Abandoned dog in Clay County reunited with family

CLAY COUNTY, Fla. — A dog who was abandoned Wednesday night at Clay County Animal Care and Control was reunited with his family.

A passerby saw a person abandoning the dog around 10:30 p.m. and alerted officials. The Animal Control director responded to the shelter and found a male dog lying at the gates.

Officials said it wasn't the dog's owner who left him at the gates.

The dog is microchipped and is believed to be from Duval County, officials said.

The owner of the dog was found later Thursday morning, and Bocephus was reunited with with his family.

Photos posted on Clay County Animal Care and Control’s Facebook page caught the attention of Taylor Jackson, who thought she recognized a dog in the pictures.

“I was at work and my friend had screenshotted Clay County Animal Control,” said Jackson.

Animal control said someone tied a dog to a front gate and took off.

“I said, ‘That looks awfully a lot like (my dog) Bocephus,’” said Jackson.

Jackson said she called home to ask her father if Bocephus was in his kennel. She was worried because the dog is deaf.

“He went back there and looked, and Bocephus wasn’t in his kennel,” said Jackson.

Jackson tried calling Animal Care and Control, but it wasn’t open yet, so she started posting messages online.

“They just went by me, going ‘That’s my dog, that’s my dog, that’s my dog,’” said Jackson.

According to a police report, a woman left Bocephus tied to a gate outside Animal Control after she found him wandering on the side of Interstate 10.

The report says the woman first went to Clay Duval Pet Emergency Clinic, and she tried calling for 3 hours to try to find someone to take the dog.

Jackson said she was glad he wasn’t hurt and she was excited to reunite with him.

Animal control officials said it is illegal to abandon animals at a shelter. However, the woman was not charged.

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