Buddy the dog is back home with his original owners

A Leavenworth family is thrilled to have Buddy the dog back home safe and sound after he was mistakenly adopted out by the Humane Society.

Buddy, whose chip wasn’t updated, was featured as The Wenatchee World’s Pet of the Week and adopted out to a woman who later refused to return the Blue Healer to his previous owners.

It was only when the Biddle family sought the help of an attorney that they made any headway in getting Buddy back, Trudy Biddle tells KIRO Radio’s Dori Monson.

“We actually had to get an attorney because she wouldn’t give him back,” says Trudy. “We just have been in the process with that for almost three weeks now. And we got a phone call yesterday in the morning from our lawyer that said that her lawyer said she would give him back if we would agree to drop the suit.”

All they ever wanted was to get Buddy back, says Trudy, so they had no problem dropping the legal action.

“We dropped all suits against her and any further claims against her,” says Trudy. “For us, it was always about getting the dog back.”

After signing a lot of paperwork, Trudy says she was told she could pick up Buddy at the office of the other woman’s lawyer.

“I walked in and he was sitting there in the middle of the lawyer’s office,” says Trudy. “I looked at him and said ‘Hey you’ve been on quite an adventure now haven’t you?’ He just looked at me, and I’m like if a dog could talk.”

Next stop, she took Buddy for a quick meetup with her husband, who was at work, but eager to see the dog.

“He came out on his dinner break and that was a great reunion.”

Then it was time to take Buddy home. After a somewhat tearful ride, Trudy says it felt just like old times once they arrived at the house.

“I opened the back of the Subaru. I got his ball. He immediately ran to the field and we started playing ball,” she says. “It’s like he was never gone.”

After all they went through, the Biddles aren’t holding any grudges, but they have learned a valuable lesson and have a message for other pet owners.

“My message for everybody is update your microchip information,” says Trudy. “It’s important!”