A Jacksonville pet owner is devastated after the Jacksonville Humane Society admitted it mistakenly gave away her dog.
The Jacksonville Humane Society was supposed to be boarding him for another two weeks.
"I didn't have a chance to say goodbye or anything," said Julia Yslas. "It's my baby. Imagine just allowing someone to take care of your baby and they just give him away."
Yslas is going through a tough time with her housing situation, so she signed an emergency boarding agreement, saying the Jacksonville Humane Society would care for her dog Taz until July 12.
Instead, Yslas got a call saying an employee accidentally adopted Taz out to a stranger.
“He trusted us to take care of him and it’s the best I could do,” said Yslas. “And they’ve always taken care of us. Given us resources that we needed. And it was just a huge letdown.”
Jacksonville Humane Society Executive Director Denise Deisler said it's the first time a pet that was supposed to be boarded has been adopted out by mistake.
“There are checks and balances in place to prevent this from happening,” said Deisler. “This was a staff member not following those procedures, not following the checks and balances, and we’ve dealt with that staff member. We feel awful about this mistake.”
Deisler said two managers asked the woman who adopted Taz to return the dog hours after the mistake, but she refused.
Action News Jax law and safety expert Dale Carson said Yslas has legal options.
“She has a potential cause of action. But her recovery will be somewhat limited -- but not entirely limited -- by her signature at the bottom saying the humane society is not responsible,” said Carson.
Carson said Yslas can file a simple one-page form in small claims court without an attorney.
