A New Jersey woman is suing the Bergen County Animal Shelter and a volunteer rescue group, claiming they gave away her dog after she was taken to the hospital in an ambulance.

Daria Sawczyn, 72, of North Arlington, says she fell ill in her apartment in early February, called police and was taken by ambulance to St. Mary’s Hospital in Paterson, according to the suit, filed Tuesday in Bergen County Superior Court.

As she left her building with EMTs, she saw men in uniform walking away with her purebred Afghan Hound, Sasha, on a leash. The officers “assured her that the dog would be kept safe for at least 30 days until she recovered,” the suit states.

Sawczyn owned Sasha for nearly nine years, paying a breeder $1,000 for the puppy in June 2011, according to court documents.

At St. Mary’s, Sawczyn was treated for her illness for about a week. “She was unable to walk when she was ready for discharge,” the suit states.

Instead of returning home, Sawczyn was taken to a healthcare facility in Fair Lawn, where she received physical therapy until March 11, the suit states.

The suit states while Sawczyn was receiving medical treatment, workers at the Bergen County Animal Shelter in Teterboro gave the dog to a local rescue group, Halfway Hounds of Park Ridge.

The suit states the animal shelter tried to call Sawczyn but she wasn’t picking up her phone, which she had left behind in her apartment during her hospitalization, according to the suit.

When Sawczyn was released from the healthcare facility, she tried to locate the dog. Unable to contact anyone at the county animal shelter, she called Halfway Hounds, a not-for-profit pet rescue group.

“Daria was told that Sasha had been ‘rescued out’ two weeks prior,” the suit states. “They refused to tell her to whom the dog was released or where the dog was,” the suit states.

Sawczyn’s attorney, Gina A. Calogero of Oradell, told NJ Advance Media on Friday that the animal shelter should not have turned the dog over to the rescue group. And the rescue group, she said, should not have given the pet away.

Calogero said a volunteer at Halfway Hounds told Sawczyn that because of her health problems, the dog might be better off with another owner.

“Their job is to place homeless animals,” Calogero said Friday. “This animal isn’t homeless. They are not doggy DYFS.”

On Friday, Calogero said an attorney for the rescue group told her that Sasha was being “fostered” until the lawsuit can be resolved. Calogero said she also spoke with Marianne Borbar Ortega, an assistant attorney for Bergen County, who was trying on Friday to resolve the matter.

Ortega could not immediately be reached to comment on the lawsuit Friday.

However, Bergen County spokesman Michael Pagan released the following statement:

“Sasha’s owner gave Sasha to the BCAS at a time when she unfortunately was unable to care for the dog. The BCAS placed Sasha for adoption with a reputable agency. The county no longer has custody or control of Sasha and is not preventing the return of Sasha to the owner. The county sincerely hopes that the matter will be resolved quickly and amicably.”

“Sasha is a beautiful, unique and special dog, registered with the American Kennel Club as a purebred,” Calogero wrote in court papers. “Sasha is intelligent, affectionate and gentle, and is very attached to Daria. Sasha sleeps in Daria’s bed and Daria sings her to sleep with a lullaby every night.”

Anthony G. Attrino may be reached at tattrino@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @TonyAttrino. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

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