Special Report: Dog Gone

Fay Bourg, lost dog in hurricane
"But they don't realize when you get 15 foot of water coming at you, you have nowhere else to go. Either you're gonna jump or you're gonna drown."

Fay Bourg lives in St. Bernard Parish, just outside New Orleans. This is the way it looked weeks after Katrina. This is the way it looks today.  

Fay lost everything in the flood, including her dog, Hunter. She says a rescuer threw him out of the boat. She jumped in after him, but was pulled back and handcuffed. The last time she saw Hunter, he was paddling behind the boat.    

Fay Bourg, lost dog in hurricane
"Like why are you leaving me? I tried. I tried so hard to get him back."

So, imagine how thrilled she was when she and her cousin, Heidi Guerra, discovered Hunter had been saved and taken to California.

Heidi Guerra, helping cousin
"We have been searching for over a year for him."

But there's no happy ending here, at least not yet. The agency that rescued him says the dog was adopted, and it's up to the new owner to decide if Hunter will be returned.

Heidi Guerra, helping cousin
"And for them to sit back and say ‘I'm not giving him' back is cruel."

And there may be hundreds of other hurricane victims in the same situation. Activists and attorneys are now helping some original owners file lawsuits across the country.

Tampa prosecutor Pam Bondi has refused to return her rescued St. Bernard.

Pam Bondi, adopted Katrina dog
"I promised that I would never let anything bad happen to him again. And I would care for him and protect him for the rest of his life. And that's what I plan on doing."

But Steve and Doreen Couture, who are raising their orphaned grandchildren, say the dog belongs to them. They say they want him back and have filed a lawsuit.

Steven Couture, lost dog in hurricane
"Whatever it takes -- the Governor Jeb Bush -- if that's what it takes, I will put legal action against him."

But time and again, people who have the pets insist they are in better, more caring homes. Pam Bondi, for example, says her dog had heartworms. Another new owner wrote, "Humidity will kill this dog". Still another claimed "Savannah could not possibly be better off."

The SPCA orchestrated the massive effort in Louisiana to find shelter for the displaced pets. It says about 20 percent have been reunited with their owners, but the court fights and broken hearts over others is upsetting.  

Laura Maloney, Louisiana SPCA
"And I would ask those new owners to find it within their heart to return that animal to the person that owned it. They've already lost enough."

Lawsuits are pending across the country, and in one state, Florida, the attorney general has gotten involved, saying he believes Louisiana law is clear: the pets were lost, not abandoned, and should go back to their original families. Linda Ergas, 7News.

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