much."

Landes and her boyfriend, Chris Caldwell left Koda and their other dog, Charlie, in the back yard on December 17 while they went to work.

Koda nudged this piece of wood out of the way and slid through this gap in the fence. He was gone until a good Samaritan found him and called the Houston SPCA to pick him up.

That's where things get complicated. Tara Yurkshat with the HSPCA says they held the dog that matches Koda's description for the legal holding period of three days before putting him up for adoption.

"The complication is that the dog that came into the Houston SPCA was adopted into a new home," said Yurkshat. "We have reached out to the family and they have yet to make a decision. Obviously they have started to bond with the dog that they adopted."

And on top of that, Yurkshat says the new owners adopted the dog on December 22 as a Christmas present to their child, who lost his dog earlier this year.

This Christmas has been difficult for Landes and her boyfriend.

"They did a great thing by adopting a dog from a shelter," said Caldwell. "I wouldn't ask them to do anything different, but there are other dogs that don't have homes at the shelter that would equally make a great dog."

Landes sends this message to the family that adopted her dog.

"If you have my dog and you can see how beautiful and joyous he is, and you can tell he has a lot of life, please know that he does have a family and I love him very much I want him back," she said.

We talked with the man who found Koda. He said Koda was darting between cars in a busy intersection. That's when he called the HSPCA to pick up the dog.

The family that adopted Koda has not decided yet if they're giving the dog back.