The Smiths' mixed-breed dog, which had no tag, disappeared earlier this month and was picked up by a neighbor who turned him in to the Warren County Humane Association. Five days later, the neighbor, James Moreland of Turtlecreek Township, legally adopted the dog.

Despite a monetary offer from the Smiths, Moreland refuses to give Willie back. Because commissioners thought there was potential legal action against the dog warden, they met in a second closed-door session Tuesday but were unsuccessful in reaching a solution.

"If he was any kind of man at all, he would give my girls and us our dog back," Tim Smith said after Tuesday's hour-long meeting. "If the shoes were on another foot, I would do the same for (him)."

Moreland said he wanted to talk with the county prosecutor before discussing his side of the story.

Willie - a 11/2-year-old Lhasa apso/bichon frise mix - was chasing a cat Sept. 5 when he ran off the Smiths' 3.5-acre property. The family searched but couldn't find Willie. They called the shelter twice but the dog had not been turned in.

Moreland dropped Willie off at the shelter Sept. 9 to check for an electronic chip. The shelter had no record of the Smiths' earlier calls, so Moreland paid the $101 fee and adopted Willie Sept. 14, executive director Mari Lee Schwarzwalder said.

The Smiths called an hour after the adoption took place, but it was too late. If the dog had had a $15 license, the shelter would have tried to contact the family.

E-mail esolvig@enquirer.com