A Perth couple’s dream of a new life with their newly adopted puppy has turned into a legal and emotional tug-of-war after a pet rescue shelter demanded the dog be returned due to an alleged breach of contract.
Pallas Retimana and her partner Luke Ingeman adopted eight-month-old kelpie Delta from the Swan Animal Haven in Perth‘s eastern suburbs earlier this year.
The puppy was reportedly days away from being euthanised at a country pound before she was rescued by the shelter and put up for adoption.
But when the shelter found out the couple was moving to New South Wales as part of Mr Ingeman’s role in the Air Force, they demanded Delta be returned.
Swan Animal Haven claimed the move interstate breached the adoption agreement, but the couple insisted they were never informed of such a condition.
When the new owners refused to hand the kelpie back, the rescue took the unprecedented step of calling the police and claiming Delta was stolen property.
WA Police attended the couple’s home but did not seize the dog, with the move criticised as a waste of police resources by WA Premier Roger Cook.
The couple is now on a mission to hold Swan Animal Haven ‘accountable’ over their efforts to take Delta back and have started a Change.org petition.
Eight-month-old kelpie Delta (pictured) is at the centre of a custody dispute between an animal rescue shelter in Perth and the couple who adopted her
Swan Animal Rescue is a small animal shelter located in Wattle Grove, 17km southeast of Perth
Ms Retimana said she and her partner had been approved as ‘suitable adopters’ and received the puppy with no paperwork or contract, just a promise that she would be theirs if they were happy with the trial.
‘Delta has grown into the most affectionate, trusting girl, the kind who now wags her tail, seeks cuddles, and finally feels safe and loved,’ she said.
‘Delta has come so far in a stable, loving home, returning to the shelter now would likely mean she will regress, feel abandoned, and face an uncertain future in the kennels. It would be nothing but distressing and destabilising for her.’
Swan Animal Haven spokeswoman Jess Sackman said that after a home check, Delta was released to the couple for one week under the agreement that either party could cease the trial at any time.
Ms Sackman said the trial was extended for two weeks, the first at the request of the couple and the second due to behavioural issues Delta developed in their care.
‘This is a standard part of our adoption process,’ she said. ‘The purpose of the trial is to assess both the suitability of the dog and the prospective adopters.
‘They did not mention that there was any potential for them to be moving interstate.’
Ms Sackman claimed that at the end of the trial period, the couple advised they were relocating to NSW in a month and agreed to return Delta.
It’s not the first time the Swan Animal Haven in Perth’s east (pictured) has faced backlash from the community after seizing a dog over breach of contract
But, she said the couple failed to do so prompting the rescue shelter to call police.
‘Delta still belongs to the Swan Animal Haven,’ she said.
‘If someone took your car for a test drive, agreed to return it and then just never brought it back, wouldn’t you contact the police?’
Ms Sackman said the shelter involved police after several unsuccessful attempts to resolve the situation without further escalation.
She said the shelter suggested the couple give Delta more time to adjust and that they work with a dog trainer before moving interstate.
‘They refused to delay their move interstate and they refused to sign a binding contract regarding the proposed terms,’ she said.
‘Instead, they posted an online petition, filled with misleading information and outright lies. It is not in Delta’s best interests to move interstate after such a short period with people who were already having difficulty managing her behaviour.’
But Ms Retimana claimed she and her partner had offered every compromise imaginable, including delaying their move, but the shelter refused.
In 2024, the Swan Animal Haven came under fire for seizing Oakley (pictured) from his adoptive family because he was sleeping outside
‘They haven’t once visited to assess her welfare, and won’t engage in any reasonable dialogue,’ she said.
‘In a desperate attempt to prevent her (Delta) from feeling abandoned and that this is all her fault, we even offered to foster her until she found a new family, anything to avoid putting her back in a kennel. But they refused.
‘Instead, they coldly told us to just find another dog in NSW since the shelters are overflowing and said they’d rather see her locked back in a kennel than stay with the only family who has ever truly loved and cared for her.’
It’s not the first time the shelter has come under public scrutiny.
Last year, the animal refuge was labelled ‘heartless’ by a family after their adopted rescue Oakley was forcibly removed from their care.
It happened after the grateful family returned to the shelter with Oakley to donate toys and thank volunteers. When they mentioned Oakley liked to sleep outside, a volunteer accused the family of breaching the signed contract and led the dog away on-site.
Under Swan Animal Haven’s contract of sale, it claimed it reserved the right to remove dogs and refund the purchase price if the conditions of sale agreed by the owner regarding food, shelter and comfort of the dogs were not complied with.
