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Paralyzed veteran’s service dog rescued, reunited with owners

The dog "was a little skinny but otherwise was in good spirits," and exhibited "signs of depression" while away from his family.

Two weeks after a paralyzed veteran's service dog vanished, the beloved pet is headed home.

A joint investigation between the Atascosa County Sheriff's Office and the county's  Animal Control office led officers to a rural home near Poteet where the dog was located.

According to Atascosa County Animal Control Chief Henry Dominguez, the family who had taken in Scooby "had no idea he was missing, so when we confronted them about it, they immediately gave us the dog."

According to a Facebook post from Atascosa County Animal Control, the dog "was a little skinny but otherwise was in good spirits." Scooby also exhibited "signs of depression while at the house," according to Animal Control.

Credit: KENS 5
Paralyzed veteran Tim Overgaard and his service dog Scooby

RELATED: Paralyzed veteran’s service dog vanishes after going to animal rescue

Scooby's owners initially adopted Scooby to serve a service dog. 22-year-old Tim Overgaard is a paralyzed veteran of the U.S. Coast Guard, who said the Great Dane eased his anxiety and made him feel better. 

When Overgaard and his wife fell on hard times, they found a foster for Scooby, but that situation proved to be temporary. The foster recommended the Little Texas Rescue Ranch in Rossville. The Overgaards arranged to leave Scooby with the rescue, but when they received no paperwork and the attempts to reach the rescue went unanswered for nearly a week, that's when they became worried.

KENS 5 tried to reach the animal rescue, but no one returned our phone calls or texts. The facility has no physical address on record. There was no sign of the rescue listed with the Better Business Bureau or as a nonprofit for the Internal Revenue Service.

Blanchard said she contacted the same numbers for the Little Texas Rescue Ranch under another name, asking if they could board a dog. She said the response was yes, but the conversation fell off after asking if she could tour the grounds.

“Bring my dog back,” Overgaard said. “That’s all I want.”

The couple filed a report with the Atascosa County Sheriff’s Office Friday.

A GoFundMe page has been established by the Overgaards to fund boarding costs for Scooby.

Blanchard said they found a foster for Scooby in San Antonio where he will stay until the couple can find a home of their own.

"We're just looking for somewhere for him to stay safe until we can bring him back home," she said.

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