Jones said he’s thankful for the outpouring of support after his missing dog, Hunter, was mistakenly re-adopted, and for the help of the Humane Society for Southwest Washington through the ordeal of getting him back.
He also expressed remorse over the massive, and often vitriolic, deluge of online commentary directed at the Humane Society and the family that adopted Hunter. “When I posted photos and my plea to get my dog, Hunter, back last week, I had no idea it would go viral,” he wrote on a Facebook page the Humane Society created for Hunter’s story.
Before leaving in late July to fight wildfires in Eastern Washington, Jones left Hunter, a black Lab, with a friend. Hunter jumped a fence, was picked up by animal control, brought to the Humane Society, and then adopted by a new family while Jones was away.
Jones returned to learn Hunter had been turned over to a new family two days earlier, and took to the Humane Society’s Facebook page to try to resolve the situation.
Shortly after, he was called to another fire, he said in the more recent post to the “Hunter the dog info” Facebook page.
“A lot of people came to my defense and I appreciate that. At the same time, a lot of people got really mad at the Humane Society and at the family that adopted Hunter. I feel real bad about that,” he said.