My dog Hope was taken
while I sat in a cell.

In my own words

I was visiting the Mishawaka area with my canine companion. Hope was at the hotel while I was out and I was on my way back to the hotel, when I was wrongfully arrested and detained by the Michigan State Police. Hope was picked up from the hotel and taken to the Humane Society in St. Joe County. Multiple friends attempted to take custody of her and they were denied. My minister was given a number and assured that as the owner when I was released accommodations would be reached. The prosecutor dropped the charges, but, by the time I was released she was adopted to someone else, and I was denied her return. 

Hope has always been mine.

Her microchip has carried my name since 2021. Her account history shows it. This was never a question of who she belonged to.

Sign the petition to reunite Hope with her family.

Your signature asks the Humane Society of St. Joseph County, the adopting party, and the officials involved to review the microchip record and make this right.

You do not know me, and I am sorry that the first you hear of me is a letter like this one. My name is Prince Manjee. Before she came to you, Hope was my dog, and she had been since she was a puppy.

I am sending this through the shelter. They have protected your privacy completely. They have not given me your name, your address, or any way to reach you, and I have not asked them to.

I want to say the most important thing first. You did nothing wrong. You went to a shelter and gave a home to a dog who needed one, and I am grateful she landed with people who wanted her. Whatever comes of this letter, that stays true.

Here is what happened on my end. Hope was microchipped and registered to me in May of 2021, and I have photographs of her with my family going back to January of 2020, when she was small enough to hold in one hand. During the days when Hope was picked up and held at the shelter, I was in custody with no access to a phone. I never saw their messages and I could not come for her before the hold ran out. The charges were dismissed and I was released, but by then she was already with you. There was never a moment where I chose to leave her.

I am not writing to demand anything from you. You are under no obligation to answer this letter, and if you would rather not, I will not contact you again unless you tell me you want me to.

What I am asking for is a conversation.

If you are willing to have one, here is what I can offer. I will reimburse every dollar you have spent on her, including adoption fees, vet care, food, and supplies. I will personally help you find another dog, and I will pay that dog's adoption fee. If there is something else that would make this right for your family, tell me, and if it is in my power I will do it.

I will also say this, and I mean it. If Hope came home, and your family wanted to stay in her life, you would be welcome to. Photos, updates, visits. I would not disappear with her.

I know that she has been in your home for some time, and that your children may love her by now, and that what I am asking is a hard thing to ask. I would not ask it at all if she were only a pet to me. Hope came into my life during a very difficult time, and that is how she got her name. It stands for Hold On, Pain Ends. I have not gone anywhere without her since she was small. I have enclosed some photographs so you can see what she has been to us.

Thank you for reading this, and thank you for taking care of her when I could not. Whatever you decide, I hope you will believe that I am glad she found kind people.

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Journalists, attorneys, and anyone who can help

If you have information about Hope, work in animal law, or can carry this story further, please reach out. I will answer every message.