A dog in Texas is being battled over by two families.  Scooter, a pug, escaped from the backyard of his Dallas home and disappeared, only to be found and kept by another woman.  Kim Velevis and her husband Rob received a letter postmarked from Tulsa, Oklahoma from an anonymous woman who found their dog while visiting her daughter in Dallas.  She explained that she was a recovering alcoholic who was attempting to start a new life for herself.  When Scooter stumbled upon her, she decided she would keep the dog and give it to her daughter, who had always wanted that kind of dog.  She decided to keep Scooter even though his collar has his home address and owners’ names listed on it. In return for keeping the dog, whom she has since renamed, she mailed the couple a twenty dollar bill.  The woman said she has no plans to return Scooter but stressed that he was living in a loving home with people who loved him very much. Kim and Rob Velevis are heartbroken, and have offered to pay for a new dog for the woman’s daughter if Scooter is returned.  They have even said they would not press any charges, they simply want their beloved dog back in their home.

Should this woman who kept Scooter face any charges?  Is it fair to keep a dog for a child and attempt to pay the rightful owners for it after the fact, as this woman has done?