A Canadian father's joy after finding his long lost daughter soon turned to shock when child welfare authorities slapped him with a bill for $7,800.

Dean Harper spent 16 years in search of Athena Glusing after the teen's mother left without telling him where they were headed.

Years later, Athena's mother put her in Quebec's foster care system, which is demanding money from Harper to offset the cost of her care--even though they had Harper's name all along and never contacted him.

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Getting reacquainted: Dean Harper spent 16 years in search of Athena Glusing after the teen's mother left without telling him where they were headed

'I don't understand how they could have my daughter, know who I am, not look for me, then send me a bill once I find her,' Harper said. He's pictured here with Athena before she and the girl's mother left

'I don't understand how they could have my daughter, know who I am, not look for me, then send me a bill once I find her,' Harper told CTV.

Harper spent years in search of his daughter, in fact. And finally tracked her down to her place of work, where he decided he would introduce himself.

'My heart was pounding like you wouldn't believe. I thought for sure Athena could hear my heart pounding,' he said. 'And I said, 'My name is Dean Harper… I'm your father.'''

Their happy reunion came after Athena struggled through a troubled childhood. 'It was really not a childhood that a child should go through,' she said.

'My heart was pounding like you wouldn't believe. I thought for sure Athena could hear my heart pounding,' he said. 'And I said, 'My name is Dean Harper… I'm your father,''' Harper recalled before he was slapped with a $7,800 bill

Put in foster care: Harper soon learned that his daughter was given up by her mother at the age of 12 and spent years in the foster care system

Harper, however, did not meet his daughter until she'd already turned 18. And it was then, not after he received the bill, when Harper contacted the child welfare authorities to ask why they hadn't contacted him.

Their answer? They didn't have his date of birth.

Adding insult to injury, the agency then sent the bill.

Now living in her father's home and getting to know her half brothers and nephew, even Athena is shocked at the bill. 'I don't see why they sent the bill,' she said.

For their part, the local child welfare agency, Batshaw, gave the following statement to CTV.

'In all situations, social workers make regular attempts to locate parents, in the province of Quebec, across Canada, and any other countries, even in prisons...These efforts are always based on children's needs.'