Puggie, a Boston terrier

Originally Published: 12/3/2009
Exeter Township family gives up adopted dog to owners who lost him
A Lebanon County family is reunited with their dog after five months

By Susan E. Miers Smith, Special Sections Editor

From left, Madeline Conley, 4, and her mother Michelle (holding dog, Puggie) with Nick, 14, Craig, and P. Sue Perotty and their boxers, Lacey and Buster. The Conleys were reunited with Puggie after the Perottys adopted him from the Humane Society of Berks County.

Berks County, PA - An old dog learned a new trick - beating the odds and being reunited with his family after five months on the run and at least two shelter stays.

Puggie, a 10½-year-old Boston terrier, escaped from his home with the Conley family in South Londonderry Township, Lebanon County, on Memorial Day weekend.

Erik Conley, his wife, Michelle, and daughter, Madeline, 4, were heartbroken. No more barrages of dog kisses, no more tug-of-war games

The Conleys adopted Puggie shortly after Sept. 11, 2001, from a rescue in their native state of Texas.

"He's the best dog we've ever had, and it absolutely crushed us to lose him," Erik Conley said in an interview Dec. 2.

He said he put signs up everywhere and faxed them to schools and police stations and called shelters in surrounding areas.

"The Humane League in Lancaster was one of the first folks I called," Erik said.

He gave Puggie's unique physical and collar descriptions, but heard nothing.

Erik, who works for Dell computers, even offered a free laptop to any student in his area that helped to find Puggie.

Fast forward to Oct. 12. An aging Boston terrier was received by the Humane League of Lancaster County. The male dog had been picked up by the Organization for Responsible Care of Animals while walking along Main Street in Terre Hill, Lancaster County, according to Kerry Flanagan, vice president of operations for the Humane League.

The dog was wearing a red nylon collar, not what Puggie had been reported wearing when he was lost 4½ months earlier.

"Someone must have had possession of him," Flanagan said. "I'm assuming the dog didn't go out and buy a new collar itself."

Flanagan said her agency did receive Conley's lost dog report on May 26, but with the amount of time that had passed, the location the dog was found and the different collar, no one picked up that it could be Puggie.

The Boston terrier was at the Humane League for only three days. The organization has an agreement with the Humane Society of Berks County that they will take dogs they feel they can place if they have open kennels.

Here is where the Perotty family of Exeter Township comes into the picture.

P. Sue Perotty was looking for a small dog to adopt. Her son, Nick, 14, had always wanted a small lap dog.

The Perottys' two boxers, Buster, 8, and Lacey, 4, are a bit too big to sit on laps, although that does not stop them from trying, Sue said.

When they saw the Boston terrier on the HSBC Web site, they knew they had to meet him.

The dog was listed as being about 6 years old, but he looked older in person Perotty said.

"He was shivering like a leaf, and he just broke my heart," she said during a Nov. 20 interview.

The Perottys adopted the dog Oct. 27 and took him home.

Shortly after the Perottys' adoption, Erik Conley was at a meeting at Albright College where he told a colleague from Norristown who was also there about the heartache of losing Puggie.

Erik described Puggie in detail - his smaller-than-average Boston stature, his patch of black fur over one eye and his drooping ears. The colleague said the dog sounded a lot like one he just had seen at the HSBC while looking for a dog with his family.

"I immediately looked at the Web site and there he was," Conley recalled.

The adoption video the HSBC had created on You Tube for the aging Boston was still posted.

Conley called the HSBC and spoke with Tammy Carannante, kennel and rescue coordinator. She explained Pennsylvania's law that only requires shelters to keep dogs for 48 hours before putting them up for adoption or euthanizing them.

"Usually, the dog turns out not to be the same dog, but it seemed extremely likely that the adopted dog was actually Puggie," said Carannante in an HSBC press release. "We verified that the dog was a match and that Mr. Conley had filed all the appropriate loss reports in his surrounding county's animal shelters."

Carannante contacted the Perottys and they agreed to give Puggie back back to the Conleys.

The reunion took place Nov. 15 when Michelle Conley came to the HSBC's North 11th Street facility with her daughter, Madeline, to pick up Puggie. Erik Conley was out of town on business.

Madeline squealed with delight when she saw Puggie according to her mother and Sue Perotty.

"We didn't tell her at first, until we were sure we could actually get him back," Erik said.

Perotty said seeing Madeline's reaction and how Puggie ran to greet her made it easier for her son Nick to give up his new friend.

Erik Conley said he was expecting some resistance from the Perottys. Legally, they had no obligation to return Puggie.

"I was blown away by her kindness," Erik said. "It pretty much brought me to tears. She wouldn't take a reimbursement."

He said he plans to make a donation to the HSBC in Perotty's honor.

Carannante said Dec. 3 that Puggie's case was the longest time between when a dog was missing and then reunited that she has ever personally been involved with.

The Humane League's Flanagan said the reunion was atypical in her experience as well. In 2008, 18 percent of the dogs taken in by the Humane League were reclaimed by their owners she said, but none with as long a lost time as Puggie.

What was Puggie doing for 4½ months? He lost a few pounds, got an ear infection, but was otherwise physically unscathed.

The Conley home is literally on the border between Dauphin and Lebanon counties, so how Puggie traveled more than 40 miles to Terre Hill is a mystery.

"I guess if he had had a camera on it would make a great movie," Erik said.

Source: http://readingeagle.com/article.aspx?id=173741

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Interesting press release . . .


FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
(11/19/09)
CONTACT: Karel Minor
Office: 610-921-2348, ext. 10
kminor@berkshumane.org

Boston Terrier Lost Since May, Transferred Between Counties, and Adopted is Reunited with Family: A Cautionary Tale

The Humane Society of Berks County (HSBC), the leader in animal welfare, announced that reunited a dog named “Puggy” with his family last week. While such reunions are not unheard of, Puggy’s story is unusual.

Puggy, a ten year old Boston Terrier, had been lost since May when he escaped from his home on the border of Lebanon and Dauphin County. He was found, his dog tags having been lost or removed, and taken to the Humane League of Lancaster County where he was held for the State mandated stray holding period and then placed up for adoption.

He was then transferred to the Humane Society of Berks County, where he was quickly adopted by an Exeter Family. “That would usually be considered the end of the story, and a happy end at that,” said Karel Minor, Executive Director of the Humane Society of Berks County.

However, the day after Puggy’s adoption, his original owner, Erik Conley, was telling a client who works at Albright College about losing his beloved family pet and all of his efforts to find Puggy. The client said the dog sounded like a dog he had just seen at the Humane Society of Berks County. Erik quickly went to berkshumane.org, saw the YouTube adoption video still online, and quickly contacted the Humane Society of Berks County. He spoke to HSBC Kennel Coordinator, Tammy Carannate.

“Usually, the dog turns out not to be the same dog but it seemed extremely likely that the adopted dog was actually Puggy,” said Carannante. “We verified that the dog was a match and that Mr. Conley had filed all the appropriate lost reports in his surrounding county’s animal shelters.”

Unfortunately, by the time Puggy entered an animal shelter, enough time and distance had elapsed that the reports were not matched up with the right dog and it was only by chance that the connection was made. Here is where the story often turns emotional and confrontational.

Pennsylvania law provides for only a 48 hour stray period for stray dogs, and none for cats and other animals. After that public display period is over, dogs may be adopted into new families or worse, face euthanasia. If adopted, the original owner has only limited rights to reclaim the pet, especially if there was no identification on the animal and if all State and local laws were followed. The only recourse is to file a law suit and attempt to reclaim the dog from the new adopter, who has often already fallen in love with their new pet.

It is for this reason the Humane Society of Berks County strongly encourages every pet owner to microchip his or her pets. Microchips provide permanent and immediate identification and proof of ownership of a pet. Had Puggy been microchipped, he would almost certainly have been identified as belonging to the Conley family when he entered the first animal shelter. The Humane Society of Berks County has reunited pets with owners from around the country because of the discovery of implanted microchips.

Puggy is very fortunate to have been identified quickly after adoption and to have been adopted by Sue Perrotty and her family. Sue was willing to confirm Puggy's identity and agreed to return him to his original family. “It was heartwarming to see the Conley’s 4 year old daughter squeal, ‘It's my Puggy!’ as he ran to greet her and it helped my son feel better about giving up his new found friend.”

Such reunions after long periods of time and great distances are not common. A microchip would have ensured the swift return of Puggy, as well as helping to avoid the heart ache felts by the Perrotty family when giving up their new pet. Perrotty continued, “I have both of my dogs chipped, just in case they ever get lost, because I know I would be devastated.”

Fortunately, Puggy is now microchipped since every cat and dog adopted out by the Humane Society of Berks County is microchipped prior to adoption.  The Humane Society of Berks County serves all of Berks County and surrounding communities. It is a private, non-profit organization funded through donations and service fees. In addition to enforcing Pennsylvania’s animal cruelty laws for all of Berks County, the Humane Society provides adoption services, spay and neuter services, humane education, pet behavioral counseling, veterinary services to the general public, and helps stray, injured and mistreated animals. The Humane Society is located at 1801 N. 11th Street, Reading, and 1201 Ben Franklin Highway E., Douglassville.

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