Master Tank and Nila Going Home!!!

May 22, 2007

Katrina dogs being returned

TAMPA — A settlement has been reached in the long-running dispute over the fate of two dogs rescued after being stranded during Hurricane Katrina, according to an attorney for the dogs’ owners.

Steven and Dorreen Couture of St. Bernard Parish, La., have reached an agreement with both the women who adopted their dogs, said Murray Silverstein, who represents the Coutures.
The Coutures had gone to court to regain both dogs, which were picked up after the hurricane and brought to Tampa Bay by the Humane Society of Pinellas County.

One dog, a St. Bernard named Master Tank, was adopted by Hillsborough assistant state attorney Pam Bondi, who re-named it Noah. Rhonda Rineker of Dunedin adopted the other dog, a shepherd mix named Nila.

One of the dogs has been returned already and the second is expected to be returned Tuesday, Silverstein said.

-- By Demorris Lee, Times Staff Writer