A woman has been reunited with her beloved pet pooch after he was taken by her ex-husband's then-girlfriend. Aimee Dodd, 43, has spent more than £26,000 to get her Siberian husky Atlas, back into her arms, following an 18-month court battle that she finally won.
Aimee's former husband had agreed to look after Atlas as a favour while she was moving house, but his new girlfriend got involved - and refused to hand the dog back when the time came. Heartbroken Aimee endlessly tried to communicate with the woman, then had to endure a horrific civil court case to retrieve her fur baby.
Aimee, who has had three husbands, always dreamed of owning a Siberian husky and says it's what her late first husband would have wanted for her too.
In 2018, she met puppy Atlas and it was love at first sight for the pair, having "instantly bonded".
"After meeting my current husband, we decided to move to Florida from Alaska in August 2020," Aimee said.
"However due to travel restrictions we agreed to leave Atlas in the care of my second husband while we settled in.
"Towards the end of October that year, the travel embargo ended so I reached out to my ex to arrange getting Atlas back to me, which was the agreement, and all I received was excuses about how he couldn't get him sent to me.
"Two weeks after we got our place, at the end of October, my ex admitted that he had the woman watch Atlas.
"After the trial began, I discovered that, on the first night my ex had Atlas, he'd ran away from him and the lady allegedly helped him find him.
"They became friends, and seemingly more than friends.
"A few weeks later, I heard a voice, which I believe to me by late first husband, telling me I needed to get back to Alaska or I'd lose my boy forever."
In January 2021, Aimee headed back to Alaska in a bid to collect two-year-old Atlas.
However, she soon discovered she'd been blocked by the woman who had her dog.
Aimee said: "I sent her a message to say I was Atlas' mum and asked if I could come and collect him.
"I was then blocked. I even messaged her from my fiancés account, which also got blocked.
"I knew I had to take action, so I called the police, and a civil standby was arranged where she was supposed to give Atlas back to me.
"She then started to say he was microchipped and registered in her name, and Atlas had been given to her.
"This is when I started losing my mind and going crazy. It had to go to a civil court case so I could get my fur baby back. It was horrendous.
"Due to Covid, the court system was backed up and we had to wait until July 2022, after first filing the case in May 2021.
"It was also very difficult to find a lawyer to help us fight the case as people would say 'it's just a dog'.
"I was so anxious, angry and depressed the entire time. It was awful to be without my fury companion for so long because he meant so much to me and my kids."
Aimee has six kids at home, Alysah, 19, twins Jacob and Brennan, 18, Kayleigh, 17, Aundrea, 15, and Landon, 14.
The family all missed Atlas' company, even more so on special celebrations like their dad's anniversary and birthday.
"It was completely heartbreaking," Aimee said. "The entire thing has cost us around $30k (£26k), including legal fees, travelling back and forth between Florida and Alaska, hotels and rental cars."
Aimee said the hardest part of the whole ordeal was that she knew exactly where Atlas was and couldn't just go and pick him up.
She added: "The trial started on 12 July this year and we of course won the case.
"I was absolutely ecstatic, but I was also in shock. It was so overwhelming and felt like I was dreaming.
"The first month we had Atlas back with us honestly just felt like a dream.
"Atlas' separation anxiety is now a million times worse than before, but he’s happy to be back with his rightful family.
"He never wants to leave us. But we are just so happy and grateful to have him back with us."
Do you have a dog story to share? Email nia.dalton@reachplc.com.
