Maureen C. Gilmer

maureen.gilmer@indystar.com

The parents of a 22-year-old New Mexico man who was strangled to death in Memphis, Tenn., are grieving his death while fighting to get his beloved dog returned to them.

Deborah and David Castillo, who live in Albuquerque, N.M., are desperate to bring home a three-legged mutt named Lily who was their son Dominic's best friend. But Lily is living in Indianapolis with a woman who doesn't want to let her go.

It's a sad story all the way around, except for the outpouring of love from around the country, said Deborah Castillo, who talked about her fun-loving, adventurous son and his three-legged sidekick in a phone call with IndyStar.

"I am just amazed at how many people are supporting us throughout the country," she said as news media have picked up the story. "We are grieving, our lives are upside down, but this is bigger than us. What people have done for us, that is beautiful. We are blessed."

This from a mother whose second-eldest son was found face down in a creek by a fisherman Feb. 11. Gone was his sleeping bag, his backpack, his phone, one of his boots and his dog. Investigators believe he had been dead for about two weeks.

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But it would be another six weeks before the Castillo family learned of Dominic's death. His mother and grandmother feared for his safety when he left on a cross-country camping trip in December, but he craved adventure and had grown up reading survival books, his mom said. He knew how to take care of himself.

What happened to "Dom," as she calls him, is a mystery that torments her night and day, but what happened to Lily only adds to the pain.

A couple found the dog Jan. 28, limping the streets of Memphis, dragging her leash and harness. She had no dog tags, so they took her to a nearby feed store, where an employee agreed to care for her after notifying the area humane society. When no family came to claim her, she was put up for adoption several weeks later.

That's when a software engineer from Indianapolis spotted the dog online and decided to adopt her. (IndyStar is not identifying the woman by name due to concerns she will be harassed. The woman did not return multiple calls from IndyStar.) After being vetted by the humane society, she picked her up March 18, and now she is caught squarely in an emotional tug of war.

All this time, Deborah Castillo still didn't know her son was dead, an error she blames on a miscommunication between the Memphis and Albuquerque police departments.

The news, delivered six weeks after her son's body was found, was a dagger to her heart. The boy who loved "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn" and was always on the go was gone. Her husband, a captain with the Albuquerque Fire Department, and other family rallied around her. They wanted answers as to what happened to Dominic but also what happened to Lily.

They searched lost pet sites online and soon discovered that Lily had been adopted and was renamed Layla by the woman in Indianapolis. A Facebook post from the Tunica (Miss.) Humane Society on March 18 shows the dog, who had been called Harper by her foster family, posing with the woman from Indianapolis and another dog and celebrating with her new family. "She seriously hit the jackpot," the post said.

When Sandy Williams, director of the Tunica Humane Society, later learned of the confusion, she said she called the woman and offered her another dog if she would return Lily to the Castillos. She even had another three-legged dog who had lived at the no-kill shelter for years that she said she would swap for Lily/Layla. The Indianapolis woman refused.

"I am heartsick over this," Williams told IndyStar, "but legally I can't make the woman give the dog back. She legally adopted the dog from us. And she is a wonderful dog owner, I promise you. We do not adopt to just anybody."

But that doesn't make her rest any easier. "After I talked to the mother (Castillo), it just ripped my heart out," Williams said. "I can't fathom what this family is going through. I reached out to (the woman) and asked her to contact the mother."

Williams said the Indianapolis woman told her she loves the dog, that it's happy in its new home, and there's no reason to uproot it.

Castillo said she talked with the woman April 5.

"I thanked her for taking good care of Lily and asked when can we come get her," Castillo said. "She told me she couldn't give her up and that she is her baby."

But to Castillo, the dog is the last thing left from her son, her baby. She chooses her words carefully as she makes another plea for Lily to be returned to the family.

"I was thinking about how big of an opportunity (this woman) has," Castillo said. "We will never get our son back, and we may die attempting to find who murdered him ... but we can get Lily back. (She) has an opportunity to be part of that. She has an opportunity to make a wrong right in a beautiful and significant way."

If there is anything good to take from this story, it is that one three-legged dog has felt the love of three families — the Castillos, a foster family and a new adoptive family.

"My heart goes out to everybody," Williams said through tears. "She loves the dog. We just wanted her to have a good life. I never dreamed we would be caught up in this."

Meanwhile, the Castillo family is indebted to the tens of thousands of people around the country who have taken up their cause, posted to the Facebook page Bring Lily Home, Murdered Son's Dog and offered comments of support. They hope she will be home soon, to see her dog and human friends at her favorite place to play — Roosevelt Park in Albuquerque.

Call IndyStar reporter Maureen Gilmer at (317) 444-6879. Follow her on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.