A Stony Brook woman hospitalized for diabetic neuropathy came home to find an animal rescue group had taken her dog and is refusing to give it back.

When Linda Osbourne had to go into a rehabilitation center for her illness, her son Tim tried to find someone to care for the dog, a 5-year-old shepherd-beagle mix named Luna. He couldn't take care of her himself because he was headed to Navy boot camp, he says.

"I contacted everyone in the family, all my friends," he says. "I even got my friends to call their friends, but nobody could take her."

So he posted an ad on Craigslist and gave Luna to the man who responded. From there, Luna somehow wound up at a kill shelter. Another shelter called Bobbi and the Strays in Freeport rescued her from there.

"There is no way that family is getting their dog back," the second shelter says. "All of our decisions are made solely based on what is in the best interest for the animals."

When Linda Osbourne left the rehabilitation center, she went to pick up her dog. But she says the shelter sent three people to inspect her home and then refused to release her dog because there are holes in her fence.

Police say the issue could become a police matter if Osbourne files a stolen property report and can prove Luna is her dog.