KUNKLETOWN, Pa. — If you live in the Polk Township area of Monroe County, you might have seen missing dog flyers in your neighborhood.
Hank is an 11-month old bulldog. He belongs to Christine Gallagher of Albrightsville.
Gallagher dropped Hank off at Perseus Poconos Pet Sitting in Polk Township while she was out of town last month. The pup ran off a few days into his stay at the kennel.
"It appealed to us because it was cage-free, looked beautiful. The dogs go for walks on the farm, they drink out of the stream, and we set up a meet and greet. Everything went great. We took him there on the 16th, saw his picture online on the 17th, and I thought, 'OK, he looks pretty happy.' On the 18th, during the day, I said, 'Oh, how's he doing?' I messaged her, saw she read it, but I didn't hear anything back. About 6:30 that night, I got an email saying he ran out of their home. They tried to catch him, and they couldn't," said Christine Gallagher, Albrightsville.
The Monroe County Dog Warden eventually got involved, and it turns out that the kennel did not have the proper licensing to operate.
A spokesperson with the Department of Agriculture says the woman operating the kennel, Autumn Dempster, was issued a citation.
Newswatch 16 stopped by the home where the kennel was being run. The owner wasn't there, but we did get in touch with her over the phone.
She tells Newswatch 16, she takes full responsibility for what happened, and she's not brushing the situation under the rug and is doing the best she can to get it resolved.
Gallagher says her family has been searching every day, trying to bring Hank home.
"It's very exhausting every day to look for him and disappointing to not find him. Then to get a call that there might have been a sighting and then find out that it wasn't him, it was a different dog. It's very upsetting," said Gallagher.
The family thanks everyone who has been taking time out of their day to look for Hank.
If you spot the bulldog, his owner asks that you do not chase him or try to catch him. Instead, call Hound Hunters of NEPA at 484-894-3401.