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St. Louis man reunited with dog 5 years after it ran away

Thursday night, Denver Animal Protection said the other owner withdrew their ownership claim, so the shelter released Molly to Senseney.

DENVER — On Thursday, Jason Senseney gave a Denver animal shelter an ultimatum, return his dog Molly now or face a federal judge.

Senseney's attorneys say the animal shelter left them with no choice but to file the suit and he and his lawyers were forced to take the fight to a judge so he could bring his dog back home.

Senseney was trapped in an unusual cross-country battle over custody of his dog.

"My dog ran away five years ago. We pretty much thought she was dead and gone," Senseney said.

Over the weekend, Senseney got a call from an animal shelter in Denver that his dog had been found nearly 850 miles away from St. Louis. He quickly made the trip to the mile high city, but when he got there, it wasn't the reunion he had hoped for.

"They let me see the dog and told me they didn't know who the rightful owner was," he said.

The animal shelter told him another man claimed his dog. It came despite Senseney showing proof through veterinary records, family pictures, and a microchip that he was the rightful owner.

"The guy picked her up. He's got vet records, but if you don't take the vet and say, 'Hey, I found this dog. can you check the chip?' He didn't do that," he told 5 on your side.

Jennifer Edwards runs Animal Law Center near Denver. Her team picked up Senseney's case.

"I think this speaks volumes about Denver's lack of policy and procedure," she said. "There's absolutely no policy or procedure in Denver in identifying a dog owner. There's nothing and there is a real problem. That is a major due process, constitutional violation."

Thursday night, Denver Animal Protection said the other owner withdrew their ownership claim, so the shelter released Molly to Senseney.

Senseney told our sister station KUSA that other owner who claimed Molly is also from St. Louis and plans to move back to St. Louis, and he can visit the dog any time.

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