Dog has its day: Court reunites Perryville family with pet

PERRYVILLE, Mo. -- It took Jamie Patterson's dogged determination and the courts to get Mack back.

Patterson's 5-year-old boxer-mastiff mix was returned to her Tuesday after a lengthy legal battle with the owners of an animal shelter that was decided by a state appeals court.

Patterson adopted the dog from Rough Road Rescue, a privately funded Perry County animal-rescue organization, in January 2015.

He was hyperactive, she recalled Thursday. But Patterson said the dog fit in well with her and her children.

The adoption contract called for the Patterson family to erect a fence by May 2015.

But in April, she divorced her husband. She and her children moved to a farm.

In October 2015, Patterson bought a modest house in Perryville. She and her seven children and the dog moved into that home.

The only difficulty was that Mack kept getting loose.

"We couldn't contain him," she recalled.

Patterson said she added an electronic fence, but it did nothing to contain Mack.

Mack, a 5-year-old boxer-mastiff mix, waits for attention Thursday.Fred Lynch ~ Southeast Missourian

The city of Perryville cited Patterson three times for her dog running at large, according to the Missouri Court of Appeals Eastern District.

"She pleaded guilty to the offenses because she acknowledged that she should obey the law," the court said in its opinion.

In December 2015, Rough Road Rescue took possession of the dog after he escaped from the Pattersons' yard.

Rough Road Rescue owner Steve Svehla refused to return Mack, arguing Patterson, who previously had volunteered at the animal shelter, failed to comply with the terms of the adoption agreement.

"He said he thought Mack was too much for me (to handle)," Patterson recalled.

Patterson sued Svehla, his wife, Linda, and the Rough Road Rescue organization in an effort to get her dog back.

Perry County Associate Circuit Judge Craig Brewer ruled in her favor and ordered Svehla to return the dog. He refused and was jailed for contempt of court before being released on bond.

The Svehlas kept the dog and appealed the ruling.

On July 25, the Missouri Court of Appeals Eastern District ruled the Svehlas must return the dog to Patterson.

Judge Lawrence Mooney wrote in the opinion that "every dog must have its day. And today is Mack's day."

Jamie Patterson talks about her dog, Mack, on Thursday.Fred Lynch ~ Southeast Missourian

The appeals court called the adoption contract "confusing."

The contract referred to the dog's adopter as its "owner," the appellate court said.

Gila Todd, who served on the board of Rough Road Rescue, had testified the adoption process severed the animal shelter's ownership of Mack, according to the court ruling.

Todd resigned from the board when board members backed Steve Svehla's refusal to return Mack.

Todd called the group's conduct "shady and underhanded," the appellate court said.

The Svehlas argued the adoption was not a sale, and they had every right to keep the dog.

The appellate court concluded in its ruling the adoption gave Patterson ownership of the dog, and to find otherwise "would result in the rescue group maintaining a long leash on Mack for the duration of his life."

Despite the court ruling, Steve Svehla initially refused to return the dog. On Aug. 11, he met Patterson at the Perry County Sheriff's Office.

Mack, a 5-year-old boxer-mastiff mix, takes a break from the attention Thursday.Fred Lynch ~ Southeast Missourian

He turned over a box and veterinary records to Perry County Sheriff Gary Schaaf.

Patterson's attorney, Zachary Rozier of Perryville, said the box contained ashes.

Patterson was led to believe Mack had died and been cremated.

Rozier later said Svehla's action amounted to "an elaborate ruse" that was damaging to a family that expected to receive their dog.

Patterson was devastated.

"My kids saw me crying," she said.

But she said she continued to believe Mack was alive.

Patterson said she offered a $500 reward, started posting information on Facebook and filed a complaint with the Missouri Department of Agriculture in an effort to be reunited with Mack.

The ordeal came to an end Tuesday at the sheriff's department when the dog was returned to Patterson.

Svehla said Thursday he had lied about the dog's demise in an effort to keep Patterson from possessing the dog.

"Yes, I did lie about the dog, but it was only to protect the animal," Svehla said.

"I know what I done was crazy and wrong," he added.

But Svehla said his actions were based on the fact he felt Patterson didn't care for the dog properly.

He also expressed concern the rescued dog, which he had nursed back to health before it was adopted by Patterson, could experience a reoccurrence of paralysis that could prove fatal.

"I feel sorry for Jamie and her family, but they just shouldn't have this animal," he said.

Svehla said he hasn't given up the legal fight, having asked the appeals court to reconsider its ruling.

Svehla said he may face some charge or charges stemming from his actions to keep the dog.

He said he may end up having to go jail. But he added he acted solely in the best interest of the dog.

None of this seems to matter to Mack. Patterson said the big dog is "just happy to be home."

mbliss@semissourian.com

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