Taz, chihuahua

Dog lost for five years found in Berkeley, returned to Central Valley
By JM Brown, Correspondent
Posted: 12/29/2011

A family in the Central Valley got the best -- and most delayed -- Christmas present this year, one that has really put them in the mood to ring in the new year.

Taz, a Chihuahua found running around outside the Berkeley Bowl on Dec. 23, is seen here in the arms of original owner Anne Magnussen on Christmas Day. Thanks to a microchip scan at the Berkeley Animal Care Services, the dog was returned to the family in the Central Valley more than five years after he was lost.

Ann and Craig Magnussen and their two teenage daughters were reunited two days before Christmas with a Chihuahua they lost five years ago. The little guy, named Taz, showed up in the parking lot of the Berkeley Bowl on Dec. 23, a bit dirty and disheveled.

A produce clerk asked longtime customers Dan and Katy McMullan, who have a Chihuahua of their own, to look after the dog. The couple took him within hours to the Berkeley Animal Care Services, where a microchip scan revealed his true owners and their phone number.

"My heart was beating so fast -- I couldn't believe it was happening," Ann Magnussen said, remembering the call she received from the animal shelter. "This is the absolutely the craziest thing I ever heard."

Magnussen called her daughters, who were just 11 and 13 when Taz went missing on Dec. 1, 2006.

"They just started screaming, they were so happy," she said.

She said husband Craig got in the car so fast to head to Berkeley, he forgot his wallet. Hours later, Taz was back at home with the family's two other Chihuahuas, Tyson, 11, and the most recent addition to the family, Zoey, 2.

"We're a Chihuahua factory over here," she said.

Magnussen said Taz responds to his name when called, even though he's been gone longer than he was with them.

Taz was just 2 when he and Tyson got out of the yard of a home the family was renting while building a new house.

The family canvassed the neighborhood looking for the two runaways, finding only Tyson. They put up posters and visited shelters and schools before eventually giving up hope. Just earlier this year, Ann Magnussen threw away Taz's identification papers because she assumed he was dead.

The owners may never know what happened to Taz or how many people have had him since 2006. Who knows whether he was stolen or just taken by a good-natured passer-by who didn't know to check for a microchip.

"He was fed well, a little bit dirty but had no fleas," Magnussen said. "I try to give them the benefit of the doubt."

She's thrilled the McMullan family knew the right thing to do. After a produce clerk at Berkeley Bowl asked the couple to keep Taz in case an owner came looking for him, the couple decided to take him to the shelter.

"What was really touching is, he had this really ingratiating smile," Dan McMullan said of Taz. "He was the sweetest little dog."

Taz even got along with the McMullans' own Chihuahua, Clarence, who is named for the angel in the Christmas movie "It's a Wonderful Life."

Marcie Burrell, a city animal control officer, said reunions after so many years are rare, maybe two or three per year. She is happy Taz was microchipped, in good health and had a good home to go back to.

"It was cool, of course," Burrell said. "One of the good stories."

Source: http://www.contracostatimes.com/breaking-news/ci_19639510

Leo, yorkie

Stolen dog reunited with owner
December 27, 2011

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. -- A South Florida woman received her Christmas wish after a local law enforcement officer found her stolen Yorkie.

A Miami Beach Police officer found Leo, the stolen Yorkie, wandering on the beach late Saturday night.

Leo's owner, Anita MacLannan, received the phone call from the Fort Lauderdale Police Department that she had been wishing for. "When I saw him in the car, I knew it was him. I started running over, holding him, crying," said MacLannan.

The officer who found Leo recognized him after seeing the story on 7 News. "And the next phone call we got from her was we got baby Leo back!" said MacLannan's ex-boyfriend Nick Santagado.

Leo was possibly taken moments after burglars ransacked MacLannan's home along Northeast Third Street and 12th Avenue in Fort Lauderdale, Friday. The thieves took her TV and jewelry, as well as her precious pet Leo.

On Saturday, MacLannan hired a pet detective and his K9 to sniff out the scent, in hopes of finding Leo. The search led nowhere. "It's more than likely someone stopped and picked him up in a car and scooped him up," said hired private investigator Andrew Novatak.



Anita is grateful for everyone who helped search for Leo. "Thank you to everybody. The police department, Miami, the Fort Lauderdale Police Department, and everybody look for him, the news," said MacLannan. "Best Christmas present ever. Just in time for Christmas. I held him at 12 o'clock."

The thieves that broke into and stole items from Anita's house are still at large.

Source: http://www1.whdh.com/news/articles/national/12006263758462/stolen-dog-reunited-with-owner/

Cruz, pitbull

Bryan Family Returns Missing Dog to Oklahoma City Family In Time For Christmas
Bryan City Council Member Ann Horton and her family returned "Cruz" the dog to Oklahoma City after he somehow found his way to Bryan.
Reporter: Clay Falls
Posted: 9:38 PM Dec 23, 2011

After traveling--somehow--to Bryan, Texas, an Oklahoma City dog is reunited with his family just in time for Christmas. Watch a video here

Two days before Christmas and one family is getting their wish a little early as an Oklahoma City family has a reunion they'll never forget.

Their dog disappeared from their home and was found four days later right here in Bryan.

Now "Cruz" the dog, is making it home for the holidays.

He's an energetic pit bull terrier that loves people, that's also deaf.

"He has a sweet disposition. We're looking forward to the trip," said Bryan City Council Member Ann Horton.

Cruz, like many of us has had some travels this month. A few days back he disappeared from his family's yard, in Oklahoma City.

Somehow, someway he wound up at the Bryan Animal Center, after he was picked up in town.

"They had just rescued him from a shelter in Oklahoma City. They put him out in the backyard, and he disappeared and found his way to Bryan so we feel like Santa Claus," Horton added.

Bryan City Council Member Ann Horton, her husband and daughter were planning on going to Oklahoma City to see family and wanted to help.

While they don't know exactly how Cruz got down here to Bryan, the Horton Family is making sure he's back in Oklahoma in time for Christmas.

They left Thursday morning on the homeward bound journey of more than 350 miles back to the Sooner State.

"I had left him in my backyard for like ten minutes... I go back and check on him and he is gone," said Cynthia Rodriguez, an Oklahoma City resident.

Rodriguez looked for Cruz for two hours after he disappeared with no luck.

A few days later she got a phone call.

"I said where are you so I can pick him up and she said, 'Well I'm in Texas,' and I was like wow how did he get over there,?" she recalled.

Since she, her 4-year-old daughter Kimberly and husband couldn't come down to Texas, the Hortons came to her.

"I think it's one of those warm fuzzy Christmas stories and we're just happy that we get to be a part of it," said Ann Horton.

"Yeah he's back thank God he's so happy to be back with us. It's going to be a nice Christmas for us this year," said Cynthia Rodriguez.

A Christmas with Cruz.

Cruz is said to be recovering safe and sound at home Friday night.

A rabies vaccination tag led officials in Bryan to the family in Oklahoma City.

Source: http://www.kbtx.com/local/headlines/Bryan_Family_Returns_Missing_Dog_to_Oklahoma_City_Family_In_Time_For_Christmas_136173093.html

See another version of the story at: http://www.theeagle.com/local/Pup-made-trek-from-Oklahoma--6859926

Stevie Oedipus Wonder, terrier

A happy ending to the tale of blind pup
Return of missing dog is owner's ‘Christmas miracle.'
By Jason Buch
Saturday, December 24, 2011

Belinda Gutierrez was reunited with her dog Stevie Oedipus Wonder after ACS volunteers found a listing for him on Craigslist.

Stevie Oedipus Wonder is lucky to be home for the holidays.

The cairn terrier mix pup disappeared from his home on the far West Side at the end of November, was reported dead and had almost overstayed his welcome at Animal Care Services this week when his owner found him.

“This is my Christmas miracle,” said Belinda Gutierrez, who thinks Stevie is about a year old. “I actually thought I was going to have a sad end of the year and a sad Christmas.”

But thanks to Craigslist, an animal-loving schoolteacher and efforts by ACS to find Stevie a place to spend the holidays, Gutierrez picked him up from the shelter Thursday.

And to make this heartwarming story of a puppy making it home in time for Christmas with his family even more so, Stevie's not just any puppy. A veterinarian told Gutierrez her dog was born without eyes, she said, and he showed signs of abuse when her daughter found him wandering around a duck pond at Marbach Road and Ellison Drive early this year.

Gutierrez, 49, said she's a cat person, but when her daughter called her crying — at first they thought his permanently closed eyes were a sign of abuse — she told her daughter to bring over the puppy.

“He wouldn't go up to anyone if it wasn't my voice or my daughter's voice,” she said. “He didn't like men's voices. He would bark.”

But Gutierrez said his friendly attitude won her over. He became a big part of her life, dragging her out of the house to get exercise that she needed as much as he did. So she was very upset when Stevie escaped Nov. 29 and days later, when her landlord told her he was dead.

“We thought, ‘OK, he's gone and he'll have to just wait for us at the rainbow bridge,'” said Gutierrez, a health care provider.

Stevie came to ACS on Dec. 11, said Jeanne Saadi, the agency's live release coordinator. Because he had a collar and a tag, the shelter would hold him for five days before he was euthanized, Saadi said. But the contact information on his tag was out of date and the shelter could not reach his owner.

Luckily for Stevie, Brooke Orr, an English as a second language teacher at Highlands High School and a co-sponsor of the school's Voices for Animals Club, was moved when she saw a post online from ACS trying to find a home for him.

Orr said she asked the shelter to put a Save a Life hold on him, thinking she'd take care of him over the holidays. Also luckily for Stevie, Gutierrez's daughter had placed an ad on Craigslist in an effort to find him.

“I saw the posting of the little dog and I saw that he had a collar and a tag on,” Orr said. “And I thought that he must belong to someone. So I went to Craigslist and went to lost and found and I put in ‘blind dog,' and there he was.”

So she contacted Gutierrez and let her know Stevie was safe.

When she went to the shelter to pick him up, Gutierrez said she was concerned Stevie would be unable to recognize her.

“All he had to do was hear my voice,” she said. “And I stood at the entrance of the kennel building and called out, ‘Stevie, Stevie.' And he started barking all over the place.”

She was so unhappy with her landlord letting Stevie escape, Gutierrez said, that she left the mobile home and moved into an apartment.

On Friday, Stevie was playing with a dog friend in the living room and jumping up to greet visitors of both genders. In the kitchen, Gutierrez had stocking stuffers for him. A couple of the items seemed like the standard gifts Santa Claus would bring for a puppy that made it home for the holidays: doggy treats and rawhide chew toys. But there was an unusual addition to Stevie's Christmas gifts.

“He loves carrots,” Gutierrez said. “We always say he's trying to get his eyesight to improve.”

Source: http://www.chron.com/news/local_news/article/A-happy-ending-to-the-tale-of-blind-pup-2423074.php
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Bella, doberman pinscher

Missing therapy dog returns home to baby who needs her
Posted: Dec 21, 2011

SAN DIEGO (CBS 8) - There's a heartwarming follow-up to a story that upset many News 8 viewers. Bella the seizure dog is safe and sound, and back with her Point Loma family.

The Doberman pinscher was missing for 12 days. Now police are going to look into the possibility it was an inside job.

The lost dog signs were posted all over San Diego. Brian Margarita needed his beloved Bella home because when the seizure dog barks at night, she wakes up the single father so he can rush to the aid of his nine-month-old daughter Reece, who suffers from epilepsy.

"There is material stuff, and then there is stuff that matters, and this is stuff that matters," Brian said.

Brian knew Bella had been stolen. How else did she get out behind two locked gates?

"This dog has never run away, she is very attached to me and the family and Reece," he said.

Using Facebook, Brian reached out to people across the country.

"I have had some crazy calls. I've had five or six 'Dog Whisperers,' I've had people telling me everything," Brian said.

But finally the winning tip came in and Brian says his bitter ex-girlfriend asked a friend of hers to take the dog to a Lakeside home out of spite. That's where Brian says he and sheriff's deputies found Bella.

"When the story first broke, I had three or four friends tell me that they thought maybe that's what could have happened, and I thought, no way, no way could anybody do that," he said.

Even though Brian calls the plot evil, Bella's disappearance has unveiled the good in the world as well.

"I had a stranger in Orange County PayPal me $1,000 to double the reward," he said.

Even the girl who called Brian with Bella's whereabouts has no interest in the reward.

"You know it's nice to see people do the right thing, because it's the right thing," Brian said.

The happy homecoming was a relief for Brian's nanny as well, who thought maybe she had left a gate open. Now the family is back together, and Bella's the best holiday gift of all.

"I think this is what Christmas is about. There is nothing I want on my wish list -- this was it," Brian said.

Brian says police will investigate the alleged dog-napping, and charges could follow.

Source: http://www.cbs8.com/story/16374189/missing-therapy-dog-returns-home-to-baby-who-needs-her

Kapone, pitbull

Kapone coming home: Missing Memphis dog found alive in Mississippi
By Sara Patterson
December 20, 2011

Two happy children opened their arms Tuesday and welcomed into the van their old friend, a male dog with a white face and reddish fur who was a bit thinner and much dirtier than when they'd seen him last.

Six months after he was picked up by Memphis Animal Services and then disappeared, the 11-year-old pit bull named Kapone finally headed home.

"He peed in the car!" 4-year-old Aidan Shoup yelled while his father, Darrell, gave a statement to police outside a home on Peachtree Drive in Senatobia, Miss., about 50 miles south of Kapone's Cordova home.

Kapone, Memphis' most publicized missing pup of 2011, was found after an anonymous tipster pointed searchers in the direction of a home with inflatable Christmas decorations in the front yard.

"Unbelievable," Cindy Sanders of Community Action for Animals muttered under her breath when she saw the dog reunited with his family. "And they said we didn't need the billboard."

Sanders and animal advocate Beverly King headed much of the search for Kapone, plastering the area with banners, erecting a billboard on Interstate 240 at Perkins and fielding tips called in to the Seniors-B-Safe hotline number for Crime Stoppers of Memphis and Shelby County.

"I never gave up hope," said King. "Whenever I got a tip, I'd go to investigate. I looked at dead bodies, decapitated heads ...

"I'm glad we found one that's alive."

A reward for Kapone gathered from local and national dog lovers had climbed to $8,000, but King said the anonymous tipster who led to the dog's discovery didn't ask for a reward.

"I've got the commitments, but the informant didn't want the reward money," she said.

Kapone first escaped from the Shoups' Cordova backyard with the family's 3-year-old pit bull, Jersey, on June 24. Records show that he was picked up by Demetria Hogan, an animal shelter employee who was subsequently fired and now faces a misdemeanor charge of animal cruelty.

Brooke Shoup alerted media when she found only one of her dogs at the shelter, less than 24 hours after they'd been picked up. The family feared Kapone, too old to fight, would become bait on the dogfighting circuit.

Darrell Shoup said he hadn't thought they'd see Kapone again.

"I'm just overwhelmed," he said before he brought Kapone to the Senatobia shelter.

From there, he drove to the police station and waited a few hours to get the "OK" to take Kapone home.

Because there isn't an animal control officer in Senatobia, according to assistant shelter director Alecia Burns, police handle cases such as these.

Senatobia Police Chief Steve Holts said that because the case began with Kapone's apparent abduction in Memphis, further investigation into the matter will be conducted by Memphis police. The Senatobia homeowners in question didn't answer a reporter's knocks on the door Tuesday afternoon after Kapone was removed from the property. Police interviewed two people before they took the dog away, but no arrests had been made.

"There are numerous questions that must be answered before any investigative unit can move forward," said Karen Rudolph, Memphis police spokeswoman.

Crime Stoppers director Buddy Chapman said he had received two or three tips a week since Kapone's disappearance and has become interested in the larger implications of the dog's situation.

"There have been rumors for years that pits don't make it to the shelter," he said. "It will be fascinating to work this case back and see ...

"How did Kapone wind up in Senatobia?"

Source: http://www.commercialappeal.com/news/2011/dec/20/kapone-comes-home-missing-dog-found-alive-mississi/
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Another version of the story is at: http://www.wreg.com/news/wreg-kapone-found,0,7184594.story

Missing Dog Kapone Found in Senatobia: MyFoxMEMPHIS.com

Family Fears Memphis Animal Shelter Lost Their Dog: MyFoxMEMPHIS.com

Freddie, border terrier

Dog rescued from under shed
Wednesday 29th November 2006

A Shropshire pooch who was trapped under a pile of logs for four days was today recovering at home with his relieved owners.

Freddie the dog vanished after a walk on Friday from his home in Bayston Hill.

The small border terrier had got himself wedged underneath a neighbour’s shed which was full of logs. As well as hunting for their pet, the family also put a notice in the lost and found notices of today’s Shropshire Star.

Firefighters yesterday had to remove all the logs to get to the black and tan coloured dog through the floor boards.

Owner Martin Parrish, of Lower Pulley Lane, Bayston Hill, said Freddie was shaking and suffering from dehydration and toxic shock when he was pulled out.

Freddie, 18 months, had gone missing during a walk on Friday when he had run off with their other dog Pikey. Freddie, who is microchipped, was not rescued until 2.20pm yesterday.

Mr Parrish said it was unlike Freddie to disappear for more than five minutes and added he and his wife Andrea, 36, had searched all the fields around.

They even called out the Fell and Moorland Working Terrier Club based in Cheshire to look for the missing pup on Sunday.

Mr Parrish, who is a director for St Kenelm Properties, said: “They walked all the fields and looked in every rabbit hole and badger set.

“They put down listening devices and if they had heard him down there, they would have applied to Defra for special permission to dig as badger setts are protected.”

But Freddie failed to appear and the couple placed a missing advert for him on www.doglost.co.uk They received more than 203 hits.

People in Bayston Hill even printed out posters from the site to display Freddie’s picture around the village. Mr Parrish said: “When he still didn’t turn up, we thought he may have been stolen. We were absolutely heart broken.”

But then the couple had a phone call yesterday from a neighbour at Pulley Hall who said he had heard a noise under his shed.

Mr Parrish, 53, said: “My wife and I dug as much as we could but it was quite dangerous because the ground could have collapsed so we called the fire brigade who were fantastic.

“They had to cut through the shed floor and they got him out. He was filthy and dehydrated and he was shaking. He hadn’t had anything to eat or drink for four days.”

Source: http://www.shropshirestar.com/latest/2006/11/29/dog-rescued-from-under-shed/

Addison, dachshund

Wayward dachshund reunited with Olathe teen at KCI
By Donald Bradley, The Kansas City Star
Posted on Tue, Dec. 20, 2011

Holiday travel can be a hassle, but Addison flew in style Monday.

Abby Mason, 14, of Olathe was reunited with her dog, Addison, on Monday afternoon at Kansas City International Airport.

No complaints. Plenty of leg room. Of course, coach would have given that to the 7-year-old dachshund, but Addison got to fly first class on Delta from Tampa, Fla., to be reunited with her owner, an Olathe teen, just in time for Christmas. And greeted with a hunk of Cracker Barrel ham on arrival at Kansas City International Airport.

A bit much for a dog, you think? Well, wonder what she would say about humans.

First off, she was perfectly happy in Arizona. Great place for sunning the belly. But then they decided they didn’t want to live there anymore so they loaded her up and took her to Florida. Somehow — she declined comment Monday — she got loose down there and wandered the streets of Tampa. People can be so rude. She was almost relieved to get picked up and put in lockup.

The whole thing started when Abby Mason, 14, who got Addison as a puppy, left the dog with family members in Arizona while she went to visit her father in Olathe for the summer. At summer’s end, Abby decided she wanted to stay here and go to school.

Meanwhile, her Arizona family had moved to Florida.

“I didn’t know for a long time that Addison was lost down there,” Abby, a freshman at Shawnee Mission West, said Monday.

When she found out, she started calling and emailing every animal shelter she could find in Florida. Finally, workers at Hillsborough Animal Services in Tampa traced a microchip back to the uncle who had taken Addison to Florida.

The decision was made to somehow reunite Addison to Abby.

By then, a woman named Crista Banks, a dachshund owner and volunteer, had seen emails from Abby and decided to help. She had some frequent flyer miles going to waste so she offered to use them to fly Addison to Kansas City.

Hey, it’s Christmas, she’d just come along, too.

And when Banks bought tickets, they got an upgrade to first class.

“I really wanted to get this dog back to Abby,” Banks said.

And when she saw the reunion at the airport, she knew those miles couldn’t have flown anywhere better.

“Just in time for the holidays. These two belong together.”

Banks was soon on a plane headed back home.

Abby called the stranger, “My lovely friend Crista.”

“I didn’t know if I would ever see Addison again,” Abby said. “This means the world to me.”

Source: http://www.kansascity.com/2011/12/19/3328836/wayward-dachshund-reunited-with.html
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Molly, Boston terrier

Dog returned after ransom money given to thief suspect
By Christina Boyle, Daily News Staff Writer
Saturday, October 27 2007

Stacey Grant is happily reunited with beloved pooch Molly.

The Boston Terrier snatched outside a Brooklyn laundry is back home - after the dog's owners shelled out $2,500 to men they suspect stole her in the first place.

The day after the Daily News highlighted Molly's disappearance and fears that scammers are swiping pets to make a quick buck, the beloved pooch was returned in exchange for the cash reward.

Owners Stacey Grant and her boyfriend, Nick Hallam, received a call from a man who said he found Molly walking on the BQE, just yards from the spot where she vanished in Williamsburg last Friday.

"We almost ran over her with our car. We took her back to our father's in Long Island," the stranger explained. "I need to buy a car, my brother's got attached to the dog and I really want this money to buy a car."

The couple became even more suspicious when the man made basic errors describing their dog, and gave a wrong number to contact him.

"He kept calling Molly 'he' and said she had a black lead when it's burgundy," Grant said.

"He gave us a fake number. We called and it was the museum of New York. We thought it was a scam."

The man was persistent and after offering to do the swap near his Harlem home, Grant and Hallam insisted they meet on neutral turf - opting for a well-lit parking lot outside MacDonald's on W. 34th St.

They notified cops but were warned it could be a trap and to meet "at their own risk," Grant said.

"We got a cab and as we drove by there was a guy holding Molly," she said.

"I saw her and started crying and ran toward her. She recognized me immediately and was licking me all over."

Despite their suspicions, Grant and Hallam handed over an envelope with $2,500 cash to the two men with Molly.

One of the men even matched a description given by a witness who saw Molly being snatched.

"I was just really happy to see my dog. I was thanking them for bringing her back. Meanwhile they were getting our money," Grant said.

"I think the story in the paper made them feel pressure because people were going to recognize Molly. Thank God for that."

Despite some blisters on her paws and an odor of marijuana, Molly is unscathed.

"She was really subdued and spooked, a bit freaked out but will be okay," Grant said. "It makes me feel violated. Who takes your dog from you and holds them for ransom?"

Source: http://www.nydailynews.com/news/dog-returned-ransom-money-thief-suspect-article-1.229529
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Gizmo, pug

Lost dog reunited with his family in time for the holidays
By mvlife on December 14, 2011

A lost dog was rescued, nursed back to health and reunited with his family for the holidays thanks to the efforts of a Good Samaritan, a nonprofit group and caring City staff.

A Good Samaritan found Gizmo and brought him to the Mission Viejo Animal Services Center on November 22. The dog was scared, cold and had no identification. DAWG, the nonprofit fundraising group of the Animal Services Center, paid for emergency bladder stone surgery and the removal of several teeth that were causing Gizmo severe problems.

While volunteers and staff nursed the friendly dog back to health, J.R. Stewart, an Animal Services Officer, began searching for Gizmo’s owner. The fruits of his detective work paid off when he found the dog’s family. They had moved from Huntington Beach to Colorado and then to Aliso Viejo. Gizmo had been missing for more than a month.

His family was overwhelmed with gratitude to DAWG and all involved. DAWG agreed to accept a small payment toward the $2,000 spent on Gizmo’s medical care, since the family could not afford to pay for all the medical bills. On December 6, Gizmo was happily reunited with his family and showed his affection and joy by “kissing” the family’s young son.

“Now Gizmo can spend the holidays with his family thanks to the Good Samaritan, the generous DAWG group, caring staff and one very persistent Animal Control Officer,” said Gail DeYoung, Animal Services Manager. “The Mission Viejo Animal Services Center is extremely grateful to have so many caring community members and staff that work throughout the year to save and care for our animals.”

Source: http://missionviejolife.org/2011/12/14/lost-dog-reunited-with-family-for-holidays/

Commented on December 15, 2011 at 5:53 pm:  This was a Christmas story to be sure. I was lucky enough to be part of arranging for critical care for Gizmo. It was thrilling to see this normally quiet dog get so excited at finding his family. The reunion was one of pure joy. Little Gizmo made those happy dog noises and danced around repeatedly jumping up and kissing his family. This very nice family had been looking for their dog for over a month but because they were new to the area, they did not know that our shelter serves Aliso Viejo. What a great feeling to see this family reunited.

Canyon

Iowa Dog Reunited With Family After 3 Years, 70 Miles
12/15/11

For more than half his life, a 5 year-old dog named Canyon has been without his owners.

That all changed when Carrie Lentner and Justin Ellyson, Canyon's owners, got a call from the Mercer County Animal Control Department, in Aledo, Ill., three years after Canyon went missing from their West Branch, Iowa home.

"It was March 1, 2008 and we'd only had him for about six months. And we left him outside to do his business like we always did," Lentner told WQAD.com.

The couple says they had given up on getting their dog back, hoping it had been adopted by another loving family. They received the surprising call from the animal control department -- 70 miles from their home -- because the microchip in Canyon's back listed their phone number.

"She says, 'Well, it's a black one,' and I just started crying. I was like, 'It's Canyon! They have Canyon! We gotta go get him!'" Lentner told the new source.

Now, the three are just happy to have each other back.

"We probably would have driven any amount of miles to get him," Ellyson told WQAD.com.



Source and video: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/12/15/dog-reunited-with-family-_n_1149281.html

Emmie, pitbull puppy

11 week-old stolen puppy reunited with owner
by Rebecca White and Brian Heap, KWCH 12 Eyewitness News
December 13, 2011

(WICHITA, Kan.)— A picture on Facebook leads a stolen puppy back to its owner. After Eyewitness News posted the picture of 11-month-old "Emmie" on our Facebook page, a woman called and said she thought she had the dog.

The dog was stolen from owner Josh Duttarer during a burglary Monday afternoon. Thieves also got away with valuable electronics from Duttarer's mobile home on South Seneca.

Duttarer suffers from Spina Bifida and uses a wheelchair to get around. He said "Emmie" was in training to become a service dog to help him with household tasks.

"I don't care about the TVs. I don't care about the PS3. I just want my dog back," he said.



While Eyewitness News was conducting an interview with Duttarer, Summer Hicks called the station to say she believed "Emmie" was the dog she had picked up as a stray Monday night.

After confirming the dog's identity using microchip technology, Hicks personally returned the dog to Duttarer Monday afternoon.

"It's just like having a family member home. I couldn't imagine," Hicks said of the reunion.

Duttarer's other valuables are still missing. However, Wichita Police say they have some leads in the case and are investigating.

Source and video: http://www.kwch.com/news/kwch-rew-11-weekold-puppy-stolen-owner-asking-to-have-her-returned-20111213,0,6204632.story

Charlee, Queensland heeler

Missing dog reunited with Elk Grove family after month-long search
10:03 AM, Dec 12, 2011

ELK GROVE, CA - About a month ago, dog owner John Robinson, lost his 8-year-old Queensland Heeler, Charlee, in the Sierras. For the following four weeks, John shared the search for Charlee on Supertopo.com, an online rock climbing forum.

John had written on the site that he had last seen his dog at "2 p.m. at the base of the Great Wall of China, Owens River Gorge." He let the forum know the collar she was wearing had her name and his contact information. A week went by and no word or sign of Charlee. John wrote on November 22, 2011, "Still no Charlee. Don't want to give up hope but it's been over a week now." Any pet owner can relate to his post and feel the angst of searching for a lost companion.

Then the unbelievable happened; Charlee was found and he immediately shared it to the forum.

Dec 9: "Unbelievable but true. Charlee has been found. She was found yesterday by Ben Logan, found near where we last saw her near China Wall in the Owens River Gorge. She is in a hospital in Mammoth and the doctor thinks she will be okay.

She lost 11 pounds, is dehydrated, has a fever and congested. Ben had to carry her out. She is on IV and antibiotics. We are leaving now to pick her up. Ben called me from where he lives in Mammoth and said he saw a dog that looked like Charlee lying near the river, out of view, and when he got up the trail to the parking area he saw my sign and figured that might be my dog.When he called I had him look at the picture here in Supertopo, and he said the pic looked just like the dog he saw. Even though it was getting late, Ben Logan drove all the way back to Owens and hiked down to the bottom of the gorge and found her and brought her back to his house and called me with news. He then took her to the vet where she was admitted. Ben is a great guy. .. more later."

A flood of supporters posted to the forum, giving out their congratulations and good thoughts to Charlee's recovery.

And on that same day, Ben posted to the forum.

Dec 9: "I wish Charlee a speedy recovery. Credit for her rescue is also due to Will Tarantino, my house mate and climbing partner yesterday when I spotted her. Will carried her most of the way out of the Gorge over his shoulders in the dark. Let me know how she gets on."

Charlee is still at the Alpen Veterinary Hospital and recovering. Her status is considered "guarded" meaning she has some big problems to overcome, mainly due to the cold weather which has given her high sodium levels, high kidney values and infections. John continues to post regular updates on the status of Charlee and he receives lots of encouraging posts on Supertopo.com.

Source: http://www.news10.net/news/article/167587/2/Missing-dog-reunited-with-family-after-month-long-search

Supertopo message thread starts at: http://www.supertopo.com/climbing/thread.php?topic_id=1669177&tn=0

Rusty, red heeler

Rusty home after desert ordeal
Conor Byrne
December 12th, 2011

Ned Johnson, 7, and brother Merv, 5, of Humpty Doo with Rusty.

A pet dog who disappeared off the back of a truck 1000km from home has survived seven months in the Territory Outback before being reunited with his owners.

Five-year-old Merv Johnson from Humpty Doo thought his beloved Rusty, 4, had died when he was suddenly gone.

The red heeler had unclipped his leash and jumped off the tray of the family truck near Ti Tree on the Stuart Hwy - 1088km from home - during the trip back from hunting in Alice Springs last Easter.

Unaware, the Johnson family continued their journey home.

Rusty survived the harsh conditions under a demountable at an unmanned power station just outside Ti Tree.

Power and Water worker Bill Blain from Alice Springs found Rusty at the start of November and took him to the dog ranger, who identified his address.
Merv's dad, Matthew, 35, couldn't believe his ears when he got a phone call to say Rusty was alive.

"We had written him off," the carpenter said.

Merv's grandparents in Tennant Creek drove down to collect Rusty when they heard the news and Merv was in for a surprise reunion when he thought he was just going to visit the relatives.

"As soon as Rusty was out of the shed he ran straight up to Merv," Mr Johnson said.

"Merv was blown away, at first he couldn't talk. It definitely pays to microchip."

Mr Johnson said Rusty may have jumped off the tray to chase another dog.

"He'll get out of any knot you can tie," he said.

Source: http://www.ntnews.com.au/article/2011/12/12/277831_ntnews.html
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Capone, pitbull

Lost Dogs of Wisconsin help reunite dog missing for 10 months
Cindi Ashbeck, Milwaukee Animal Welfare Examiner
December 7, 2011

Capone, a dog that went missing from his Milwaukee home 10 months ago, is on his way home today thanks to Lost Dogs of Wisconsin volunteer, Cindy Vassel!

Capone is home today, after being lost 10 months

While matching lost and found pets with those listed online as she usually does, Cindy noticed a possible match for Capone. Cindy quickly relayed a picture of the potential match to Capone’s desperate owner who immediately headed to Milwaukee Area Domestic Animal Control Commission…and, sure enough, the distraught owner was reunited with Capone at long last!

MADACC generously waived Capone’s reclaim fee, but did ensure that Capone was microchipped before releasing him into his owner’s custody.

“This is not the first time a dog has been found this way,” states Lost Dogs of Wisconsin director, Kathie Dowe. “We are continually encouraging shelters to do their own lost and found matching as upwards of 70% of dogs in shelters are lost dogs, also known as strays.”

Lost Dogs of Wisconsin is the first organization of its kind in the nation. It offers free services and is staffed exclusively by volunteers.

While Lost Dogs of Wisconsin relies heavily on social media to reunite dogs with their owners, the group recognizes that consulting social media outlets alone will not bring all lost dogs home. The Lost Dogs of Wisconsin’s Facebook page, recommends additional search methods that can be used to help return lost pets to their families.

Source: http://www.examiner.com/animal-welfare-in-milwaukee/lost-dogs-of-wisconsin-helps-reunite-capone-missing-for-10-months

Attaboy, sheltie

Pet 'detectives' find lost Attaboy in Forest Hills
By Linda Wilson Fuoco, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
First published on May 2, 2007 at 3:46 pm

The face of a little dog named Attaboy adorned at least 500 "lost" posters displayed throughout Forest Hills, North Versailles and other suburbs in eastern Allegheny County. The posters started going up March 13, when he ran away from his new home. The posters started coming down Monday night.

Deb Jugan spent about four hours taking the posters down. Her progress was slowed because some people stopped their cars to talk to her and others left their houses to talk to her.

All had the same question: "Why are you taking down the posters?"

Some asked if people had stopped looking for the tricolored Shetland sheepdog. Others feared the dog was dead.

Ms. Jugan was thrilled to report that Attaboy had been found Monday morning after a seven-week search.

The dog hunt included dozens of volunteer "pet detectives," who mounted search parties and spent countless hours tramping through heavy woods behind the Forest Hills recreation center on Barclay Avenue. Uncounted animal lovers dutifully phoned and e-mailed reports when they sighted the skittish dog.

Ms. Jugan is the founder of TrackAPet-Pittsburgh, an e-mail list on www.yahoogroups.com that works to reunite lost pets and owners. The 57 members on the list sent hundreds of e-mails, giving everyone permission to forward the messages to other animal lovers who could help look for Attaboy.

Retired schoolteacher Peggy Buckley, of Brookline, joined in the searches and e-mailed prayer chains to everyone in her voluminous Internet address book.

There's really no way to count how many people were out looking for this dog.

In the end, a humane trap was set up in the woods. Volunteers staked it out for several days, for hours on end. Ms. Jugan checked the trap at 7 a.m. Monday on her way to the Allegheny County courthouse, where she works as an assistant district attorney. She cleaned up the mess that had been made by a marauding raccoon and reset the trap. Sandy Reech, one of the more dedicated TrackAPet regulars, found Attaboy an hour later, sitting calmly in the trap.

This is a nice enough story in its own right. But the Attaboy search took many twists and turns. Before they found Attaboy, pet detectives trapped quite a few raccoons and a few stray cats. Before they found Attaboy, they found two other Shetland sheepdogs.

Who knew that many tricolored Shetland sheepdogs could be lost at the same time?

Ms. Jugan and Ms. Reech thought they had trapped Attaboy in North Versailles on April 10, but it was a different Sheltie that happened to be wearing a collar with an ID tag. That one was Shaggy, whose family had been searching for him since Aug. 7 when he bolted from his fenced yard during a thunderstorm.

Shaggy's family was thrilled to have him back, and they've continually sent updates and pictures to TrackAPet. Type the name Shaggy into the search box at post-gazette.com and you can read that story, topped by the headline, "Wrong lost dog is found."

But now back to Attaboy. The pet detectives continued to get reports of sightings, and continued to follow up.

"I was just crying when I saw him in the trap," Ms. Reech said. "He was calm when I talked to him." When she got him to her home in Level Green, it didn't take long for Attaboy to come around.

Ms. Reech said Attaboy was quickly settling in, playing with her and her husband, Jim, who was one of the search volunteers.

"He's very dirty and he lost so much weight you can see all his ribs," Ms. Reech said.

Attaboy weighed 39 pounds when he ran away and now weighs about 20 pounds.

Attaboy's short-term future includes rest and recuperation at the Reech residence, where he will be well fed and well petted. His long term future is a bit up in the air.

His legal owner is the Animal Protectors shelter in New Kensington, where he was taken after an animal control agent found him in a vacant house. He had been left behind when his prior owners moved. The shelter adopted him out to a Forest Hills family seven weeks ago, and he bolted out a door two days after they took him in.

Though the new owners reported that he was lost, they never helped looked for him and never called or e-mailed for search updates, so he's not going back to that family, a shelter spokesman said.

And the third lost-and-found Sheltie? Several days after Shaggy was found, a woman waiting at a bus stop saw a tricolored dog wandering in Munhall. While she was using her cell phone to leave a message with TrackAPet, neighbors told her the dog lived nearby. The woman personally escorted that Sheltie to its home and gently admonished owners to keep closer tabs on the canine.

Source: http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/07123/782766-62.stm

Shaggy, sheltie

Wrong lost dog is found
Track-A-Pet members return Shaggy to his family, continue search for Attaboy
By Linda Wilson Fuoco, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Thursday, April 12, 2007

Shaggy, a 5-year-old Shetland sheepdog missing since August, sits on owner Jacci Ford's lap, as her husband Kenny Lindauer and one of their twins, Kristina Lindauer, 7, look on. The sheltie was found less than a mile from their North Versailles home with the collar and tag he was wearing when he went missing still around his neck.

A monthlong search for a scared Shetland sheepdog named Attaboy ended with cheers and tears Tuesday when a skinny little dog stepped into a humane box trap baited with roast beef and cheese.

But when one of his rescuers looked at the "lost" poster that had been widely distributed in North Versailles and surrounding suburbs, she said, "I don't think this is Attaboy."

The tricolored sheltie in the trap, it turned out, was a dog named Shaggy who had bolted out of his yard on Aug. 7, when the storm that spooked him blew open the gate. Around the neck of the dirty, bedraggled dog was a tattered collar with a bone-shaped tag bearing the name and telephone number of his owners.

Allegheny County Assistant District Attorney Deborah Jugan called Shaggy's owners while Sandy Reech, secretary for the Forest Hills Police Department, drove the dog to his North Versailles home.

Meanwhile, Attaboy is still missing. He ran away from his new home March 13.

He had been adopted from a New Kensington shelter, and had lived in his new home only two days when he ran out the back door and never came back.

Before he was rescued by Animal Protectors, Attaboy had been living alone in a boarded up house for as long as two years. His former owners left him there when they moved away, and relatives supposedly had been dropping in to feed him, shelter workers said. He had become very shy and distrustful of people.

Both dogs are tricolored Shetland sheepdogs -- white with black and tan spots. Both are 5 years old. Pictures of both dogs show they are remarkably similar, but Attaboy has more white fur than Shaggy does.

Attaboy weighed 38 pounds when he was adopted last month.

Though Shaggy's family had never stopped missing him and had never stopped looking for him, "after eight months we never thought we would see him again," Jacci Ford said yesterday.

Shaggy was welcomed home Tuesday night by Ms. Ford, her son Thomy Ford, 23, her husband, Kenny Lindauer, and the couple's 7-year-old twins, Kenny and Kristina Lindauer.

Shaggy, who was a very overweight 65 pounds when he ran into the storm, now weighs only 25 pounds. Aside from that, he is in amazingly good shape, said the veterinarian who checked him out yesterday.

A good weight for him would be about 35 pounds, he told the family.

Shaggy does have a prescription medication to clear up a skin condition that the vet said was probably caused by fleas he picked up while living in a wooded area off Irishtown Road in North Versailles.

"Shaggy has always been such a good dog who got fat because everyone gave him treats," Ms. Ford said. "He's very sweet and affectionate with all of us, like he's never been away. We can't believe he wouldn't go to people who tried to feed him and help him."

Ms. Ford also can't believe that the dog was found less than a mile from his home.

Shaggy was found by a network of animal lovers who sometimes jokingly call themselves "pet detectives."

Ms. Jugan, who is known as "doggie DA" because she prosecutes many animal cruelty cases, owns an e-mail list called Track-A-Pet. Approximately 40 list members, including Ms. Reech, have made it their mission to reunite lost pets and their owners.

They post fliers and forward e-mails asking friends, co-workers and neighbors to look for lost dogs and cats. They call police departments, shelters and animal control agencies. Sometimes they organize dog or cat hunts and spend hours in cars and on foot looking for lost animals.

No one keeps records, but they frequently find their targets and get them home.

"It's amazing that Shaggy survived and it's a blessing that he's back with us," Ms. Ford said. "My family just cannot thank those people enough."

The Attaboy search party included Peggy Buckley of Brookline, a retired teacher and member of Track-A-Pet. On Tuesday night, Ms. Buckley sent out an e-mail prayer chain, asking people to pray for the safe return of Attaboy. Less than an hour later, Shaggy stepped into the trap.


Source: http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/07102/777312-56.stm#

Fenway, boxer puppy

Military Family Reunited With Stolen Puppy
By: Nadia Bashir
August 13, 2011

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- A military family has been reunited with its stolen boxer puppy taken just weeks before one member is set to deploy overseas.

"It's an awesome feeling knowing our family has been put back together," said Erika Beatty.

Beatty's boyfriend, Craig Derifield, is a medic with the National Guard and is set to deploy in September.

His Westerville home was burglarized last month.

The couple was horrified when they learned not only had the thieves taken taken thousands of dollars in electronics but had also grabbed their boxer puppy, Fenway.

Last Thursday, detectives with Columbus police contacted Derifield while he was in Texas on military training to say they had found the pooch.

Detectives have arrested people in connection with the home invasion at Derifield's home.

Derifield says police told him the suspected burglar's girlfriend told police where the puppy had been sold.

According to his owners, Fenway is valued around $1,100. Detectives say the pooch was sold for a fraction, at $100.

Derifield bought Fenway for Erika as a birthday present in hopes the dog would help ease his absence.



Erika described the moment police brought Fenway to her: "He ran to me. He knew who I was. He came right to me. He knew who I was, and it was so exciting just to see him again."

Source: http://www2.nbc4i.com/news/2011/aug/13/6/military-family-reunited-lost-puppy-ar-685016/
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Doudou, pekingese

Blind pet rescued from well
By Zhou Wenting (China Daily)
2011-11-28

A blind dog that became trapped in an uncovered well has been reunited with its owner more than two months after going missing.

Meng Shasha emerges from a sewer drain in Qingdao on Nov 10 with her pet dog, Doudou, who had been missing for two months. The animal had been trapped underground for almost 20 days

Doudou, a 2-year-old Pekingese, had survived on food scraps thrown down to him by people living and working nearby who heard his barking.

"Although born with severe sight problems, Doudou always made it home after going for walks alone," said Meng Shasha, who adopted the dog from a friend in 2009. "Sometimes I'd find him at the door when I got back from work."

The 26-year-old finance worker was on a business trip when the animal went missing in October. She had left her pet with a friend.

"I searched for him in the streets and posted messages on the Internet," Meng said. "I burst into tears whenever I saw his picture. I thought it was hopeless."

A short while later, Wang Bin, a Peninsula City News reporter, received a call from a reader about a dog trapped in a well for almost 20 days.

"We went to the site with a veterinarian. We tried to hook him with a rope and a box, but it didn't work," said the journalist, whose story about the dog was published the next day and attracted comments from more than 200 readers.

Meng saw the report on Nov 9 and called Wang the next morning. He gave her the address of the well, which was outside a gas station and not far from Meng's home in Qingdao, a coastal city of Shandong province.

"Doudou started barking as soon as he heard my voice," Meng said. "He was excited and wanted to jump up."

The well was one of more than 10 in close proximity. Each was 2 meters deep and interconnected by pipes about 20 cm in diameter. None of the wells had covers.

Meng climbed down, causing the animal to initially flee. "Maybe he was scared by the loud voices of the people circling above ground," she said. "In the end, I just reached out my hand for him to sniff. He instantly recognized me and licked my hand."

After being pulled from the well, Doudou was given a quick health check and a shower, and was back home the same day.

"He's very active these days and follows me everywhere," Meng said. "Before he went missing, Doudou wasn't allowed in my bedroom. Now I have a mattress next to my bed for him to sleep in."

Source: http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/m/qingdao/2011-11/28/content_14176853.htm

Lexy, German shepherd

Lexy's Story
Alex F, told to LostMyDoggie
Date Lost: 12/20/2009

Lexy, a 10yr old german shepherd with moderate hip dysplasia went out her dog door the night of December 19th, 2009 sometime after 11pm. She was missing for two weeks. She was found on January 2nd, 2010 wandering around within 1/8 of a mile of my house by a snow plowman.

When we got to the location of the calls, about a dozen cars, a plow truck and a cop car were all stopped and people were out of their cars trying to coral Lexy from going into traffic and from going back into the woods.

It was a great community moment where complete strangers came together and helped to reunite a lost and frightened dog with its parents/owners.

In summarizing this incredible experience, I learned that once dogs are forced into survival mode they can survive even in the harshest conditions imaginable. Lexy survived two weeks which began with a blizzard that dropped two plus feet of snow. She had little or no food to eat. The temperatures at night were at or below 0°F, periods of high winds, rain, snow drifts up to four feet, isolation, fear and she probably had to deal with coyotes.

For two weeks I searched and put up 70 posters, & 700 fliers and searched many of my neighbors properties (with permission).

The day before she was found I had hired somebody to come out with tracking dogs to see if we could pick up her trail. We were able to pick up a direction and a specific location in which we thought she had gone, but could not find any signs of her.

Our only guess as to how she came to be in the street the morning after we searched the immediate woods the previous afternoon was that somehow she was able to pick up either my wife’s scent or mine and follow it back out to the road.

There are many hills in that area where you cannot see or hear traffic or houses and the chances that just hours after we searched the immediate woods she turned up we felt were more than just a coincidence.

Thank you for your immediate and quick response to my request for help. You and your service were helpful to get out the information and in getting people to be on the lookout for my Lexy.

Alex

Lexy's photo is on Lost My Doggie

Piper

Woman reunited with stolen dog linked to 'rescue' centre
By: Bethany Lindsay, ctvbc.ca
Date: Friday Dec. 2, 2011 6:02 PM PT

Allison Coyle is reunited with her dog Piper 10 months after the pet was taken from her apartment.

A woman whose dog was allegedly stolen by the operator of a B.C. "rescue" centre and then put up for adoption has been reunited with her beloved pet 10 months later.

Allison Coyle's dog Piper disappeared from her apartment in February while she was at work, and she was told that he had escaped while her roommate was moving out.

Coyle began a desperate search and soon discovered a Kijiji ad from A Better Life Dog Rescue indicating that Piper was up for sale.

"[I was] absolutely shocked and right away I called the RCMP," she told CTV News.

This week, A Better Life founder Janet Olson and her co-director Louise Reid were charged with break and enter and theft for allegedly snatching dogs out of people's yards in Surrey and Coquitlam this year.

When the news broke, police received a tip about another dog that had been adopted by a couple in Chilliwack through A Better Life. That dog turned out to be Piper.

Late Friday afternoon, Coyle and Piper were brought back together again in a tearful reunion.

"Piper is my everything. I'm just really excited and happy and it's just been crazy," Coyle said. "I just don't want to let him go now."

Olson admitted to CTV News that she posted the Kijiji ad, but said there was a mix-up and the post was supposed to be for a lost dog at the request of Coyle's former roommate.

"We did not steal that dog -- of course not. That dog was living inside a house. Why would we steal a dog living inside a house? That would make no sense at all," Olson said.

Surrey RCMP Cpl. Drew Grainger says that investigators are recommending further charges against Olson in relation to the theft of Piper.

Allegations date back years and across U.S. border

There's a long history of police complaints against Olson, an Air Canada pilot. Four years ago, a pet owner in Washington State called police to report that her dogs had been stolen and A Better Life might be involved.

Two dogs named Lady and Lucky were spirited away from Anne Gardiners's unlocked garage in Redmond on Nov. 25, 2007.

"It was really upsetting to me," Gardiner told ctvbc.ca. "My daughter had a very hard time, for a very long time, grieving over those dogs."

Gardiner said that it took a "monumental effort" for her to track the dogs to their new owners, but she located them in White Rock and learned they'd been adopted through A Better Life.

She got in touch with the new owners, but soon learned they had returned the dogs to A Better Life. Gardiner hasn't heard anything about Lady or Lucky since.

The dogs had only been with their new owners in B.C. for two weeks when police called, the family told ctvbc.ca. But the theft allegations left them stuck between a rock and a hard place -- Olson had told them Lady and Lucky were abused by their former owners and in need of rescue.

The family made the tough choice to return the dogs to A Better Life, but say the decision has "haunted" them ever since.

"I thought we were making a really responsible decision by adopting through a rescue centre," said the wife, who asked not to be named.

"I would never adopt a dog from a rescue operation again."

A Facebook group called No Better Life collects stories from pet owners who claim that their dogs were stolen by Olson. The missing pets include Hunter, an Airedale cut from its chain in a family yard in 2008 and then allegedly put up for adoption through A Better Life.

In an interview with CTV News this week, Olson said that she doesn't steal dogs, but rather rescues them from cruel owners.

"These are sentient creatures. They deserve to have their rights protected by society," she said.

But Gardiner adamantly denies that her dogs were mistreated. She said she went to "great Lengths" to make sure the animals were cared for, and spent about $3,000 to train them.

In the most recent theft cases, Mounties say they caught Olson and Reid, wearing uniforms reading "Animal Welfare," lifting a bulldog named Samson from a property in Coquitlam on Nov. 21.

Olson claims the dog was "at risk of freezing to death," and needed rescuing.

The BC SPCA says that it has heard similar allegations against A Better Life over the years. Marcie Moriarty, general manager of cruelty investigations, calls the claims "disturbing."

She says that animal rescues should be left to SPCA constables, who can confirm cases of animal cruelty and obtain warrants to seize the animals.

"It's important to deal with these issues legally," she said. "We can save animals' lives that way."

The SPCA works with more than 60 animal rescue organizations in B.C., but does not associate with A Better Life, according to Moriarty.

"They do not fit our standards," she said. "We work with lawful rescues who follow the law."

Surrey RCMP say they are looking into historical theft allegations against A Better Life, and are asking anyone whose pets have gone missing under suspicious circumstances to call police. Gardiner says she has been in touch with Mounties since Olson and Reid's arrest.

Olson and Reid are scheduled to make their next appearance in Surrey provincial court on Dec. 15.

Source: http://www.ctvbc.ctv.ca/servlet/an/local/CTVNews/20111202/bc_a_better_life_dog_theft_111202/20111202/?hub=BritishColumbiaHome

Morgan, pitbull

Owner reunited with stolen dog
Rebecca Clark
2011-12-02 18:25:35

SHELBY — Adrian Lovelace crouched down on the concrete floor and, when the kennel door had been sprung open, he called out “Morgan, Morgan.”

The black and white pit bull immediately made a beeline for Lovelace, jumping up on his chest and licking his face.

He didn’t think he would ever see his dog again.

The pit bull had been last year’s Christmas gift for his fiancée and had become a beloved family pet.

Several weeks ago, the dog disappeared.

An indoor pet for the most part, Morgan would be let out in the morning to go the bathroom and would often relax on an old loveseat on the front porch of the home on Dekalb Street.

“She would jump up and lounge,” Lovelace said.

The day she disappeared, Lovelace said Morgan had been outside while he made a quick run to the store with his son-in-law.

When they returned to the house, Morgan was gone.

At first, Lovelace thought she might have wandered off, but when she didn’t turn up after a thorough search of the neighborhood and a trip to the Cleveland County Animal Shelter, he began to lose hope of her return.

“We figured somebody put her in the car and she’s gone,” Lovelace said.

A couple of weeks after Morgan’s disappearance, two men were arrested in Shelby after animal control officers discovered that they were using pit bulls for dog fighting.

Patrick Tyler Philbeck, 21, and Daniel Blakely Bridges, 20, were arrested and charged with felony dog fighting.

A total of five dogs were seized and taken to the animal shelter.

Sam Lockridge, county health services coordinator, said he will petition the courts to have the owners cover the cost of feeding and housing the dogs. If the owners cannot pay or choose not to pay, the animals will then be turned over to the shelter to either be adopted or euthanized.

When the story appeared on the front page of The Star recently, a black and white pit bull was pictured with the story.

She is shown sitting in a kennel, ears back, her brown eyes sad and beseeching.

That dog was Morgan.

Mary Johnson, Lovelace’s fiancée, said shortly after the story ran, her sister called her and told her she had to see a photo on The Star’s website.

“I knew it was her as soon as I saw,” Johnson said.

“If her picture hadn’t have been on the front page, we never would have found her,” Lovelace said. “We got lucky. Everything came together.”

After proving that Morgan was their dog through vaccination records, Lovelace was able to take her home.

The pet was seized from Philbeck and Bridges just in time.

Lockridge said in a video police had obtained, the dog was seen pulling a sled up and down the street with a tire on top in an attempt to build up muscle.

“It’s terrible,” he said. “No reason for it.”

Lovelace said Morgan has never even been in a fight before.

“She’s very family oriented,” he said.

He said he is planning to have a microchip installed for easier identification to ensure Morgan never goes missing again.

Source: http://www.shelbystar.com/articles/stolen-60472-dog-owner.html
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Petunia, American Staffordshire Terrier

Long Lost Fredricksburg Dog Found in California
Written by Kathy Blumenstock
Dec 2, 2011

Petunia, an American Staffordshire terrier, will reunite with her family after being lost for eight years.

MARYSVILLE, Ca. (WUSA) - A Virginia family may have their missing dog home for the holidays, thanks to a good Samaritan and a little high-tech help.

Petunia, an American Staffordshire terrier, had been missing from Kristen Pruitt's home near Fredricksburg since 2003.

But on Wednesday, Meg Ogden of Oregon, was working with her own dogs in the Spenceville Wildlife area when she found what appeared to be a stray American Staffordshire terrier. Eden took the dog in for the night, then drove her to the Yuba County Animal Care Services Shelter the next day.

ACS personnel performed the usual intake process which includes vaccinations, physical examination and scanning for a microchip. A microchip was detected and information showed the chip came back to the Chancellor Veterinarian Clinic in Virginia. ACS personnel phoned the clinic and learned that the chip was indeed registered to an American Staffordshire terrier.

After 8 Years, Cross Country Journey; Dog and Owners Reunite

The clinic contacted Kristen Pruitt, who immediately called the Yuba County ACS. She said that Petunia, then three years old, went missing from the family farm around Thanksgiving 2003. The family conducted a large search for Petunia, but never located her.

ACS personnel sent Pruitt a photo of the dog and she was positive the dog was Petunia. Now Yuba County ACS will assist Pruitt in getting Petunia back to her Virginia home.

Source: http://www.wusa9.com/news/virginia/article/177758/188/Long-Lost-Virginia-Dog-Found-In-California
Video at: http://www.news10.net/video/default.aspx?bctid=1307110111001&odyssey=mod|tvideo|article

Chispita, chihuahua

Woman Who Stood On Corner In Bikini Reunited With Missing Dog
Arlene Corona Stood On La Jolla Street Corner In A Bikini To Find Missing Chihuahua Chispita
December 1, 2011

SAN DIEGO -- A local woman who stood at a La Jolla street corner in a bikini in an effort to bring attention to her missing dog was reunited with the Chihuahua on Tuesday.

Inside Edition was there when Arlene Corona was reunited with her Chihuahua, Chispita.
"Those were the worst two weeks of my life," Corona told 10News.

Corona said she had been sick with guilt since the moment she let Chispita slip away after taking the dog outside to relieve itself on the Nov. 16. She said she believes Chispita may have been taken in by someone in her neighborhood.

"That's when I started knocking door-to-door," Corona explained. "I did the pet Amber Alert and then I even called in a pet psychic, and she couldn't help me but all she could say was, 'Stay positive, a girl has her, appeal to her emotions.'"

For six days last week, Corona donned high heels and a bikini at the corner of La Jolla Village Drive and Genesee Avenue, waving signs and hoping someone would recognize and return her dog.

"I was just like it's a win-win situation because the girl would probably see me on her way to wherever she was going," Corona said. "And then I'll get news coverage to raise awareness."

Corona's stunt received national attention and it just might have worked.

Corona told 10News a school nurse had the dog.

"Students were telling her, 'That girl is still outside, you need to bring the dog back' because everybody knew she had her because she was taking her to school."

Then, a student's mom called Corona's mom, which lead to the reunion.

Corona said she didn't realize how dangerous her bold attempt might be.

"This one guy in particular just wouldn't leave me alone and he kept trying to meet with me," Corona said.

According to Corona, the man told her she had to let him perform sexual acts on her if she wanted to see her dog again.

"He was just saying disgusting things and then sent me a picture of his private parts," Corona said.

She cut off communication immediately, only to start receiving text messages from another number, which said her dog was in danger, so she should rush over.

"He was saying that my dog was getting beat, and he was sure it was my dog. I called back and it was the same voicemail from the first guy that was harassing me," said Corona.

Since the man did not break any laws, authorities can't arrest him and she can't file a restraining order since she doesn't know who it is.

Despite the dangers, Corona she said it was worth it to get her best friend back in her arms.

"It's amazing to have her back. I just will never let this happen again," Corona told 10News.

She hopes her dog's new microchip is one more way to be sure of it.

Source: http://www.10news.com/news/29898530/detail.html

Domino, pitbull

Man, dog back together after legal adventure
Some luck, Good Samaritans help Domino find way home
By Scott Orr, Contributing Reporter
11/30/2011

Kalani Kalaikai and his dog Domino are back together just in time for the holidays, thanks to a little luck and Good Samaritans.

CHINO VALLEY - Domino is back, and Kalani Kalaikai could not be more thankful.

On Sept. 30, someone took Domino from his yard, and the next day, dumped him in Cottonwood. Kalaikai, 64, away on a trip for 10 days, was devastated when he found out. Domino had been his companion for a decade, ever since he rescued the eight-week-old pit bull from a breeder who wanted to put the dog down because he was too small to be a good fighting dog.

The friend who had been watching Domino posted notices and offered a reward, but no one responded.

When Kalaikai returned home, he heard from another friend that a dog that looked like Domino was at Cottonwood's Adopt for Life Center animal shelter.

Domino had, indeed, been there, but due to a mix-up, the shelter did not find his tracking microchip, and let someone else adopt him.

On Nov. 4, Kalaikai received an email from the Central California Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (CCSPCA) shelter in Fresno saying they were holding a dog with a microchip registered to him. Domino's new owner, they said, had been arrested in California and the dog was being held at the CCSPCA shelter.

Kalaikai thought it would be a simple matter to get Domino back, since the microchip clearly showed he was the owner. But that wasn't the case. The new owner refused to release Domino. It would be up to a judge to decide, Kalaikai was told.

"I was at wit's end," Kalaikai said.

Sierra Neblina, executive director of the Adopt for Life shelter made some calls. At first, she wasn't able to do much better.

"We felt horrible about the situation," she said on Nov. 18. "CCSPCA has been not responsive, and was not returning my phone calls. They have stonewalled me."

Neblina said she finally managed to contact the adoptive owner personally. "He just wanted to know the original owner was a responsible dog owner," and once reassured, he agreed to turn over Domino.

Kalaikai's next hurdle was getting to Fresno to pick up Domino. The disabled veteran, living on a fixed income, didn't have the money to make the trip.

But another Vietnam vet, Larry Gresser, stepped up after seeing Domino's story in the Daily Courier in Prescott. Gresser supplied Kalaikai with the funds to rent a vehicle, fill it with gas, and pay for lodging for the 12-hour drive each way, as well as meals.

"I am very thankful to him," Kalaikai said, noting that several others also offered their help.

When Kalaikai got to Fresno on Monday, Nov. 20, he right went to the CCSPCA facility. "At first they gave me the run-around," he said, "but when I said, 'I'm the guy from Arizona, here to get Domino," they started getting it together."

He was escorted into an isolation area, and started calling to Domino. "I heard a familiar bark," he said, "and there he was, shaking," in a dirty kennel.

Dog and owner reunited, Kalaikai got him home as quickly as possible.

Domino is not out of the woods yet, Kalaikai said.

Domino has been sickly and weak, and he's lost weight. "Before they (Adopt for Life) could adopt him, they had to vaccinate him." Then, (CCSPCA) "turned around and vaccinated him again."

"I talked to a doctor who said he could have died," Kalaikai said. "Too much medication could kill a dog."

Domino is doing better, now, although he is fairly still, instead of the active dog he was before. But Kalaikai believes he will be back to normal soon.

"If he could talk, he would have a story to tell," Kalaikai said, smiling.

Source: http://verdenews.com/Main.asp?SectionID=1&SubSectionID=1&ArticleID=45046