Maybelle the dog has been waiting a long time for freedom after she was mistakenly locked up in a shelter for almost three years.
Maybelle, a mixed breed, was kept at animal control in New Mexico following the arrest of her owner back in 2015. The man was arrested during a traffic stop in Chaves County and Maybelle was also taken into custody because her owner was in jail.
After the owner was sent to prison and no one claimed Maybelle, she just stayed at animal control Months, then years passed. She became part of the The owner was eventually sent to prison and with no one to care for Maybelle, she stayed at Animal Control.
Days passed, then weeks, then months, then years. Maybelle stayed and became part of the day-to-day life at the shelter.
Everyone at Animal Control loved her, everyone played with her. I mean she was part of Animal Control. She was part of them, they took care of her,” said Rhonda Wilkes, a Friends of Roswell Animals volunteer who was by Maybelle’s side the whole way.
It wasn’t until earlier this week, nearly three years later, that those answers finally came when someone at Animal Control found a missing piece of Maybelle’s paperwork.
As soon as Maybelle was released to a local animal rescue, she got a new collar, toys and ice cream. Wilkes says she can already see a difference.
She’s following us around giving us kisses and it’s wonderful,” Wilkes said. “It’s just a wonderful feeling to be there with her.”
Maybelle is currently at the vet getting spruced up. The rescue group Friends of Roswell Animals will be keeping her until they find the perfect home.
It’s still unclear specifically where the paperwork was all this time, and how it suddenly showed up.
