B.C. woman loses appeal to get beloved terrier back after it went missing, was found, then adopted out

A farmer in northern British Columbia says she's devastated after losing a legal battle to get her dog back, nearly two years after it was adopted into a new home 800 kilometres away.

Dale Malkinson's farm near Dawson Creek, B.C., is home to a herd of goats and sheep — and for eight years, it was also home to her beloved Yorkshire terrier named Zeva.

After the dog vanished on April 10, 2022 — running from the barn as Malkinson was feeding her lambs — she searched the rural area for days.

Ultimately, she concluded Zeva must have been taken by a predator.

"I was devastated," Malkinson, 65, told CBC News. "I don't have a lot in my life. I have no husband, no children, no nothing. 

"She's my little girl … My farm and my little dog are my life."

In fact, three days after Zeva vanished, she was turned in to the B.C. SPCA's South Peace Animal Centre in Dawson Creek. Six weeks later, the Yorkie was adopted into a new home — sparking a legal battle between Malkinson and the animal welfare organization.

In a decision issued Friday, the B.C. Civil Resolution Tribunal ruled that Malkinson lost ownership of her dog as soon as it was adopted, and the SPCA had acted in good faith. 

"The law in British Columbia gives the [B.C. SPCA] the right to take custody of lost animals and, where the owner cannot be found, find new homes for those animals," tribunal member Peter Mennie wrote.

"Malkinson's rights to Zeva ended when a new owner adopted Zeva."

'They could be twins'

According to the tribunal decision, Malkinson found an adoption listing for a dog that looked like Zeva. She contacted the B.C. SPCA to try to adopt the dog, listed as Delilah. 

The B.C. SPCA responded that it was only considering local adoptions because the dog had ongoing appointments for dental work in Abbotsford, located around 800 kilometres southwest of Dawson Creek.

Malkinson said she told the B.C. SPCA that Zeva and the dog in the listing "could be twins."

"Nobody mentioned the dog came from Dawson Creek," she said.

"I had no reason to think my dog would end up in Abbotsford. Why would I?"

The dog was adopted on May 27, 2022. That same day Malkinson told the B.C. SPCA's South Peace branch that the dog named Delilah on the organization's website was in fact Zeva, according to the tribunal decision.

Malkinson said she had her veterinarian send them checkup documents, rabies vaccination tag numbers, and the identification number tattooed in Zeva's ear.

But it was too late.

"The SPCA sends me an email to say sorry, but she's already been adopted," Malkinson said.

Dog's ID was 'illegible,' 'out of date'

In a statement, a B.C. SPCA spokesperson said they tried to find the dog's owner by posting on social media, and calling the phone numbers listed on the dog's rabies vaccination tag.

The dog's identification tattoo was faded and "the B.C. SPCA misread one letter of the tattoo and was not able to find Malkinson," according to the tribunal decision. 

The organization sent the dog to Abbotsford for veterinary care, and it was put up for adoption.

"Unfortunately, Zeva's various forms of identification were either illegible or were out of date," an agency spokesperson told CBC News in an email. "So, despite significant efforts to trace both IDs, we were not able to make contact with her owners."

"Zeva entered into a foster-to-adopt program with a third party at this time and was successfully adopted by the same individual."

'I'll fight to my last breath'

Malkinson said she was shocked by the tribunal's decision.

"She has a tattoo and a rabies tag, and I figured if she ever showed up any place like the vet or the SPCA, I would have automatically gotten a call and she would have been home — even if they only had a partial tattoo," she said.

She is considering whether she can appeal it to a higher court, but is not sure she can afford it. At the B.C. Civil Resolution Tribunal, she represented herself.

"The truth is that I own that dog," she said. "I'll fight to my last breath for my dog — do everything I can — because she means everything to me."