Tank, bulldog

Country Singer Tracy Lawrence Reunited with Lost Dog
PEOPLEPets.com
Jun 21, 2010

Father's Day was extra sweet for country singer Tracy Lawrence — he and his family were reunited with their lost bulldog Tank on Thursday evening. The 2-year-old pooch went missing from Lawrence's parked truck last Tuesday when the crooner drove to a Mount Juliet, Tenn., Walgreens to pick up some batteries.

The canine was found by a good Samaritan on Route 109 in Mount Juliet, several miles from the store where he disappeared. It hasn't been confirmed whether the dog had jumped from the truck or was taken by someone last week.

"Although the details of his disappearance are uncertain at present, Tracy and his family are just delighted that he's home safe and sound," Lawrence's publicist, Kat Atwood, tells PEOPLEPets.com in an email.

The Grammy-nominated singer told PEOPLEPets.com last week that "sweet-natured" Tank's disappearance was upsetting to the entire family, including his young daughters.

"It'll be two years Sunday [Father's Day] since I got him and he's a part of the family," Lawrence said. "He's got such a personality ... I have two daughters, a 7-year-old and a 9-year-old, and they're just sick to death [over this]."

Source: http://www.peoplepets.com/news/celebrities/country-singer-tracy-lawrence-reunited-with-lost-dog/1

Parker, GSP

Lost dog-FOUND THE OWNER!!!
Johnny_Namakan
09/24/08 07:04 AM

A co-worker of mine picked up a dog running along side the highway this morning in Cook, MN. He has the dog in his truck right now until he can find the owner or something. No collar on him/her, I didn't ask him if it was male or female. Very friendly dog, I believe is a GSP. Short hair, short tail, long legs, light brown with some white speckles. She jumped out of the tall grass onto the road just as he was passing. Almost hit her, but swerved and stopped to check on her. So he opened his door and she jumped right in and laid down in the back seat. None of us have ever seen this dog before so we don't believe she's local. Definitely somebody's hunting dog that must have gotten separated from her owners. Any help would be great.

So far, no luck. A Vet will be stopping by the office later to scan him for a chip. This dog is definitely a GSP. Very well behaved dog. The pads on his feet are practically worn off in some spots. We think he has been running for several days. He's sleeping in my coworker’s truck right now. Very tired dog to say the least. Probably been trying to find home for several days now. He ate a little dog food, but wouldn't drink any water. He doesn't even want to get out of the truck now. We tried to let him out to see if he needed to use the bathroom but he didn't want to get out of the truck. Not scared at all, just very tired. I'm sure somebody is missing him. We contacted all the Humane Societies around us but no luck yet. I've posted here and another site in hopes of finding the owner. Ask around, people, and see if any of your buddies have lost a dog. Thanks!

We thought about releasing the dog where we found it. But, we think this dog has been on the move for at least several days. After calling around town we found somebody who spotted the dog about 10 miles from where he was picked up about thirty minutes earlier. Also, the dog’s pads on his feet are worn raw. He has been on his feet walking the highway for a long time to wear the pads down to red raw feet. The dog stayed the night at my co-worker’s house who found him. We're still hoping to find the owner. We've called several papers, sheriffs, city police, humane societies, etc. Hopefully somebody tries to find him up here by calling one of these places and then they will get a hold of us. We had our whole office staff calling around yesterday and searching the internet for lost dogs’ posts. No luck yet.

Great news! A local person in town that had heard we found this dog called us today and said she heard on the Ely radio station someone looking for a lost GSP. She took down the number and called us. We called the number, which was a Colorado number, and left a message. The guy called us back and ID'd the dog to a T. He had been worried sick looking for him. He had gone missing Tuesday and we found him Wednesday so he was only missing for a night. The guy has two GSPs and they both wandered off together. The one came back about 5 hours later, but this one, Parker, didn't come back. The guy said Parker is the one that never wanders, it's the other one he has to watch. So he figures Parker simply couldn't find his way back. So anyway, they have been reunited and all is well.

A little side note to add to this which really upsets me. The owner of this dog called the Virginia Humane society twice on Wednesday to see if they had found their dog, and the humane society said no and that they hadn't heard anything about it. Well, we called the Humane Society at 9:00am Wednesday to inform them that we found this dog, then the owner calls twice and they say they don't know anything about it. That downright burns my hide. No wonder it's so hard to find lost dogs, poor quality of service to say the least.
Thanks guys. The owner was as happy as a clam. He was supposed to head back to Colorado on Tuesday but decided to stick around until he found his dog. He said he put 170 miles on the road yesterday searching for his dog. We all think a little fate played into this one. 9 out of 10 guys would have just kept driving had they seen a dog on the road. For some reason my co-worker decided to stop and check him for a collar and well the rest is history. I love dogs too, but to be honest I probably wouldn't have stopped. I mean, picture driving to work at 6:00 in the morning, pitch black out still, running late for work, and having to swerve for a dog on the road and then making the decision to stop and check on the animal. That takes a special kind of person. I hope we can all take something from this that makes all of us a little more compassionate.

FYI: The owner did say both his dogs are chipped. Our vet in town didn't have a scanner so we never got him checked, but we were discussing bringing him to Virginia to get scanned if an owner didn't turn up soon. I think I may get my dog chipped as well. It's not a sure fix, but it can't hurt.

Source: http://www.hotspotoutdoors.com/forum/ubbthreads.php/topics/1538365/Lost_dog_FOUND_THE_OWNER

Bart, chow/lab mix

A lost dog is saved thanks to some upstate angels
Garth Wade, freelance writer, Star-Gazette
June 18, 2010

An 11-year-old Colorado mutt named Bart was running loose in Horseheads until some angels gathered him in and sent him back to the arms of his family.

His angels: the Horseheads Animal Shelter and Patrick Lentz, whose compassion made him stop on a busy Route 86 exit ramp and lure a frightened dog from harm's way.

Bart's adventure began May 5 at the Route 86 rest stop in Campbell. He was aboard a fifth wheel camper owned by his family, Cliff and Linda Perry of Arvada, Colo.

The couple didn't know Bart was missing until they stopped at another rest stop about 50 miles east.

Panic time. The much-loved part coyote, dingo, chow and lab had been a Perry companion for 10 years.

The couple back-tracked, talked to other travelers, called agencies, always "scared we'd find a body," Cliff Perry said.

When hope ran out, the couple continued on to Bangor, Maine, en route to Nova Scotia.

Bart did his best to catch up after watching his family disappear down the road.

The dog covered about 20 miles to Horseheads in two days and found his first angel at the Route 86 Walmart-NYSEG exit ramp.

"I could tell he was disoriented and exhausted," said Lentz.

After pulling his work van over, Lentz offered his hand in friendship. Bart snapped at Lentz, but the man took no offense. "He wasn't being aggressive, he was being defensive."

Lentz offered a pan of bottled water. Bart slurped some and sat in the shade of the van while Lentz chatted with him for about 10 minutes.

Cooler and a bit more trusting, the dog accepted Lentz's ride offer and took over the passenger seat for the trip to more angels at the Horseheads Animal Shelter.

A rabies tag on Bart's collar led shelter staffer Sherry Benedict to Planned Pethood in Denver, Colo. "They said they had a report of a missing dog in upstate New York," Benedict said.

Planned Pethood put her in touch with the Perrys by phone. The couple and their other canine companion, Bart's golden retriever buddy "Buddy," drove 630 miles back to Horseheads for a Bart reunion.

"They were both crying when they arrived and saw Bart," Benedict said. "Cliff gave me a huge hug."

That's the way it is when you've raised a dog from a pup, Cliff Perry said. "We've grown pretty fond of him."

He also called Lentz to thank him. "He was in tears on the phone," Lentz said.

"I cried myself," said Benedict. "It was an extremely sad story, but what an ending!"

A lost dog's best friend is the kind of person who treasures his or her own dog.

That's the way it is at the Lentz home in Horseheads, where Annie, a mixed breed adopted from the SPCA in Big Flats, has resided for six years.

"My 10-year-old boy can't go to sleep without her," Lentz said.

Source: http://www.stargazette.com/article/20100618/NEWS01/6180374/A-lost-dog-is-saved-thanks-to-some-upstate-angels
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Max, black lab

Manlius family reunited with its missing puppy
Sarah Moses / The Post-Standard
Monday, May 03, 2010, 9:31 PM

Talia Cavalline, 6, pets family dogs Max (left) and Sophie on Monday at their Manlius home. Six-month-old Max disappeared from Blue Ribbon Kennel while the family, including father John Cavalline, mother Darcy Cavalline, Bella, 9, and Victoria, 5, was vacationing in Florida. Max was found 10 days later.

Manlius, NY -- A Manlius family, whose black Labrador retriever was taken from a kennel in Canastota last month, never gave up the search for their missing puppy, Max.

After 10 days of talking to neighbors and hanging missing posters, an anonymous tipster led Darcy Cavalline and a Madison County Sheriff’s deputy to Max at a home in the town of Sullivan on Friday.

“We are very happy to have him home,” John Cavalline said. “Our girls couldn’t be more excited.”

John and Darcy Cavalline and their daughters, Bella, 9, Talia, 6, and Victoria 5, were all vacationing in Orlando when Max, their 6-month old black lab, disappeared from Blue Ribbon Kennel, on Southerland Drive, in Canastota.

The family put out a $500 reward for information leading to Max’s return and Jeff Aquino, the kennel’s owner, offered an additional $500 reward. “On Friday my wife got a anonymous call from a man who said that he knew who took her dog,” John Cavalline said.

When Darcy Cavalline and the deputy went to the address that the tipster provided they found Max, but no one was home at the time. “The door was open a little bit and when Max saw my wife he ran out to her,” John Cavalline said “He was very excited to see her.”

John Cavalline said Max, who weighs about 50 pounds, was in good condition. “He just gets a bit more excited now, but he’s the same old Max,” he said.

The family’s other dog, Sophie refuses to let Max out of her sight.

The Cavallines filed a complaint with the Madison County Sheriff’s Office. They were unaware if anyone has been charged yet. The sheriff’s office was unable to be reached for comment.

“If something like this happens to you don’t just sit back and wait,” John Cavalline said. “Try to generate as much awareness as possible. If we would have done nothing more than hope for Max’s return than we wouldn’t have him home with us now.”

Source: http://www.syracuse.com/news/index.ssf/2010/05/manlius_family_reunited_with_m.html

Thompy, cocker spaniel

Safe and sound — and found! Thompy is back where he belongs!
By Thomas Tracy, The Brooklyn Paper
April 26, 2010

Thompy — back where he belongs!

Thompy’s home!

The beloved Cocker Spaniel who was swiped from outside a Boerum Hill deli last week was back with his family on Sunday after being stolen and sold on the street like hot watch.

“We had a very satisfying day,” said proud owner Jon Crawford-Phillips, who actually conducted a stakeout in Red Hook as the 12-day search for his best friend approached its dramatic climax.

“It was very therapeutic pulling down all the missing dog posters we had put up.”

The horror began on April 13 when Crawford-Phillips tied Thompy to a hook outside the State Street Gourmet Deli on Third Avenue.

He was inside the store for about 30 seconds, but when he returned, Thompy was gone.

Thompy — short for Thompson — could not have freed himself and run off, Crawford-Phillips said, so someone must have untied the leash.

Concerned neighbors — and we, too — publicized the dog-napping, and word spread quickly about Thompy’s disappearance.

“We got a number of calls about possible Thompy sightings, but they were very vague,” said Crawford-Phillips.

These calls brought both hope and despair to Crawford-Phillips and his wife — especially after rumors swirled that Thompy was the dead dog recovered from the lake at Prospect Park last Thursday morning.

But all speculation ended on Saturday evening when a Red Hook woman said she was sure she saw one of her neighbors walking Thompy.

The funny thing was that this neighbor never had a dog until just a few days earlier, the tipster said.

At 7 am on Sunday, Crawford-Phillips drove to where the caller had seen Thompy, and sat in his car, scanning the street.

Three-and-a-half hours later his heart almost leapt out of his chest; there was his beloved pooch padding down the street alongside his new “best friend.”

Crawford-Phillips contacted the police before approaching Thompy’s new charge, who said that he had bought the dog on the street 10 days earlier, but wouldn’t say where or for how much.

A quick visit to a nearby vet left nothing in doubt: Thompy’s chip identified Crawford-Phillips as the canine’s rightful owner.

Facing the truth, Thompy’s new “owners” had no choice but to bid their farewells to the brown and tan cocker.

“They looked after [Thompy] pretty well,” said Crawford-Phillips, who was ecstatic to have his dog back in his arms again.

The feeling, of course, was mutual.

“You could tell he was pleased to see me,” Crawford-Phillips explained, adding that after a victory lap around their courtyard on State Street and “a jump on the sofa,” Thompy was safe at home with his family as if he had never left.

“It had been 12 days, we were losing hope a bit,” said Crawford-Phillips, adding that he’s never going to leave Thompy alone on the street again.

“[My family and I] are going to be much more vigilant,” he said. “I already thought that we were being safe and careful, but we have to be more aware if there’s a guy out there trying to take dogs.”

Source: http://www.brooklynpaper.com/stories/33/18/dtg_thompyfound_2010_04_30_bk.html?comm=1

Ziggy

Kenagh woman is reunited with lost dog
Date: 05 April 2006

It was smiles all round last week when Monica Orrin from Kenagh was reunited with her missing dog, Ziggy.

In a recent issue, the Leader featured the plight of Monica, who was extremely upset over the disappearance of Ziggy. Monica has raised Ziggy since he was a puppy when a home couldn't be found for him. Five years on, Ziggy is still part of her life so needless to say, Monica was distraught over his sudden disappearance.

Last week, the Leader office received a call from an ecstatic Monica, who told us that Ziggy had been found. Ziggy had been missing since March 13 but thanks to the article in the Leader, the dog was found safe and well.

Teresa Dooner, proprietor of The Chestnut Tree in Killashee, played the good samaritan when she saw Ziggy in the Leader and recognised him from being around the village. Teresa reported it to the number given in the article - Kenagh Garda Station.

"I saw the photograph in the Leader and recognised the dog from a farm we have a few fields away. Before I rang the guards, I went up to the farm and rang a few neighbours to see if they had seen the dog. Then I rang the guards and told them the dog was in the area," explained Teresa.

"I went up to the bog, got the dog and brought him back to Monica. She was so happy to see him and I was just glad I could help. It was great to see her so excited," added Teresa.

Speaking to the Leader last week, Monica said, "it was a miracle" that Ziggy was returned safely to her. "Thank you so much to (the Leader] for highlighting it for me," she added.

Monica explained that Ziggy went missing when "two stray cats came to the house, he went to chase them and got lost".

She excitedly told the Leader that, "Teresa was absolutely fantastic. I don't drive but she went out of her way and brought the dog back to me".

"Jean Armstrong, who runs the LSPCA shop in Longford was also very helpful. She was going to help me look for the dog (Thursday] morning."

Another caring heart in the story is Kenagh Garda, Brian McManus. Gda McManus received numerous calls from people in Kenagh and surrounding areas and he passed the vital information on to Monica.

"I was delighted to be of help in this situation. Monica is a great animal lover. Thanks also to all the people who rang in. I relayed the message to Monica, she listened to their story but this time she was certain the dog Teresa described was hers".

"Numerous people rang in relation to the flyers. It shows the support of the community. Thanks also to the paper, the dog may not have been found only for it," he added.

Monica had great praise for Gda McManus. "He was an awfully nice man, very helpful", she added.
Although this story has a happy ending, Garda Brian McManus advises people "to keep their dogs tied up at all times, especially at this time of year."

Buddy, yellow lab

Man and Lost Dog Reunited After 5 Years
Titusville FL
2007-12-30

Buddy the dog has a new home, but he also has an old friend, the man who sought high and low for him when the dog was stolen five years ago.

Walter Smith bought the yellow Lab after the death of his wife, and he and the dog were constant companions. One day, at The Home Depot in Merritt Island, Buddy vanished from the van.

Buddy's loving nature may have been his downfall, said Smith, who lives in Titusville. "I left him sitting in my car, and I wound the window down by a couple of inches. If anybody came up to him he'd start wigglin, you know. I think they just reached in and opened the door, and he was gone"...

My paraphrase & some quotes:

Smith had done all the shelter searches. The police officer who handled the report hooked the Smith up with a papillon puppy. Smith still though about Buddy the lab.

Beth Beeco delivering express mail last spring noticed beautiful lab. She and her sister, Linda Rodman, notice dogs - have 10 dogs- tend to rescue. She complemented owner, who said 'they're moving, going to take him to pound, do you want dog.

She saw condition of dog, said yes. Dogs name was Buddy (hmm kept same name thief must have known dog). Infested with hook & ringworm, fleas, marred by sores & horrbly overweight she did take Buddy.

They also happened to find a stray in street, eventually they found that owner on the lost dog site, but also happened to see picture of Buddy there. If it wasn't him, he had a twin. Buddy almost is certainly the Buddy, Smith's Buddy, whose name was on his tag when he was lost.

Beth Beeco contacted Smith and, the dog was reunited w/ 91 yr old Smith. It was bittersweet for Smith who said "it's like finding a lost child". After an overnight tryout he found Buddy too much dog with the pappy and his age. Buddy seemed to miss the sisters and their pack of pups.

The sister & their pack have Buddy now and he is healthy & happy. The sisters took Buddy again to visit Smith. He enjoyed Smith's cuddling but spent most of his time with the sister, perhaps afraid of moving again, loosing another home.

An almost unbelievable series of events he has his old friend and his new family. There is really no such thing as coincidence. Regained his health and he's a happy dog.

Smith says " I wish I could take care of him. It would be wonderful but couldn't walk & excercise him the way he needs. They agreed to take care of him, and anytime I want to see him I'd have that opportunity, that's wonderful absolutely wonderful".

Source: http://pets-n-people.net/vb/showthread.php?t=1468

Gizmo & Widget, Yorkies

GMTV Today
Brucie Bonus
Last updated: 7 Jun 2006

Bruce Forsyth and daughter Debbie Matthews

Bruce Forsyth's daughter has now been reunited with both her lost dogs - find out how to keep your pets safe

Last Thursday Bruce Forsyth made an emotional appeal for the return of his daughter's dogs which were stolen from the back of a car. The Strictly Come Dancing host was desperate to get the two Yorkshire terriers back and GMTV has obliged.

Yorkshire terriers Gizmo and Widget were grabbed from Debbie Matthews' BMW 5 Series car as she shopped in Marks & Spencer on Tuesday 2nd May. They had been neutered and so were no good for breeding.

The male dogs were wearing distinctive red bandanna collars with red identity discs and red hearts when they were taken by thieves who smashed the car window.

An emotional reunion

GMTV was contacted on Thursday lunchtime by a lady who said her fiance has a dog called Reggie who fits the description of Widget. We called her fiance who, on seeing Reggie respond by jumping up when he called him Widget, was convinced he had the missing dog.

He had bought the dog about a week ago from Southall market. When he got him, the dog had no collar on and was wearing a black and blue harness.

GMTV contacted The Dog Lost website and after checking the microchip installed in the dog, we can confirm that Reggie was in fact Widget in a past life.

So on Thursday Widget was returned to his rightful owner, however Gizmo was still missing.

Friday fun

After another appeal on the programme on Friday morning, another lady contacted GMTV. She had seen Debbie's final appeal for Gizmo and from the information given suspected that she may have bought Gizmo last week in a park for her child.

The dog's tag was checked and it was indeed discovered that the dog she had bought was Gizmo - and owner and dog were reunited on Friday afternoon.

Source: http://www.gm.tv/articles/gmtv-today/may-2006/20551-brucie-bonus.html

Bo, collie mix

Family Reunited With Lost Dog After 5 Years
Jul 15, 2008 9:41 pm US/Central

The Moeller family of Arlington Heights greets their border collie, Bo, five years after he disappeared from their home. Bo turned up in Rockford on July 15, 2008.

ARLINGTON HEIGHTS, Ill. (CBS) A dog was back home Tuesday night in the suburbs after disappearing five years ago.

The dog belongs to a family of six kids; needless to say, they were devastated when they lost him.

The family lives in Arlington Heights now. Their border collie, Bo, was found near Rockford.

CBS 2 News was there when the reunion took place Tuesday evening.

Late Tuesday afternoon, the shaggy collie sauntered into the Moeller family's yard in Arlington Heights.

"He looks exactly like the way we remembered him, except the mats," said Bob Moeller.

It may not have seemed like much of an entrance, but Bo was finally back.

Bo was the Moellers' first dog, who disappeared five years ago. Tuesday morning, they got a call that Bo had been found.

Melissa Moeller said, "My dad woke us up with the news. It was so amazing to us." She said nobody knows where Bo has been all these years or how he ended up all the way out near Rockford, which is where Melissa's father and brother drove out to get him.

"The whole way out there we said 'Did you ever think this day would come? No way,'" Bob Moeller said.

Bob said cameras were waiting for them when they went to pick up the dog in Rockford. He said he believes the dog recognized his son right away and certainly, vice versa.

Brent Moeller said, "As soon as I saw him, I knew. He did his old tricks."

The Moellers said staff at the animal shelter had tears in their eyes. They'd never seen a dog reunited with a family after so many years.

Bob Moeller admitted that he didn't think he would see it, either.

"I'm a pastor. Faith is my business, but my faith had run out," Bob Moeller said.

One of the girls in the family said she had a dream a few days ago that Bo had been found.

The family believes someone stole Bo and has been feeding him ever since he disappeared.

Source: http://cbs2chicago.com/watercooler/lost.dog.reunion.2.772114.html

Trixie, tan & white dog

Soldier stationed overseas spots wife's lost dog on Facebook
Posted: Jun 08, 2010 5:50 PM EDT
Updated: Jun 16, 2010 4:06 PM EDT

Columbia, SC (WIS) - A reunion of an unusual kind happened Tuesday afternoon in Columbia. A pooch separated from its owner was found in an unlikely place by an even more unlikely person.

Kyrie Lowe, her infant son and her dog, Trixie, were on their way to Fort Benning, GA, when they were in a car accident on I-20 near Bishopville, SC. Trixie, presumably frightened from the wreck, ran away from the scene.

"When I got out of the car to get my son, she booked it east," Lowe said. "I haven't seen her since."

Lowe left Bishopville bound for home hoping somebody would find the only dog she's ever had. Trixie found her way to just the right person, Amanda Hamilton.

One of Hamilton's friends found Trixie tied to a pole at a gas station in Bishopville. Hamilton, a dog lover, took Trixie in. A stroke of luck for Trixie, because Hamilton's mother, Marie Lipton, is also a dog lover. Lipton owns a store in Columbia's Five Points called Pupcakes.

Lipton put pictures of the lost dog on the store's Facebook fan page. Hamilton and Lipton named the dog Delilah in the online post, but a man a world away would see the picture and immediately know the dog's name was really Trixie.

"Within half an hour, we got a response from a soldier in Iraq who said his wife had been in an accident on I-20 near Bishopville," said Lipton.

That soldier was Lowe's husband Joseph. He saw the post and immediately knew it was his wife's missing dog. When Kyrie's husband called her to tell her that he had found Trixie on the internet, she couldn't believe it.

On Tuesday, Lowe drove five hours to pick up her beloved Trixie. Fittingly, the reunion happened at Pupcakes. The owner and daughter that cared enough to save Trixie, now had to say goodbye.

"I think it's the best outcome for her, so I'm happy,"said Hamilton.

Thanks to Facebook and a couple of thoughtful dog lovers, Trixie is back home in Georgia. The family will be complete when Joseph returns home from Iraq in a few months.

Source: http://www.wbtv.com/Global/story.asp?S=12616538
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Rocky, cattle dog/terrier mix

Dog returns home after five months lost in the bush
14Aug 09 @ 07:00am

COOROY: In a miraculous tale of survival a loyal cattle dog has found his way back to his heart-broken owner after five months lost in the bush.

Two year-old cattle dog/terrier cross Rocky and his owner Robert Brady were reunited this week after the small dog looking worse for wear wandered into the Dryburgh family’s Black Mountain Road home, hungry, skinny and desperate for affection.

``He looked a bit emaciated and very scruffy like he’d been through the bush,’’ Nick Dryburgh told The Noosa Journal on Monday.

``He was pretty lonely as well as scruffy, but he was very well-behaved and responded to commands so we knew he was obviously very-well loved by a family and was probably lost and starved of company.’’

The family spotted the dog early last Wednesday after they woke to hear their own dog, Sonic, had found a new playmate.

Cooroy’s Brady family told The Noosa Journal they were delighted to have Rocky back after months desperately searching for their beloved pet. He disappeared from his Crystal St home back in March. The family had posted signs around the town but they had failed to turn up any trace of their missing dog until the Dryburghs dropped him off at the RSPCA, on Thursday.

Shelter staff scanned the dog’s microchip and were able to contact the delighted owners with news of Rocky’s discovery right away.

``We just want to say a big thank you to the family who found him and dropped him off at the pound,’’ Robert’s mum Meryl told The Noosa Journal on Monday.

``We searched high and low and we put up lost dog notices and we’ve been looking for months.’’
``He’s lost four kilograms but he’ll be all right,’’ Meryl said.

Nick said the small pooch was clearly starving when he wandered into his home. ``Boy was he hungry, our dog’s three times the size and he ate more than our dog does in a meal so he was very, very hungry,’’ he said. ``We certainly didn’t expect to see another dog wander into the yard at 5.30 in the morning, but our dog was certainly happy to have the company though.’’

The Bradys said they were extremely grateful to the family and the RSPCA, while details of Rocky’s miraculous survival were likely to remain a mystery.

Source: http://noosa-journal.whereilive.com.au/news/story/dog-returns-home-after-five-months-lost-in-the-bush/

Pippa, springer spaniel

Family's joy as missing dog is found after 11 weeks
By Mike Wright
September 24, 2009


DEVASTATION turned to joy for one Frimley Green family when their beloved dog was found safe and well almost three months after a suspected dognapping.

Pippa was returned to Donna Crick and fiancé John Gray after she was recovered by a dog warden in the Stoughton area of Guildford.

And there were tears of happiness as the pair learned they were going to be reunited with their eight-year-old black and white springer spaniel.

Pippa had disappeared from outside the family home in The Hatches on Thursday, June 25, and was found exactly 11 weeks later.

A man who had been walking along the couple’s road told Mr Gray he had seen two men bundling a dog matching Pippa’s description into the back of a van.

After contacting the police and dog charities, the family then embarked on a desperate campaign to get her back.

The couple set up a website, placed flyers around the area and began a search group for Pippa on Facebook which attracted more than 2,000 members.

But on Thursday (September 10), which was also Mr Gray’s birthday, the family received the call they had been praying for.

Pippa had been found by a woman in Guildford who came across her wandering around in the street.

The woman called the dog warden who scanned Pippa for a microchip that would reveal her owner’s address.

"Bit nervous"

“My partner took the call and he could hardly speak,” said Miss Crick.

“I was attending a meeting at my sons’ school and I flew out of the room in tears, I had to go back later and explain why.”

After the couple collected Pippa they did not tell their three sons, Toby, five, Brandon, nine, and Sam, 14, and just took her along on the school run.

“The boys were ecstatic but we had always promised them we would get her back," Miss Crick added.

“They always expected that she would be back.”

People who joined Pippa’s Facebook group have been adding to the family’s euphoria and congratulating them on the dog’s safe return.

Miss Crick also praised dog wardens in the area and said they had provided an excellent service while Pippa had been missing.

“They have really gone beyond the call of duty,” she said.

She added that Pippa was settling back into her old routines and enjoying family life.

“She just thinks she has been on holiday. She is a bit nervous at times and also not happy about other dogs.

"I think Pippa might have been kept with other dogs. If only she could talk.”

Source: http://www.getsurrey.co.uk/news/s/2057784_familys_joy_as_missing_dog_is_found_after_11_weeks

Molly, golden retriever

yay! i reunited a lost dog with her owners!
njourney
Posted: Sun Oct 18, 2009 7:05 pm

I just got the most heartwarming phone call from a 10 year old little girl.

I answered my phone and on the other end I heard this excited little girl say "thank you very much for finding my dog for me!" my heart just melted and I cried happy tears.

the background of this story is... 2 weeks ago I found a golden retriever standing by a very busy road with an unmistakable look on her face that said " I have no idea which way to go now". so, she started walking down the middle of the road! All of these cars were whizzing by her-jerks! and no one stopped.

I pulled over, and used a trick I learned from a fellow animal lover- I used my best excited sing song voice and said "yay! let's go for a ride! Yay!" She came practically crawling to me, really submissive but tail wagging. And then she flopped on to her back and would not budge! lol

I had a firm hold of her but we were still too close to the road for my taste. Problem was- I could not budge her to get her into my car.

After numerous cars passed by, a van drove by and quickly turned around. she stopped to see if i needed help, b/c she thought the dog had been hit. She helped me get the dog into the car and we discussed what to do.

I was on my way to work, and was going to call them to say I'd be late (they are used to my "I found a dog- I'll be late" phonecalls)

This woman offered to keep her while we both looked for her owners. I talked to her at length to see if she was trustworthy, and my gut told me it was ok. So, I handed over the dog to this woman.

Well, after 2 weeks of not finding any leads, I spotted a lost dog poster by my house that had just recently been put up. I called the lady with the dog and called the lost dog number, and had them call each other, and it was a match!! The dog I had found was named Molly, and she had been a rescue from an abusive situation. The family who rescued Molly from this situation was devestated by losing Molly. Their 2 girls cried themselves to sleep every night for the past 2 weeks.

The woman who had kept Molly for those 2 weeks said that as soon as Molly saw the girls- she went nuts! and the girls had Molly's picture with them, and showed her all the tricks she knows, and there isn't a doubt in her mind that was Molly's family.

I am so happy for them! That little girl was sooo cute. She could barely contain herself, she was overjoyed. (and immediately, I looked up to the heavens and thanked my Murphy for a job well done) good job Murph-Murph - he is becoming quite the guardian angel . . . Mommy's so proud of you.

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Thank goodness the family didn't quit looking for her! they said they thought someone must have picked her up and was keeping her, they never thought they'd see her again. Thankfully, they kept putting up new posters in different areas- the dots were connected, and she's now home safe!

PS- after I read my original post- I hope it didn't come off as "all about me- look at what I did" I just know how heartbreaking these animal rescue boards can be, and I wanted to share with others the joy I could hear in that little girl's voice and heart.

Source: http://www.petfinder.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=174504

Stew, boston terrier

Missing Texas dog found on RI vacation, 1,500 miles away
by Meg Fraser
May 27, 2010

UNLIKELY REUNION: Stew, or McDoogle as Trisha Molloy and his Rhode Island foster family called him, was reunited with his owner, Rory Didas on Thursday at the Hampton Inn in Warwick.

On March 25, Rory Didas ran out of his home in Rockwall, Texas after his dog Stew got loose. Stew has always been a runner, so the Didas family knew the drill. They hit the streets, looking for the 5-year-old Boston terrier they had owned since he was eight months old.

“He’s always been my runner. He usually sticks around the neighborhood but he’s deaf so you can’t call him, you have to look for him,” Didas explained.

The search was unsuccessful. Stew was nowhere to be found.

About 1,500 miles away, he was snuggling up to Trisha Molloy in her Cranston home.

When Stew ran off in March, a passerby on their way through the city picked him up. Didas called the area shelters, but the traveler brought the dog all the way to Fort Worth, 60 miles away from his home and family.

Within a few days, Stew was in trouble again. Shelter employees who did not realize he was deaf deemed him aggressive. Before the sentence could be carried out, Friends of Homeless Animals, a non-profit animal rescue organization, stepped in.

“He narrowly avoided euthanasia,” Molloy said.

Molloy is a volunteer with Friends of Homeless Animals. Often times, due to the volume of homeless dogs and cats in the southern states, rescue animals are brought to the northeast on caravans. Stew arrived on one such caravan.

As Molloy began the search for a home for him, she fostered the terrier, which they knew as McDuff. Molloy and her fiance Steve Murphy didn’t care for the name, so they called him McDoogle.

It didn’t take long for McDoogle to fit in with the family.

“He’s a very, very sweet boy. We may have spoiled him a little bit,” Molloy said.

Stew – or McDoogle at the time – got along with Molloy’s two other dogs, but was more of a people puppy. He liked to cuddle with Molloy and Murphy.

They too noticed his penchant for running, though, and had to keep a close eye on the dog. He settled in nicely, but likely missed the acre and a half he was used to back home. Home missed him too.

“To most people it’s a dog, but to us he’s a family member. You don’t realize it,” Didas said. “We all went into a funk.”

Including their younger Boston terrier, Sally. Didas’ 8- and 10-year-old sons were also worried that Stew had been injured by one of the coyotes in the woods surrounding their home.

Didas held out hope, however. When his calls to shelters turned up empty, he posted a photo on Petfinder.com.

Meanwhile, across the country, Molloy was firming up adoptions plans. Just as she got the wheels in motion, one of her coworkers from Friends of Homeless Animals saw the photo of Stew and noticed similarities to McDoogle.

“We were able to connect and we compared notes,” Molloy said.

Within days, Didas had reserved a flight.

And when he set eyes on the dog last week at the Hampton Inn in Warwick, Stew’s wagging stub of a tail gave him away.

“I thought he liked us, now I see how he is when he really likes someone,” Molloy said, laughing.

Didas scooped the dog into his arms and cradled him like a baby.

“He’s a great dog. I’m extremely excited,” he said.

As if getting Stew back weren’t gift enough, Molloy pushed a bag forward. Along with some treats and food for Stew’s trip home, there was a shirt for the pup and a small scrapbook titled, “Living it Up: Stew’s Vacation in Rhode Island.” Flipping through, Didas got a glimpse of his dog at the park, cuddling with his foster family and visiting Rhode Island people and places.

“We’re going to miss him,” Molloy said.

Murphy broke in, adding, “I already do.”

He described the reunion as “unbelievable.”

Didas attributed it to rescue volunteers like Molloy and Friends of Homeless Animals.

“You can’t really say enough wonderful things. They saved his life,” he said, shaking his head. Didas said he plans to make a donation to the organization.

“Holy cow, there are great people looking out for each other,” he added.

Didas flew back to Texas first thing on Friday, but said his wife had already made the rounds to let the neighbors know of Stew’s homecoming.

After the whole family got to reunite, Didas said there was just one more thing on the agenda: get Stew an electronic tracking chip.

Source: http://warwickonline.com/view/full_story_news/7723125/article-Missing-Texas-dog-found-on-RI-vacation--1-500-miles-away?instance=home_news_right

Jaxon, poodle-bichon frise mix

The Leader: Fan page helps to reunite lost dog with owners
Echo Day, Covington Leader
Friday, April 30, 2010 at 9:33am

COVINGTON – There's no doubt that consumption of social media and networking is growing by leaps and bounds – and the story of a lost dog gives a great example of why online interaction is growing.

On April 8, Megan Price sent her children off to school and went to her front porch to bring her Poodle-Bischon Frise mix, Jaxon, inside.

But Jaxon wasn't there.

"His lead was laid on our porch," she said. "He doesn't have thumbs and he couldn't have undone it himself, that's how I know he was taken."

Price, who lives near the intersection of Rosedale and Crestview streets, began searching for Jaxon around her neighborhood, but came up empty-handed.

"He just never came home," she said.

Calls to the animal shelters in Brighton and Covington turned up no results. Desperate to find her family's beloved pet, Price also posted an advertisement on the Internet classifieds site Craiglist, but she didn't receive a single phone call.

"My son was recently diagnosed with a brain condition and this really, really upset him," Price explained.

More than 10 days after his disappearance, Jaxon would return home, thanks to the power of social networking site Facebook.

With more than 400 million active users, Facebook is a social utility helping people communicate more efficiently with their friends, family and coworkers.

Through the creation of a Facebook fan page almost 14 months ago, The Leader joined the ranks of those businesses and individuals on the social networking bandwagon.

This medium adds another dimension to the paper's coverage and allows for increased interaction with readers.

In two months, the fanbase has grown exponentially, from 300 fans to more than 1,925.

And one of those fans facilitated the reunion between Jaxon and the Price family.

On April 18, Crestview Elementary School teacher Michelle Naifeh posted a message on The Leader's fan page, letting other users know she'd found a dog in Covington's Historic District.

"Jaxon was found in my husband's parent's fenced backyard on South Maple," said Naifeh. "(He) was such a friendly and well behaved dog, great with kids, cats, and other dogs, so I knew he had to belong to someone. I figured The Leader fan page on Facebook would be the quickest way to get the information out around town."

Price was catching up with Facebook updates when she saw Naifeh's post.

"I looked and there sat her post," Price said. "My heart stopped and I said, 'Please let it be him!'"

Price said she sent Naifeh a message through the site's messaging feature, giving Naifeh a full description of the dog.

At last, Jaxon had been found.

"She called to tell me, 'I think I have your baby,'" Price said.

"I was very excited when I read Megan's message and couldn't dial the phone fast enough," Naifeh said.

The following day, the Price family went to Naifeh's home to pick Jaxon up. Price said she didn't tell her children where they were headed.

"We didn't even tell him we were going to pick the dog up. (Naifeh) walked and they saw him, then they immediately started screaming, 'Jaxon!'"

Naifeh said taking the dog to a shelter wasn't an option for her family and hopes someone else would do the same if one of her fuzzy family members was lost.

"We would have fostered Jaxon until a home was found if no one claimed him," said Naifeh. "I smile every time I think about returning Jaxon to his family. My kids were just as happy as I was, they even cried happy tears."

Separated from Jaxon for 11 days, the Price family was glad to have him back.

"My little boy thanks her every single day," said Price.

Though Covington and the other cities and communities in Tipton County are close-knit, the power of social networking is that it can make a small town even smaller.

"This would have never happened in Memphis, we would have never seen Jaxon again," said Price. "I'm very thankful for the Facebook page."

Source: http://www.facebook.com/notes/the-leader/fan-page-helps-to-reunite-lost-dog-with-owners/279472079989

Regis, chocolate standard poodle

Runaway dog, owner reunited Tallmadge pooch wandered Graham Road for 10 days
by Steve Wiandt, Reporter
April 11, 2010

Although Regis the Runaway Dog sounds like a storybook character, he's real -- except he's no longer a runaway. Regis is home safe and sound.

After spending 10 days on his own roaming around the high-traffic area of Route 8 and Graham Road, Regis returned to his owner, Teri Gibson of Tallmadge, who didn't know if she was ever going see her chocolate standard poodle again.

Gibson and her fiancé, Nick Pierson, were among many people looking for Regis, who will turn 3 in May. Pierson's mother, Peggy Lee of Cuyahoga Falls, looked for Regis every day while Pierson, Gibson and Gibson's 6-year-old son, Sonny, were away on vacation. Many members of Pierson's family joined in the search, including his sister, Dawn Wilson of Tallmadge, who searched for Regis on her lunch hour every day he was missing.

Regis began his wayward journey the evening of March 12 when Lee brought him to her home on Notre Dame Avenue in the Falls with Gibson's two other standard poodles to dog-sit them while their owner was away. Before Lee could get Regis into her house, he broke his collar and ran away. The other two dogs went into the house without a struggle.

"He must have had separation anxiety," Gibson said. "He never ran away before." Gibson said Regis had a name tag and a microchip on his collar, but the collar fell off when it snapped in two. Gibson and Pierson delayed their trip to Orlando for a day to look for Regis, but couldn't find him.

Gibson's parents, Sylvia and Don "Sonny" Kling of Tallmadge, were also among the many people who tirelessly searched for the rambling canine. Mrs. Kling said she saw Regis several times, even as far as two miles north of Graham Road on Hudson Drive, but he never came to her when she called him.

"He acted the way lost dogs act -- he was scared," Mrs. Kling said.

Gibson said she is thankful for the help of the Silver Lake, Cuyahoga Falls and Stow police departments and their dispatchers who fielded calls from people who spotted her dog. Falls Community Service Officer Kenny Johnson said the Falls Police got a lot of calls from concerned citizens, adding that most of the sightings took place at night.

"Everybody got involved in the search," Johnson said. "Thank God he was OK."

Many callers were worried the animal was going to get hit by a car. One Silver Lake Police officer actually saw the dog get clipped by a pickup truck and then run away. Ptl. Amy Brauning said she went off duty at 3 a.m. March 19 and was getting on Route 8 at Graham Road after stopping at a store when she saw a "big, black blur" run across the on-ramp in front of her, but up ahead.

"I wasn't close to him, but I could see he was absolutely huge," Brauning said. "I knew it wasn't a deer, but some kind of big dog. Being a dog lover I pulled over." Brauning said she got out of her vehicle and called to the dog, but he acted scared and didn't come to her, instead running south into Stow on the northbound side of Route 8.

The dog wasn't hurt from its encounter with the truck, Brauning said, but the truck got a flat tire trying to avoid the animal.

Regis had a regular schedule as he traveled along Graham Road, Brauning said, and stopped at the same restaurants at the same time every night. The dog lived off of food scraps he dug out of trash cans or found in doggy bags left out for him, she said. Although he didn't go hungry, he still lost weight while he was on his own, Gibson said.

Gibson said that after spending seven "miserable" days at Disney World she, Pierson and Sonny drove all day March 21 to get home, and then rejoined the search party with practically no sleep. Pierson, she said, was out all night and fell asleep in a park where two Falls officers found him and helped him on his way.

Regis was reunited with Gibson the following evening, March 22. Brauning was sitting in her cruiser at Crystal Lake when two women from Kent stopped and told her they saw a big stray dog along Graham Road. Brauning said she knew Gibson and her son were nearby and called her cell phone.

With Brauning's help, Gibson was able to locate Regis near the northbound on-ramp of Route 8. Holding her dog again was an unforgettable moment for Gibson.

"It was like a scene out of a movie," Gibson said. "When Regis heard my voice, he came running and jumped on me, crying and howling like a big baby. He was so happy to see us."

While at Disney World, Gibson said she and her son threw a penny in every fountain or wishing well they saw and said a prayer that they would get Regis back safe and sound.

"We did a lot of praying," she said. "It must have paid off, because this is a miracle. This is a happy-ending story."

Regis, chocolate standard poodle, was found safe and sound by his owner, Teri Gibson of Tallmadge, and her son, Sonny, after he ran away and was on his own for 10 days while the Gibsons were at Disney World praying he was all right.

Teri Gibson and her son, Sonny, are glad to be reunited with their dog, Regis, after he ran away and lived outside on his own for 10 days. Gibson said it was a "miracle" that they found him unharmed.

Source: http://www.tallmadgeexpress.com/news/article/4806086
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Cooper, Coton de Tulear

Missing Dog Returned To NY Family...4 Years Later!
'Cooper' Found Wandering 17 Miles From Family's Home;
Microchip Beneath Skin Helped Reunite Him With His Owners
Christine Sloan
Jun 4, 2010 9:05 pm US/Eastern

Cooper, a Coton de Tulear that went missing four years ago, was picked up 17 miles away from his owner's home at a shelter. A microchip reunited him with his family after being away for so long

Islip, NY  A beloved family dog that went missing four years ago was finally found thanks to microchip technology.

The Wicks family lost their tiny, white, furry dog named "Cooper" back in 2006. The Coton de Tulear was just a year-and-a-half old.

"I believe in miracles. But God needs a little help and the help was in the microchip," said Gwyenne Wicks, the matriarch of the family.

The Long Island family frantically posted fliers and sent out e-mails in hopes that someone might find their purebred, hypoallergenic dog. Those calls for help went unheard for years until last month.

Cooper was found wandering the streets 17 miles away from the Wicks' Lloyd Harbor home in Brentwood.

Joanne Daly, the supervisor of the Islip shelter that Cooper was brought to, said the tiny dog came in with matted fur, but was otherwise healthy.

Daly picked up a scanner in hopes of finding a microchip, and she did.

A microchip is the size of a grain of rice and was embedded in Cooper's skin between the shoulder blades. The transponder emitted a number that was decoded and displayed the dog's true owner.

It was an emotional reunion between Cooper and the Wicks family.

"She screamed out, 'Coopers back!'" said 8-year-old Michael Wicks.

His older brother, David, added: "I did not believe it. I said, 'That has to be the wrong dog.'"

There are few missing pet stories that have such a happy ending. After years of wondering where Cooper had gone to and if he was even alive, the Wicks family was ecstatic.

"There's always hope. And Cooper, we've been calling it the 're-cooperation' because he's been returned," Gwyenne said.

Someone must have taken care of the dog during those lost years because Cooper is now house trained and responds to commands.

The Wicks family believes Cooper was stolen because he was wearing a name tag and an electronic collar. They hope that their story will inspire others to get their pets micro-chipped.

Source: http://wcbstv.com/local/lost.dog.found.2.1733708.html

Hopper, shih tzu

Stolen, Neglected Dog to be Reunited with Owner Through Microchip
May 12, 2010

In August of last year, Kishany Conroy’s three-year-old Shih Tzu, Hopper, disappeared from her property in Ramona. Conroy was sure she would never see her dog again, but today she received a call from County Animal Services and was told that her dog had been found because of a microchip. The dog is at the County’s animal shelter in Carlsbad and was part of a neglect investigation when the microchip was detected.

Conroy could hardly contain herself when she heard the good news that Hopper was safe and in the care of shelter staff. Once animals are brought to any County shelter, they are scanned for a microchip.

After a bit of detective work, Animal Services staff was able to track the microchip back to a breeder in Missouri and to a pet store in Virginia before obtaining the owner’s information.

Conroy was amazed that her dog had been found alive and that she could claim her dog from the shelter.

Hopper, who was covered in foxtail stickers and was literally one “solid matt,” was groomed right away at the shelter to make him more comfortable.

“Having your animal microchipped ensures that your pet has a ticket home,” said Dawn Danielson, Director of the County Department of Animal Services. “Animal Services strongly encourages all pet owners to have their pets microchipped as a form of positive identification and to keep your information current with the microchip company.”

“It’s also important for people to know that if they find a stray dog or cat, they should bring it to the animal shelter because there is always a possibility the animal has been microchipped and that we can reunite it with its owner. The person who kept this dog since August did not care for him properly. The pictures that our staff took really speak for themselves.”

Hopper as he was found:

Hopper after grooming:

Source: http://www.sdcounty.ca.gov/Portal/News/2010/May/051210shihtzu.html

Murphy, yellow lab

Murphy the dog is OK but his case showcases debate over microchips in canines
By John Foren | Flint Journal
December 19, 2007, 7:00PM

Dennis Perkins of Grand Blanc Township and his dog, Murphy, have been reunited.

GRAND BLANC TWP. -- Murphy's story had a happy ending.

The big yellow lab that escaped the electronic fence around his home in Grand Blanc Township was found by his owner at the Genesee County Animal Control shelter last week.

But that owner is still unhappy with the Pasadena Avenue shelter, which never scanned for the microchip that had been injected under Murphy's skin -- an electronic identifier designed as a fail-safe for finding the owners of lost animals.

"It makes me wonder how many dogs (with identification chips have) ended up in the incinerator," said Dennis Perkins.
Perkins lost his dog Dec. 8 and recovered him four days later after a woman recognized him after seeing a lost-dog posting on the Internet.

"From what I understood, that (scanning for chips) is standard protocol," Perkins said. "If they don't check for them, what's the point?"

The county's policy on scanning stray dogs and cats for microchips isn't exactly written in stone.

On Monday, Chief Officer Lloyd Gerhardt said the shelter did not routinely scan for microchips, but in a second interview with The Flint Journal today, he said it actually is regularly done -- about 90 percent of the time.

Gerhardt said his initial remarks were misunderstood but agreed Murphy was never checked for a microchip because he acted aggressively.

Gerhardt initially said "we don't scan" regularly for microchips, citing problems with some scanners, which don't always correctly read all chips.

"Nothing says you have to scan," he said Monday, noting the state law only requires the shelter attempt to identify animals through by license tags.

Today, Gerhardt said the shelter actually scans most every incoming animal -- an estimated 90 percent -- for microchips unless animals are especially difficult or aggressive.

Microchips are an increasingly popular way for pet owners to keep track of their animals but they only work if animals are scanned once they are found.

All animals taken into the Genesee County Humane Society are scanned for microchips and it's recommended by the American Veterinary Medical Association and the state Department of Agriculture.

Michele Finateri, veterinary program manager for licensing and rabies at the Agriculture Department, said all shelters should scan stray animals for chips to avoid allowing someone's pet from being adopted or allowing an animal to be euthanized.

Michigan's law covering requirements for licensed shelters was written before the technology was used, she said.

"It just makes sense," Finateri said. "It's our opinion an animal shelter should (scan). I believe most shelters are doing that."

Genesee County Human Society Executive Director David Tucker said his shelter looks for microchips on all incoming animals. The shelter uses a scanner that reads the most widely used microchips.

Most veterinary clinics keep microchips on hand and the injection can cost as little as $20, according to the AVMA. The injection is no more painful than a typical injection.
Veterinarian Simon Fick of Grand Blanc Veterinary Hospital said he recommends the microchip for all pets.

Perkins, who lives in Oak Hills subdivision, said his dog escaped his yard after the battery on his collar died, leaving an electronic fence ineffective.

He said he discovered Murphy was at the shelter after a woman believed she recognized the animal based on an Internet posting and told Perkins she had seen the dog.

Perkins and Gerhardt both said Animal Control also contacted the Perkins' today to tell them they believed they had located his dog after a family member called the shelter, asking that staff keep an eye out for Murphy.

Perkins said he wants to see the Flint Township shelter start scanning all animals.

"I don't want to see this happen to somebody else," he said.

The county animal shelter is one of the busiest in Michigan. The Flint Journal reported earlier this year that it had one of the highest rates of euthanasia for cats and dogs in the state in 2006.

Source: http://blog.mlive.com/flintjournal/newsnow/2007/12/murphy_the_dog_is_ok_but_his_c.html
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Kirby, Wheaten terrier

Young patient and lost dog reunited
By Brianne Dopart,
Mar 17, 2007 : 12:15 am ET

The 12-year-old visiting leukemia patient whose search for his missing dog became big local news this week was reunited late Friday with 3-year-old "Kirby."

Kirby, a Wheaten terrier, disappeared Tuesday after Kameron, his mother, Janet, and Kirby were involved in a serious car accident on U.S. 15-501.

For the reunion, Kameron, who is being treated on an outpatient basis at Duke Children's Hospital for acute lymphoblastic leukemia, wore a T-shirt bearing the image of a dog with a clover in its mouth accompanied by the phrase "Lucky Dog."

The shirt was a gift from Kameron's doctor, Joanne Kurtzberg, after Kameron lost one of his favorite shirts, bearing the phrase "Life Is Good," while he after being extricated from Tuesday's wreck by emergency medical technicians.

The 12-year-old California honor student opted to wear his new shirt Friday after nearly three full days spent worrying about the dog he says has helped him through the most painful part of his cancer treatments.

"I thought I could use some luck today," Kameron said.

After enjoying a few joyful licks from the visibly ecstatic terrier in the lobby of Duke Children's Hospital, the 12-year-old said he was pretty sure he'd found his new "lucky shirt."

He also found a few people to thank.

Duke Medical News Office officials Chris DiFrancesco and Tracey Koepke helped track down the dog whose story they had been helping to relay to members of the local media for the past several days.

The two were on a way back from a meeting when they decided to take a few loops around South Square just to see if they could spot the wayward dog.

Within minutes, Koepke spotted the wet, muddy Kirby "just sitting in the woods, almost like he was waiting for his people to come."

Koepke and Difrancesco tried to round up the pup, but just as Kameron had reminded folks earlier in the week, Kirby was timid and afraid to let them get close. The two spent nearly an hour in the rain trying to grab Kirby and then called Kameron's dad, Ali, who walked up and down the road calling for Kirby until the dog finally came to him.

Janet Kooshesh, Kameron's mom, is still suffering from injuries sustained in Tuesday's wreck, but took time to say Friday's reunion was one of the best things that have happened to her and her family in a long time.

"We've asked, 'Why us?' a lot, but we try not to stay there," Janet Kooshesh said of her family's struggle to cope, first with her son's two-and-a-half year battle with leukemia, in which he suffered a relapse after undergoing chemotherapy, and more recently had undergone a bone marrow transplant here.

Janet Kooshesh said she hopes to move her family back to California in late May so Kameron, who has missed two years of school while undergoing his leukemia treatments, can begin eighth grade.

Released Friday from Duke Children's Hospital, where he was being treated as an inpatient for injuries he suffered in Tuesday's wreck, Kameron said he was looking forward to getting back to his family's temporary Durham home to curl up and take a nap.

"He's probably tired ... we'll probably curl up together," he said, referring to his lost-and-found best friend, Kirby.

Source: http://www.doglover.biz/latest_news.php?id=402

Franklin, boston terrier

Family reunited with missing dog more than a year later
by Tiffany Craig / 11 News, khou.com
Posted on June 6, 2010 at 6:22 PM


SHARPSTOWN, Texas—A year-long search for a missing dog had a happy ending for one local family.

Tammy and John Harding were visiting family in Sharpstown in May 2009 and took their dog Franklin along for the trip.

The Boston Terrier was outside when a thunderstorm moved in. Terrified of the noise, Franklin scurried under the fence and vanished.

The Harding’s 3-year old daughter Kinsley struggled most with the loss.

"When we lost him, all she said was ‘where’s Fray Fray?’It just broke my heart to tell them that mama doesn’t know where he is," said Tammy Harding.

The family searched for month, putting up flyers and going door-to-door. They never got one phone call.

That is, until Saturday.

Tammy still can’t believe what happened.

"He’s like ‘Ms. Harding? I think I found Franklin.’"

Miles from where the dog disappeared, Gary Kretz noticed something darting through traffic.

"All these cars are coming to a stop and I see these little legs moving on top of the intersection," said Kretz.

Kretz chased down the dog and scooped him into his work truck. He says the Boston Terrier had fleas but was otherwise in good shape.

"I got him cleaned up, fed him," Kretz said. "He was really, really hungry."

Kretz took the lost dog to the vet and discovered that he had a microchip. That’s how the call was made to the Harding house.

He recalled the conversation.

"Have you lost a dog?" said Kretz. "She says oh my God, oh my God, oh my God. I never thought this day was gonna come."

After more than a year of searching and hoping, Franklin is now home where he belongs.

"He is part of our family and I’m truly happy to have him back," said Tammy Harding.

Kretz is no stranger to rescuing dogs. He has picked up more than a dozen in the past few years, but most ended up getting adopted.

The exception: Franklin the Boston Terrier.

See the video here

Source: http://www.khou.com/news/local/Missing-dog-is-found-more-than-a-year-later-95733319.html?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter#

Jack, whippet-terrier mix

Dog travels 15 miles home across motorway and moorland
By Matthew Moore
31 May 2010

A lost dog was reunited with its owners after a marathon 31-hour trek that took the mongrel across the M1, four major A roads and miles of treacherous moorland.

Jack the lost dog walked 15 miles along an unfamiliar route to get home, crossing busy roads including the M1.

In a story reminiscent of 1940s film Lassie Come Home, a family who had given up their whippet-terrier cross Jack for dead looked outside to find him asleep on their doorstep.

The mongrel dog – exhausted and sore-pawed, but very much alive – had walked 15 miles along an unfamiliar route, apparently untroubled by obstacles including a four-lane bypass and one of the country's busiest motorways.

The dog's bravery is all the more remarkable for the fact that he suffers from a fear of traffic, and walks with a limp, after being knocked down by a lorry five years ago.

David Cooper, 46, from Penistone near Sheffield, said: "He had been missing for a day-and-a-half and we'd all but given up. We'd had dozens of friends and neighbours out looking for him but decided to call off the search.

"On a whim, I had one more look outside the back of the house just in case he had returned. I glanced down through the window of the door and did a double take, because there he was."

He added: "He looked up at me, and his eyes said: 'Have I been naughty?' The children smothered him in hugs for the next hour, so I think he knew he was forgiven."

Jack had become separated from Mr Cooper, an accountant, and his vet wife Liz around 2pm Sunday May 16, while the couple were walking in Dearne Valley Park to the east of Barnsley town centre in South Yorkshire.

Spooked by other dogs, the dog dashed into the woods and would not come when called.

From what the Coopers have managed to piece together from people who spotted Jack on his circuitous adventure, he somehow managed to cross the busy Barnsley bypass and travel north-west along the route of a canal before cutting down south-west to the M1 at Higham.

Mr Cooper said: "We really have no idea how he got across. There are a couple of pedestrian subways, but he would have no idea where they were so it's possible he just made a dash across the traffic."

The Coopers subsequently learned that he was seen walking along a main road in the village of Oxspring around 24 hours later, having traversed miles of rough moorland and woods.

The final leg of his journey took him a few miles north to his owners' home, where he curled up in a ball on the back doorstep around 9.30pm on Monday.

Over the course of Jack's trek the Coopers have calculated he must have crossed at least four major roads - the A61, A637, A628 and A629 - in addition to the motorway.

Jack's address is not printed on his collar so there is no chance that a well-wisher could have found him at the side of the road and dropped him at the house, Mr Cooper added.

Mrs Cooper, 49, said: "I’ve asked all my colleagues at work if they can tell me how dogs can navigate when they’ve never been somewhere before, but they’re just as baffled as me. Everyone thinks it’s quite amazing.”

Jack is now recuperating with the help of Coopers' two sons Adam and Rob. Mr Cooper said: "We bandaged his legs but he's out walking again now, although he is staying a little closer."

Source: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/howaboutthat/7790214/Dog-travels-15-miles-home-across-motorway-and-moorland.html

Otello, black lab

Amazing Grace: Website Helps Reunite Dog, Owner
By Hunter Chase
Wednesday, May 19, 2010

Children on Kiawah Island don’t know how close they came to losing one of their business partners in Pinehurst.

Frank Manganella and his companion, Otello

Otello, a 12-year-old black lab, is a whiz at finding lost golf balls. His owner, Frank Manganella, who lives on Kiawah Island in South Carolina, laughs when he talks about some of the knocks he gets on his door in reference to his canine companion.

“He retrieves anything,” Manganella says. “I live on a golf course, and that dog shags golf balls, hundreds of golf balls. Kids in the neighborhood will knock on the door and ask if they can borrow Otello for a while to go find lost balls. Then the kids take the balls they find and go sell them over by the clubhouse.”

Manganella did a little retrieving of his own Monday morning, thanks to the Pinehurst Police Department and the lost-and-found- pets feature on thepilot.com.

In Pinehurst to visit some friends, Manganella was keeping Otello in the garage of his friends’ house when a storm hit on Sunday. Manganella believes the dog got out of the garage, became disoriented and wandered away. Otello is almost completely deaf.

Manganella turned to the Internet Monday morning to begin his search for his missing dog. He went to the Moore County government website, and from there he was directed to thepilot.com. He filled in the online form to post information about a lost dog at around 9:25 a.m.

Meanwhile in the Pinehurst Police Department, the saga of the missing Otello also revolved around thepilot.com.

According to police reports, the department received a call about a black lab that had been wandering around Sunday near Overcup Lane. A police officer went over to investigate, and the dog immediately came to the officer, so Otello was taken to the police station, where he was placed in a kennel for an overnight stay.

Karen Hammer, administrative assistant in the department and a professed animal lover, falls into the reunion story at this point. Hammer volunteers with Animal Advocates and is involved in wildlife rehabilitation in addition to her job at the police station. She knows a thing or two about animals, and when she arrived at work on Monday morning she immediately took a liking to Otello.

“He’s a senior, such a nice old guy,” she says. “He is such a sweetheart.”

She called Animal Control as required so it could come get the dog (the department can only keep found pets on premise for a short time), but also went to thepilot.com website and filled out the found animal form at around 9:50 a.m.

“It was the first time we used it,” she says. “Everything just came together perfectly for him (Otello). That program is what made it all work out.”

Mark Bamberry, the Webmaster for thepilot.com and another bigtime animal lover, connected the dots when he saw the two reports that had been entered. He immediately called Manganella to tell him that Otello could probably be found at the Pinehurst Police Department.

“Thirty minutes later, I got a call telling me my dog might be at the police station,” Manganella says. “I was amazed. The system in place on the website is mind-boggling.”

There are probably some kids on Kiawah Island that will be happy to find out that their business partner is coming home to continue his retrieving ways. Manganella and Otello certainly are glad to be reunited.

“He sure was happy to see me,” Manganella says. “The feeling was mutual.”

Lost-and-Found Pet Forms Online: Pam Partis, a woman with bright ideas and an avowed animal lover, and Bamberry collaborated on thepilot.com’s lost and found pet section. Partis came up with the idea and Bamberry implemented it.

Partis pointed out that when a person loses or finds a pet, there are seven animal rescue groups in the area to contact. That means filling out seven different lost-or-found reports — and doing it only during the time when the agencies are open.

So, she suggested, why not create a lost-and-found report on thepilot.com that would allow a person to file a report and submit a photo of a ­missing or found pet with a single click 24 hours a day, seven days a week? Then, when that report is ­submitted through thepilot.com, it will automatically be distributed by e-mail to all seven agencies. Voilá — a ­clearinghouse for lost and found pets.

Bamberry crafted the form for lost and found pets, and created the system that distributes the information to the various agencies. The system has reconnected several pets and pet owners in addition to Manganella.

Source: http://www.thepilot.com/news/2010/may/19/amazing-grace-website-helps-reunite-dog-owner/

Big Black Dog in East Nashville

Ode to east nashville, i.e. the happy ending
Jamie
April 29, 2008

Yesterday, our dog went missing.

After the the Garage Theft of 2007, we put up a new fence that enclosed the garage area and had two big gates that allowed us to drive into the backyard. With this being our first foray into gate making, they aren’t the sturdiest things, and a year later, they sag enough so that the latch doesn’t always stay latched. Such was the case last night when the wind picked up and the gate was blown open enough to let a big dog through to eat grass and poop in yards other than his own.

After discovering that Houdini had made a run for it, we loaded up in two cars and canvassed the neighborhood until midnight. We drove every street an alley from Eastland to Davidson, from 5th to 20th, many of them twice, but no luck finding a big black dog in the big black night. Though our dogs are sloppy, mushy lovers, they’re big and have rottweiler markings, so we’re always conscious that strangers may see them as a threat. Desperate, we put posts up on Craigslist, Petfinders, and the East Nashville listserv.

By this morning, we were getting calls and emails of possible sightings around the area. Neighbors we’ve never met have offered their assistance, local business owners have gone out of their way to help, and all of you guys have kept our spirits up all morning.

Turns out, while we were doing all this work, that dumb dog had lucked into finding one of the nicest people in the neighborhood and had a slumber party at her place, his belly full of food and his lazy butt in her bed.

Despite the hardships that come with living in East Nashville, I have never known a kinder, more considerate community.

Thank you to Jackson for taking time out of your day to follow up on a sighting posted on the listserv. Thank you to Chris, Chris, and Christy for keeping an eye out and offering your help. Next blogger meet up, I’m buying each of you guys a beer. Or twelve.

Thank you to Laura Creekmore for managing the Google Group that reunited us with our four legged wanderer, not to mention everything else you do. Thank you to Trisha of the Hip Zipper for answering my post and calling just to make sure that I had indeed found him. Thank you to Leslie on Woodland for letting me know that the staff at Mad Donna’s had taken pity on the dog. Thank you to the staff at Mad Donna‘s for taking the time to help him find his way home instead of kicking him off your doorstep.

The biggest thank yous of all to Robin of Robin’s Nest Animal Rescue (no URL yet, but believe you me, when it’s up, I’m posting all about it) and to our newfound neighbor Tammi. Thank you for taking our pup in, for coddling him, for protecting him by making sure we were who we said we were, and for bringing him home to us.

I’m so grateful that I have this community (both online and off) to live in. I thought tweeting about the dog being missing would just be another little contribution to an ongoing conversation, but instead, you guys jumped right in to offer help and consolation, and then celebrated when he was found. I’m sincerely taken aback by your compassion, and I am very, very thankful.

Our boy is at home now, unaware that anything was ever amiss, and his sister is sleeping the sleep of the dead, so relieved that she doesn’t have to spend another night alone on the dog bed.

Thank you guys. Really.

Source: http://beingbrilliant.wordpress.com/2008/04/29/ode-to-east-nashville-ie-the-happy-ending/

Therese, yellow lab

Craigslist helps reunite Hazel Dell woman with lost guide dog
by Katherine Cook, kgw.com
Thursday, May 27, 2010


VANCOUVER, Wash. -- A visually-impaired Hazel Dell woman was reunited with her guide dog Wednesday, after it escaped from her home.

Amber Crispin spent hours searching her neighborhood, cane in hand, listening for her yellow lab, "Therese."

"She always comes when I call," said Crispin, "except for this time."

Around 6 a.m., Crispin said her fiance left the garage door open, and Therese ran out.

"She's more than just a dog, she's my eyes," said Crispin, 24. "She's everything I'd ever wanted in a guide, and I'm really attached to her."

The pair had been a team for three years. Congenital cataracts and glaucoma had taken most of Crispin's vision. She said Therese restored some of her freedom.

"When we go across the street I depend on (Therese)... she's there to stop me if there's a car coming."

It had been more than six-hours since Therese ran away, and Crispin grew more and more discouraged. Then, her cell phone rang. It was someone from the Humane Society of Clark County, with news that brought small smile of hope to Crispin's face.

"They found a posting on Craigslist about a dog found in Hazel Dell," shared Crispin.

Tyler Chester had listed the early-morning discovery: a small, female, yellow lab, found near Jorgenson park -- right by Crispin's home. Within a half-hour, Chester was walking up Crispin's driveway, umbrella in one hand, leash in the other, with Therese leading the way.

"Hi!" Shouted Chester, as Crispin came into view. "Ahhh, hello!" Replied Crispin, as Therese broke into a full sprint, totting Chester behind. "I was worried about you," said Crispin, as she ruffled Therese's ears. "Thank you so much for finding her!" Squealed Crispin.

"Therese just wandered into our yard," recalled Chester. "She was very friendly and cozied up to us ... my wife wrapped her in a blanket while we tried to figure out who she belonged to... she's a great girl."

Crispin thought Chester was a pretty nice guy.

"There are a lot of people out there that could have just said, 'oh, free dog!' And that would have been the end of it," she said.

Crispin promised Chester she'd bring Therese by for regular visits.

"We'd like that," said Chester.

Source: http://www.kgw.com/news/local/Hazel-Dell-Woman-Reunited-with-Lost-Guide-Dog--94976989.html#

Spikey, german shepherd mix

Dog rescued from L.A. River is reclaimed by owner
Lindsay Barnett, L.A. Unleashed
All things animal in Southern California and beyond
January 28, 2010 | 4:28 pm


Vernon the mystery dog is mysterious no longer: The German shepherd mix, whose dramatic rescue last week from the flooded L.A. River was carried live on many TV news stations, has been reclaimed by his owner.

The dog had been taken to the Southeast Area Animal Control Authority shelter in Downey after his rescue, and animal control officers had been unable to locate his owner because he wasn't wearing ID tags and hadn't been microchipped. Officers called him Vernon after the city in which he was rescued.

Turns out, Vernon's name is really Spikey, and he's owned by an elderly woman who lives in Maywood. According to the family friend who went to claim him Tuesday, the dog's owner speaks only Spanish and, since the rescue didn't receive as much attention on Spanish-language TV, she wasn't aware that her dog had become a media sensation until a friend alerted her several days later.

Animal control officers visited Spikey's home and talked with both his owner and some of her neighbors. They discovered that the woman's other dog, a yellow Labrador retriever named Polo, had been found wandering on the street the day after Spikey was rescued from the river.

Polo was impounded by animal control but will be released back to the owner after her backyard is cleaned up, our sister blog L.A. Now reports. As for how the dogs came to be wandering loose in the first place, the woman suspects that her grandchildren inadvertently left a gate open.

When a familiar person arrived at the SEAACA shelter, "Vernon just went crazy, his tail flapping," the organization's director of operations, Aaron Reyes, told L.A. Now. "We see it all the time: Gosh, he really knows this guy."

Because Spikey bit the firefighter who pulled him from the river, he will remain under quarantine until next Tuesday. But the firefighter, Joe St. Georges, says he has no hard feelings toward the dog. "He's cold, he's wet, he's scared, and then here's this stranger jumping on his back for all intents and purposes, and he did what dogs do," he told the Associated Press after his release from County USC Medical Center, where he was taken for treatment for a bite wound to his thumb.

Source: http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/unleashed/2010/01/vernon-dog-rescue-la-river.html