Woman claims newly adopted dog is hers, petition launched to take dog back

ABC15 visited him at his new Tolleson home. His owner, Nahla, didn't want to go on camera but was more than willing to show us her new family pet.

The problem is, Rhino's previous owner says his name is actually Mikey and they want him back.

"He pretty much jumped in my car," said Christina Linton.

Linton found the dog in traffic in early December around 16th Street and Fillmore in Phoenix. She posted on social media and Craigslist, hoping the owner would come forward.

After a couple weeks, Nahla reached out and volunteered to take the dog - no money exchanged, just the promise of a good loving home.

It wasn't until later in December, Mikey, or Rhino's original owner, came forward and wanted their dog back.

"That dog that I had is their dog," said Linton.

Here's where things get messy.

Nahla says her dog is not Mikey - it's a totally different dog so she's not handing him over. Phoenix Police even launching an investigation going as far as to compare dental photos of the missing dog to Rhino.

Police say the dogs are in fact different.

Despite a closed police investigation, there's a social media campaign to try and take the dog from Nahla.

More than 1,000 people have signed a petition and now there's a civil court case is looming hoping to bring take the dog out of its current home.