Canine question mark

A Liberty Lake woman said she thought her pooch Pixie was put down in September. Nearly six months later, Tricia Scott learned Pixie is alive and well, adopted out by her veterinarian.

Kootenai Animal Hospital in Post Falls offered a very different explanation. The veterinarian who treated Pixie said Scott relinquished custody of the dog and that euthanasia never even came up.

Police have looked into the case of the resurrected Maltese-Chihuahua mix, but they have not been able to sort out the facts.

Scott met Pixie over Labor Day weekend. She was on a group motorcycle ride over Thompson Pass when the bikers came across a carload of sick puppies on their way to being sold.

It appeared the puppies had parvovirus, a highly contagious and deadly viral infection, Scott said. One was dead.

The little white dog that became known as Pixie Dust lifted her head and looked at Scott. A friend forked over $60, and Scott tucked the dog inside her coat and took her home.

Scott said she took Pixie to Kootenai Animal Hospital, across the street from where she works, the next morning. She said she visited the dog on her lunch breaks during its hospitalization, until Pixie was well enough to go home.

Within a couple of weeks, Scott noticed the dog wasn’t eating well. She said her boyfriend took the dog back to the vet on Sept. 23. She said the next evening, in the middle of a big event at the motorcycle shop where she works, she got a call from the vet’s office with bad news.

“They said the most humane thing to do was to put her down,” Scott said. “I agreed to that.”

She said she went into the bathroom and broke down in tears.

“I only had her literally in my possession for two weeks, and I absolutely fell in love with her,” Scott said. “It was heartbreaking.”

Scott said she believed Pixie was dead until she ran into a couple she knew at a motorcycle show Feb. 12. They said they saw her dog a few days earlier and asked her why she had given it away.

“I said, ‘What dog?’ They said, ‘Pixie.’ ” Scott recalled.

The couple told Scott they saw Pixie in a car at the Post Falls Wal-Mart gas station. They said the owners referred to the dog by the same name and had adopted her from Kootenai Animal Hospital.

Veterinarian Danette Roberts confirmed that the animal hospital found a new home for Pixie, but only after Scott said she couldn’t deal with the puppy or pay the vet bills. Now Pixie is thriving, Roberts said.

“Over the phone she released the puppy to us,” Roberts said Tuesday. “There was never any discussion on my part as far as euthanizing the puppy.”

Roberts said she saw Pixie three times in one month for the treatment of parvo. Scott’s boyfriend took the dog to the animal hospital on a Friday in September, Roberts said, saying he felt sorry for the dog because “it was failing, not dancing around like a typical dog should be.”

“He told us Tricia couldn’t take care of the dog because she was busy at work,” Roberts said. She said the boyfriend took the dog home that night and returned the next morning saying he couldn’t deal with the sick puppy.

The clinic told him it would cost about $1,200 to treat the dog, which was severely underweight and malnourished. Roberts said they cared for the dog all day, then called Scott at work and asked if anyone was going to pick up Pixie.

That’s when Scott “released the puppy to us,” Roberts said. “I never said that I wanted to euthanize the puppy because I knew it could have been saved.”

The clinic’s receptionist cared for the dog through the night, feeding her every two hours. Roberts said they contacted an elderly couple who care for animals needing rehabilitation. She said they took Pixie in, and within five days the dog’s weight doubled and she was “acting like a normal, bouncing-off-the-walls puppy.”

Pixie soon moved in with a family in Washington, the vet said, but nowhere near North Idaho. Roberts said she’s skeptical that Pixie was the same dog spotted at the Post Falls Wal-Mart.

Scott filed a report with Post Falls police. She claims the vet’s office repeatedly changed its story and at one point called her boyfriend and asked if he wanted to pick up the dog’s ashes. The clinic denies this.

Post Falls Police Lt. Greg McLean said the case is being investigated by the city’s animal control officer. The dispute may be a civil one and not a criminal matter, McLean added

He said his office has received no other complaints about the Kootenai Animal Hospital .

David Rogers, the clinic’s owner, said Scott simply isn’t telling the truth. He said he’s not sure if it’s because she owes him money for Pixie’s care or because she feels guilt for giving up the dog.

Scott admitted she owes the vet money, but she won’t pay unless she gets the dog back.