Rescued canine back home after five day journey

Four years ago, Shadow was adopted from the Tri-County Humane Society, in Boca Raton.

Tuesday, his owners decided they no longer wanted him, and dropped him off at Sumter Humane Society in Americus, Georgia..

A quick check turned up Shadow's microchip I.D., still registered in Tri-County's name, and a phone call from one shelter to the other revealed Shadow's plight.

"I don't want to see any animal euthanized. It's our policy at work, and it's my own personal policy," said Susan Reed, an employee at Tri-County Humane Society.

Rescue efforts began immediately.

"The minute they get into a shelter, they have sometimes less than 72 hours to live," said Elliot Mintzer, a pilot and the founder of, "Help Four Paws," an animal rescue group located in St. Augustine, Florida.

Mintzer's group specializes in the rescue and transportation of dogs from high kill shelters to no-kill shelters.

Thanks to Mintzer, Shadow's rescue really took off from there.

"It took seven people to transport him from that point in Georgia, to St. Augustine," said Susan Richards with Tri-County Humane Society.

Sunday, his arrival in Boca Raton was the final leg of Shadow's journey home.

"These dogs don't have a voice, and they didn't ask to be here. If people would spay and neuter, if they would take care of their pets, they wouldn't need an animal rescue transport organization," said Mintzer.

The last stop on Shadow's whirlwind tour, back to the Tri-County Humane Society, where he will receive a quick check-up and eventually be put back up for adoption.