MONTGOMERY, Texas -- Most of the animals at the Montgomery County shelter are simply homeless strays.

Then there's a two-year-old German shepherd named Trudy, who is just a long way from home.

“The police talked to the lady (who) had the dog and told her they would be taking the animal into custody. That it was owned by a resident of Kentucky and that it was not her animal,” said LaJeane Thompson, the animal control supervisor for Montgomery County.

The Montgomery County woman who was keeping Trudy apparently found her in the parking lot of a store near Lexington, Ky., during a trip and decided to bring her home. 

She even e-mailed pictures of the dog to relatives in Vermont but, as the rightful owner explains, that's where things began to unravel.

“In the process the information was transmitted that she had never contacted any one about the dog,” said Trudy’s rightful owner, Deborah Griswald. “She had never contacted the Humane Society or made any attempt to find the owners. The sister-in-law was on the Internet trying to find dogs missing in this area.”

She succeeded, finding a missing dog online that matched the photo she'd received. As for the woman holding the dog in Texas?

“She told the lady she had taken the animal to the vet and had it scanned and the dog did not have a microchip,” said Thompson.

Not true.

Kentucky authorities contacted Montgomery County, which called in animal control. A microchip scanner revealed Trudy belonged in her old Kentucky home. 

As for the woman from Texas, authorities say it is unlikely she will be charged, because they cannot prove she knew the dog had an owner.