By CHANDRA BROADWATER, Times Staff Writer
Published September 1, 2007
BROOKSVILLE - Yes, the Backstreet Boys are reuniting, but a new question has fans of singer Nick Carter breathless: Will he ever see his dog again?Layla, a pit bull mix that starred alongside her pop star owner in the reality TV series The House of Carters, was dropped off anonymously this week at Hernando Animal Services.
Wearing a worn leather collar with metal studs and no identification, the friendly, light brown and white pooch was found wagging her tail in one of the night drop cages the agency has for unwanted animals or strays at its Oliver Street facility.
"She's really a nice dog," said county Animal Services manager Liana Teague, leaning over to pet the animal with a few fingers through chain-link fencing covering a less-than-luxurious home. While Layla stayed quiet, other dogs in the 58 cages barked and howled around her.
Carter's Los Angeles publicist, Juliette Harris, said Friday evening that she and others in her office have been working non-stop to find a way to get Layla reunited with the 27-year-old singer.
"It's complicated," Harris said, noting that some airlines don't accept certain dog breeds. She would not share details of when and how the dog will be reunited with Carter.
Teague said that a microchip in the dog's neck led them to a Los Angeles woman from whom Carter had purchased Layla. But that was as close to finding the owner as the Hernando workers could get.
So Teague called up the MJ Morning radio show on WFLZ-FM 93.3 in Tampa, hoping to get a few leads. "I guess it worked," she said. "People have called from Inside Edition."
On Friday evening, Harris confirmed that dog in Hernando is in fact the Layla in question. "It's Nick's dog," Harris said.
But she didn't know how Carter's princess puppy landed at the Hernando shelter.
The family is from Hillsborough County, and Harris said the dog was in Florida with family members while Carter was out on a promotional trip.
After Teague's radio show interview, rumors swirled Friday about how Layla ended up in lockdown in Hernando County. Was it because of fragile relations between the pop singer and his mother, Jane Carter? The pair have had public tiffs before.
Celebrity blog TMZ.com reported Friday that Jane Carter also called up the MJ Morning Show to say that she gave Layla to a friend of her husband's to keep at his kennel. But then the dog escaped and ended up at Hernando Animal Services.
Carter, who is gearing up for a reunion tour with fellow Backstreet Boys, has had the dog for about two years and worked with her when she was in obedience school. He adopted her as a puppy from a rescue organization; the microchip implanted in Layla is registered to that group.
While that little chip is what essentially prevented Layla from being adopted by someone else, Teague said that information was not updated as it should have been.
"If it were current, then we wouldn't have all this confusion," she said.
While the dog stays in Hernando for now, Teague said that fans would not be allowed to sneak a peek at Layla.
"We have short hours and a short staff on Saturday and can't have that," she said. "We're working to confirm ownership, and we'll keep her here until the proper owner comes to pick her up."
Source: St. Petersburg Times
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