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PHILADELPHIA, Pennsylvania (AP) -- Rocket, a dog that survived Hurricane Katrina and ended up in a Pennsylvania home, is back with its owner in New Orleans after a custody fight that went to court.

The suburban Philadelphia couple who adopted the chow-Finnish spitz mix returned the dog to previous owner Sheila Combs, lawyers for both sides said Wednesday.

Combs agreed to drop a lawsuit she filed last month against Lynne and Joseph Welsh and the kennels that handled the dog before the Welshes adopted him. The attorneys would not comment further on the settlement.

The Welshes took in the now 2-year-old dog a year ago and renamed him Rusty.

Similar animal custody battles have cropped up in states including Florida and Maryland over pets left behind during the August 29, 2005 storm and the mass evacuations afterward.

Copyright 2006 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

That's kinda sad all the way around, isn't it? First family had him a year,

second family did, too, both loving him...



Hard choice to make.

I think this is sad all the way around too, but in all fairness, i think the animal should have went back to his owners.

I'm on the fence. If the first family abandoned him to evacuate when so many others stuck by their animals then I'm not sure they deserve to have him back.

But if the owners had abandoned him? Come on! They had plenty of warning about this hurricane! If people are callous enough to leave their pets behind, then if someone adopts them, then it should be left at that. Get another one.

I have ben through too many tornadoes and hurricanes myself to feel much pity for the first owners of this pet. I truly feel sorry for those that adopted him. They probably gave him the better home.

Obviously the first owners couldnt afford a pet carrier. Funny how they all of a sudden come up with the money to sue??

:-5