Trucker Reunited with Lost Dog
Monday, March 13, 2006
GREEN BAY, WI-March 13, 2006 -- Truck driver John Withers says he "cried like a little girl" when his dog ran away.
So the Georgia man didn't hesitate to make the 1,050-mile drive when he heard his beloved pet had been found eight months later.
"I didn't cry, but I was very, very happy," Withers said of his reunion with Sir Charles Nugget, a 4-year-old chow mix.
Nugget ran away last summer when Withers was making a delivery in Lena. Since then plenty of people spotted "a brown dog in a red collar," and many left out food for it but no one could catch the dog.
Then Withers got a phone call from Judy Fuller, the animal control officer in Little Suamico. She told him local folks were sure Nugget was the dog that had been hanging around town lately but nobody could get close to it.
So Withers made the drive, bringing Moose Edward, his 55-pound lab shepherd mix.
Withers spotted Nugget Thursday lying motionless under a parked truck. The dog wouldn't budge and instead watched Withers and Moose play in the snow for 25 minutes before emerging.
Except for a few briars and an extra-shaggy coat, Nugget looked the same, Withers said. Local residents had left everything from hot dogs to cooked venison to help the dog keep its weight up.
Source: http://abclocal.go.com/wpvi/story?section=animals_oddities&id=3987882
Wednesday, March 30, 2011
Tuesday, March 29, 2011
Linda, husky
Husky reunited with family
KTVX ABC 4 Salt Lake City
Oct. 01, 2009. 08:00 PM EST
WEST VALLEY, Utah (ABC 4 News) - Her name is Linda and she's back with her original owners. The seven month old Husky got lost a few weeks ago and was adopted out to another family. Her original owners were told it was too late to claimg her at the West Valley Animal Shelter.
Video: http://www.clipsyndicate.com/video/play/1123144
Source: http://www.clipsyndicate.com/video/playlist/8957/1123144?cpt=8&title=people_and_relationships_video_channel&wpid=0
KTVX ABC 4 Salt Lake City
Oct. 01, 2009. 08:00 PM EST
WEST VALLEY, Utah (ABC 4 News) - Her name is Linda and she's back with her original owners. The seven month old Husky got lost a few weeks ago and was adopted out to another family. Her original owners were told it was too late to claimg her at the West Valley Animal Shelter.
Video: http://www.clipsyndicate.com/video/play/1123144
Source: http://www.clipsyndicate.com/video/playlist/8957/1123144?cpt=8&title=people_and_relationships_video_channel&wpid=0
Monday, March 28, 2011
Katie, chihuahua-feist mix
Canine Coaching Services Helps Reunite 20 Year Old Dog with Owners!!!
In July 2010, Canine Coaching Services was involved in the reunion of a 20 year old missing dog with her worried owners. We were contacted when the Ard family thought they recognized a picture or their missing dog, Katie, on a local animal rescue website. CCS Owner, Valerie Broadway, often volunteers for CARE and was able to determine who was fostering the dog on the website. A meeting was arranged for the next morning at the Canine Coaching Services facility. Valerie took pictures of the reunion and submitted an article (see below), which was published in several local newspapers. An area tv news station also picked up the story and ran a segment on the evening news.
Katie’s Miracle Journey
Pittsboro, NC: Chatham Animal Rescue and Education (CARE) in Chatham County recently experienced something that has never happened in its over 20 year history, and many feel is a miracle.
Katie, a Chihuahua/Feist mix, was reunited with her family after disappearing almost seven months ago. The fiancé of the family's son was looking to adopt a dog and was conducting a search onPetfinder.com when she ran across a picture of Katie posted by CARE under the name of Sasha. She had her fiancé take a look at the picture and called his mom to share his suspicions that this could be long lost Katie. Mom, Pam Ard, immediately contacted CARE.
Katie disappeared from the Ard family home on Christmas night 2009. The family searched for Katie around the many acres of farm and forest around their home to no avail. Due to Katie’s age they thought maybe she has wondered off to die. But the family was haunted by thoughts of what could have happened to Katie.
In early January, volunteer CARE foster caregiver, Melissa Taylor, was called by Chatham County Animal Shelter’s personnel. It was the last day the Shelter could hold an older Chihuahua mix that had been turned into them as a stray. They knew Melissa had a soft spot for fostering older dogs. Melissa picked up Katie from the shelter and has fostered her in her home ever since. Katie was examined by a vet and estimated to be about 9 years old. Additionally, she had an irregular heartbeat. Potential adopters were interested in Katie, but ultimately the people didn’t want to take on the commitment of adopting a dog with heath issues. Melissa and her family were prepared to keep Katie in the event she was never adopted.
After getting home from work and receiving Pam’s message, Melissa arranged to meet with the Ard family first thing the next morning. It was the moment of truth. Was Sasha indeed Katie? Katie didn’t offer a lot of emotion at the reunion, so there were a few minutes of comparing pictures the Ard’s brought, and scars and bumps on Katie. The family also had their Katie’s littermate, Missy, with them. It didn’t take long to determine that Sasha was indeed Katie. And the biggest shocker, Katie is 20 years old! The reunion was emotional to say the least - everyone was in tears. Pam called her son to let him know Katie was found. The family is thrilled to have Katie back and is extremely appreciative for all CARE and especially Melissa did for her. Pam says, “Melissa was truly Katie's Guardian Angel! I have no doubt that Divine Intervention brought Katie back home to us. Katie isn't our pet; she and Missy are our family. A lot of love and joy has been received from those two little four-legged blessings during their twenty years!”
Once they were back home, Katie immediately visited each of her favorite places to lay and then she and Missy snuggled up in the dog bed together and sniffed and licked each other. They were a little slow to recognize each other when first reunited, but it was all coming back now.
CARE had Katie micro chipped, as is routine with fosters. The Ard family plans to have all of their pets micro chipped and will no longer allow the dogs to go outside unattended.
Source: http://www.caninecoachingservices.com/Happenings.html
In July 2010, Canine Coaching Services was involved in the reunion of a 20 year old missing dog with her worried owners. We were contacted when the Ard family thought they recognized a picture or their missing dog, Katie, on a local animal rescue website. CCS Owner, Valerie Broadway, often volunteers for CARE and was able to determine who was fostering the dog on the website. A meeting was arranged for the next morning at the Canine Coaching Services facility. Valerie took pictures of the reunion and submitted an article (see below), which was published in several local newspapers. An area tv news station also picked up the story and ran a segment on the evening news.
Katie’s Miracle Journey
Pittsboro, NC: Chatham Animal Rescue and Education (CARE) in Chatham County recently experienced something that has never happened in its over 20 year history, and many feel is a miracle.
Katie, a Chihuahua/Feist mix, was reunited with her family after disappearing almost seven months ago. The fiancé of the family's son was looking to adopt a dog and was conducting a search onPetfinder.com when she ran across a picture of Katie posted by CARE under the name of Sasha. She had her fiancé take a look at the picture and called his mom to share his suspicions that this could be long lost Katie. Mom, Pam Ard, immediately contacted CARE.
Foster mom, Melissa, Katie, and her relieved owner,
Pam Ard. A joyous and tearful reunion for all.
Katie disappeared from the Ard family home on Christmas night 2009. The family searched for Katie around the many acres of farm and forest around their home to no avail. Due to Katie’s age they thought maybe she has wondered off to die. But the family was haunted by thoughts of what could have happened to Katie.
In early January, volunteer CARE foster caregiver, Melissa Taylor, was called by Chatham County Animal Shelter’s personnel. It was the last day the Shelter could hold an older Chihuahua mix that had been turned into them as a stray. They knew Melissa had a soft spot for fostering older dogs. Melissa picked up Katie from the shelter and has fostered her in her home ever since. Katie was examined by a vet and estimated to be about 9 years old. Additionally, she had an irregular heartbeat. Potential adopters were interested in Katie, but ultimately the people didn’t want to take on the commitment of adopting a dog with heath issues. Melissa and her family were prepared to keep Katie in the event she was never adopted.
After getting home from work and receiving Pam’s message, Melissa arranged to meet with the Ard family first thing the next morning. It was the moment of truth. Was Sasha indeed Katie? Katie didn’t offer a lot of emotion at the reunion, so there were a few minutes of comparing pictures the Ard’s brought, and scars and bumps on Katie. The family also had their Katie’s littermate, Missy, with them. It didn’t take long to determine that Sasha was indeed Katie. And the biggest shocker, Katie is 20 years old! The reunion was emotional to say the least - everyone was in tears. Pam called her son to let him know Katie was found. The family is thrilled to have Katie back and is extremely appreciative for all CARE and especially Melissa did for her. Pam says, “Melissa was truly Katie's Guardian Angel! I have no doubt that Divine Intervention brought Katie back home to us. Katie isn't our pet; she and Missy are our family. A lot of love and joy has been received from those two little four-legged blessings during their twenty years!”
Once they were back home, Katie immediately visited each of her favorite places to lay and then she and Missy snuggled up in the dog bed together and sniffed and licked each other. They were a little slow to recognize each other when first reunited, but it was all coming back now.
CARE had Katie micro chipped, as is routine with fosters. The Ard family plans to have all of their pets micro chipped and will no longer allow the dogs to go outside unattended.
Source: http://www.caninecoachingservices.com/Happenings.html
Sunday, March 27, 2011
Bandit, blue heeler
Family Finds Lost Dog Missing it's Tail
By KGNS News
February 22, 2011
New tonight at ten, a Laredo family is excited to be re-united with their dog after five days of him going missing. The story of how he was found is one of a guess and a little good luck. Our Ryan Bailey has more.
The Martinez family is once again complete after their dog bandit went missing last Friday afternoon.
"He's trained but he jumped off and by the time my husband got back he was gone and when he went and claimed it, the people said they had seen somebody take it."
Employees at an O'Reilly Auto Parts store told Martinez they had seen the vehicle pull away. Armed with a little info, Martinez was able to deduce the general vicinity where the dog may be. He and his wife searched on Saturday but came up empty, until he went back today.
"Luckily he went again today and sure enough that hunch was right."
The father was able to find bandit on a ranch, but not everything was the same on the family's prized dog. In an effort to change his appearance the men had chopped off the dog's tail.
"When my husband said that he had found him, he told me what they had done. Of course we were heartbroken because that was the feature we liked, that he had his tail."
Tail or not, the Martinez kids are very happy to have their bandit back.
"I was worried that if we didn't get him back I would never see him again."
"Maybe they could have hurt him with animal cruelty like they did with his tail. I’m just happy he's back."
And it took them no time to put him to back to work, learning new tricks.
"We're training him to do Frisbee."
Ryan Bailey, Laredo’s pro 8 news.
The Martinez family has filed a police report in this matter and they have been told that L.P.D. does take these cases very seriously. According to the family, Police say they have seen a rise in pet thefts recently and they have a unit dedicated to investigating these kinds of cases. The family is planning on taking the blue heeler to the vet tomorrow to make sure he is still healthy, as well as getting micro chips inserted in both their dogs.
Source: http://www.pro8news.com/news/Family-Finds-Lost-Dog-Missing-its-Tail-116709169.html
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By KGNS News
February 22, 2011
New tonight at ten, a Laredo family is excited to be re-united with their dog after five days of him going missing. The story of how he was found is one of a guess and a little good luck. Our Ryan Bailey has more.
"He's trained but he jumped off and by the time my husband got back he was gone and when he went and claimed it, the people said they had seen somebody take it."
Employees at an O'Reilly Auto Parts store told Martinez they had seen the vehicle pull away. Armed with a little info, Martinez was able to deduce the general vicinity where the dog may be. He and his wife searched on Saturday but came up empty, until he went back today.
"Luckily he went again today and sure enough that hunch was right."
The father was able to find bandit on a ranch, but not everything was the same on the family's prized dog. In an effort to change his appearance the men had chopped off the dog's tail.
"When my husband said that he had found him, he told me what they had done. Of course we were heartbroken because that was the feature we liked, that he had his tail."
Tail or not, the Martinez kids are very happy to have their bandit back.
"I was worried that if we didn't get him back I would never see him again."
"Maybe they could have hurt him with animal cruelty like they did with his tail. I’m just happy he's back."
And it took them no time to put him to back to work, learning new tricks.
"We're training him to do Frisbee."
Ryan Bailey, Laredo’s pro 8 news.
The Martinez family has filed a police report in this matter and they have been told that L.P.D. does take these cases very seriously. According to the family, Police say they have seen a rise in pet thefts recently and they have a unit dedicated to investigating these kinds of cases. The family is planning on taking the blue heeler to the vet tomorrow to make sure he is still healthy, as well as getting micro chips inserted in both their dogs.
Source: http://www.pro8news.com/news/Family-Finds-Lost-Dog-Missing-its-Tail-116709169.html
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Saturday, March 26, 2011
Happy
Happy's Happy Ending
by Aimee Amodio, Blogger
How is this for an amazing adventure: a runaway dog is home after seven months in which he managed to find TWO new homes, get neutered, and get renamed.
Happy -- also known as Radar during his seven month adventure -- ran away from his Illinois farm home in April. He had been with his family for more than two years, after human mom Misty Bowman picked him out from a friend's litter. Human dad Rob named the dog Happy because he looked like he was always smiling.
When Happy left for his wild vacation, the Bowmans looked all over for him. They drove around the farm, put up ads, and went door to door asking neighbors if they had seen the dog. After the search was fruitless, they assumed he had been hit by a car.
Happy was actually taken in by another family who named him Radar for his ability to get around. His interim family had Radar neutered. (Hooray for responsible pet ownership!) But the interim family wasn't sure they would be able to keep Radar in the end. While the family was on vacation, Radar used his talent for finding things to find his way back to the vet's office! The vet decided -- with the family's blessing -- to keep Radar around as an office pet.
A local newspaper featured a story about veterinarian Steve Walstad and his new office resident -- and that's where the Bowman family finally found their missing Happy.
The Bowmans offered to let the vet keep his new friend, before they broke the news to their children. Walstad graciously returned Happy to his first family.
Misty Bowman said that when she brought Happy back to the farm, he started to get excited as they got close to the house. She took that as a sign that he was indeed happy to be home again.
Source: http://pets.families.com/blog/happys-happy-ending
by Aimee Amodio, Blogger
How is this for an amazing adventure: a runaway dog is home after seven months in which he managed to find TWO new homes, get neutered, and get renamed.
Happy -- also known as Radar during his seven month adventure -- ran away from his Illinois farm home in April. He had been with his family for more than two years, after human mom Misty Bowman picked him out from a friend's litter. Human dad Rob named the dog Happy because he looked like he was always smiling.
When Happy left for his wild vacation, the Bowmans looked all over for him. They drove around the farm, put up ads, and went door to door asking neighbors if they had seen the dog. After the search was fruitless, they assumed he had been hit by a car.
Happy was actually taken in by another family who named him Radar for his ability to get around. His interim family had Radar neutered. (Hooray for responsible pet ownership!) But the interim family wasn't sure they would be able to keep Radar in the end. While the family was on vacation, Radar used his talent for finding things to find his way back to the vet's office! The vet decided -- with the family's blessing -- to keep Radar around as an office pet.
A local newspaper featured a story about veterinarian Steve Walstad and his new office resident -- and that's where the Bowman family finally found their missing Happy.
The Bowmans offered to let the vet keep his new friend, before they broke the news to their children. Walstad graciously returned Happy to his first family.
Misty Bowman said that when she brought Happy back to the farm, he started to get excited as they got close to the house. She took that as a sign that he was indeed happy to be home again.
Source: http://pets.families.com/blog/happys-happy-ending
Friday, March 25, 2011
Pudding, black lab
Lost Cwmbran dog found on Facebook
3:20pm Thursday 24th March 2011
A TREASURED family pet was reunited with her owners after they feared she had been taken and sold on Facebook.
Seven-year-old black labrador Pudding disappeared from the garden of Wendy Smith's mother at North Road, Croesyceiliog, on Monday, March 14.
Mrs Smith, 46, husband Bob and children George, 19 and Olivia, 14, searched the area, talking to dog walkers on the canal and in other places where they took Pudding around New Inn and Pontypool.
They printed hundreds of flyers and asked for help on Facebook and Twitter, with people from all over Gwent sending messages saying they were looking for her.
However, the search took an unsavoury twist when the family saw Pudding for sale on Facebook for £50.
Mrs Smith said: "We initially thought she just wandered off, but maybe she was in the wrong place at the wrong time and enticed away to sell."
Luckily, though, whoever had Pudding handed her in to Cwmbran Police Station earlier this week and she is back home at Gloucester Close, Llanyravon.
Mrs Smith thanked everyone who helped in the search, adding: "If she could talk, I bet she could write a best-seller about where she's been."
Source: http://www.southwalesargus.co.uk/news/8931347.Lost_Cwmbran_dog_found_on_Facebook/?ref=rss
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3:20pm Thursday 24th March 2011
A TREASURED family pet was reunited with her owners after they feared she had been taken and sold on Facebook.
 |
| FACEBOOK FRIEND: Wendy Smith with Pudding |
Mrs Smith, 46, husband Bob and children George, 19 and Olivia, 14, searched the area, talking to dog walkers on the canal and in other places where they took Pudding around New Inn and Pontypool.
They printed hundreds of flyers and asked for help on Facebook and Twitter, with people from all over Gwent sending messages saying they were looking for her.
However, the search took an unsavoury twist when the family saw Pudding for sale on Facebook for £50.
Mrs Smith said: "We initially thought she just wandered off, but maybe she was in the wrong place at the wrong time and enticed away to sell."
Luckily, though, whoever had Pudding handed her in to Cwmbran Police Station earlier this week and she is back home at Gloucester Close, Llanyravon.
Mrs Smith thanked everyone who helped in the search, adding: "If she could talk, I bet she could write a best-seller about where she's been."
Source: http://www.southwalesargus.co.uk/news/8931347.Lost_Cwmbran_dog_found_on_Facebook/?ref=rss
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Thursday, March 24, 2011
Lolo, dachshund
Plucky Dog Survives Month in Charred House
Susanna Baird
Mar 23, 2011 – 12:01 PM
A bleating truck alarm led a Boston woman back to her dog, who was believed lost or perished after a Feb. 23 fire but was actually surviving inside the burned-out house.
EMT and college student Terisa Acevedo, 24, wasn't at home in her Hyde Park duplex when a electrical short circuit started a two-alarm fire, but her 1-year-old long-haired dachshund, Lola, was.
The two-family home was destroyed and Lola was missing.
"The police had sniffing dogs come and go through the house," Acevedo told The Boston Globe. "There were no signs of her at all."
Acevedo papered the neighborhood with fliers and contacted animal shelters, but heard no news, good or bad, until Monday night, nearly a month after the fire.
"Yesterday, late evening, my neighbors were complaining about the truck alarm going off," she told the Globe. Acevedo has been living with family since the fire, and drove with friends back to her now-condemned home.
"I stood on the porch just to look at my house and say, 'I can't believe I lost everything,' just so sad about it, and I just heard something scratching at the door and it was Lola, so we tore down the door," she said.
Once substantial, Lola was skinny after spending 27 days in an ash-filled hovel, but she sustained no visible injuries and was happy to see Acevedo.
"Her tail was wagging. She jumped on me," Acevedo told the Boston Herald. "I was crying, and I just didn't want to let go."
The staff at Boston's Angell Animal Medical Center found that Lola was several pounds too light, but also discovered food in her stomach, indicating she had eaten recently, perhaps finding her way to cat food in the other side of the duplex. After ruling out smoke damage to Lola's lungs, a three-pronged team of emergency and critical-care specialists, internists and nutritionists is now assessing how best to start Lola back on food.
"She's currently being treated for what's called re-feeding syndrome," Brian Adams, medical center spokesman, told AOL News. Because Lola was nearly starving for a month, her body can't handle a full-on reintroduction of food.
"Lola received her first meal to begin her new feeding regimen late this morning. She is currently being provided with 16 grams of wet food, equivalent to one teaspoon, every six hours as her body once again becomes accustomed to nourishment," Adams said.
If subsequent feedings go well, Acevedo could take Lola to her temporary home Thursday.
Adams said Lola's story marks her as a plucky, and lucky, survivor.
"For a dog, what we usually see is that dogs can survive several days without water. They can survive several weeks without food as long as they have water. For Lola to have survived nearly four weeks without a regular source of food and water is amazing," he said.
"The miraculous part is that Terisa never gave up, Lola never gave up and through this rare occurrence of the car alarm going off and hearing some scratches, they were reunited. It was really an amazing story," he said.
Source: http://www.aolnews.com/2011/03/23/plucky-dachshund-lola-survives-one-month-in-charred-house/
Susanna Baird
Mar 23, 2011 – 12:01 PM
A bleating truck alarm led a Boston woman back to her dog, who was believed lost or perished after a Feb. 23 fire but was actually surviving inside the burned-out house.
 |
| When Terisa Acevedo’s house burned down, it wasn’t the loss of her belongings that broke her heart – it was the loss of her one year old Dachshund, Lola. Acevedo was sure that Lola had either burned to death in the fire, or had escaped and was wandering, lost, in her Hyde Park, Massachusetts neighborhood. In the freezing cold February weather, that would have been a death sentence for a little dog like Lola. |
EMT and college student Terisa Acevedo, 24, wasn't at home in her Hyde Park duplex when a electrical short circuit started a two-alarm fire, but her 1-year-old long-haired dachshund, Lola, was.
The two-family home was destroyed and Lola was missing.
"The police had sniffing dogs come and go through the house," Acevedo told The Boston Globe. "There were no signs of her at all."
Acevedo papered the neighborhood with fliers and contacted animal shelters, but heard no news, good or bad, until Monday night, nearly a month after the fire.
"Yesterday, late evening, my neighbors were complaining about the truck alarm going off," she told the Globe. Acevedo has been living with family since the fire, and drove with friends back to her now-condemned home.
"I stood on the porch just to look at my house and say, 'I can't believe I lost everything,' just so sad about it, and I just heard something scratching at the door and it was Lola, so we tore down the door," she said.
Once substantial, Lola was skinny after spending 27 days in an ash-filled hovel, but she sustained no visible injuries and was happy to see Acevedo.
"Her tail was wagging. She jumped on me," Acevedo told the Boston Herald. "I was crying, and I just didn't want to let go."
The staff at Boston's Angell Animal Medical Center found that Lola was several pounds too light, but also discovered food in her stomach, indicating she had eaten recently, perhaps finding her way to cat food in the other side of the duplex. After ruling out smoke damage to Lola's lungs, a three-pronged team of emergency and critical-care specialists, internists and nutritionists is now assessing how best to start Lola back on food.
"She's currently being treated for what's called re-feeding syndrome," Brian Adams, medical center spokesman, told AOL News. Because Lola was nearly starving for a month, her body can't handle a full-on reintroduction of food.
"Lola received her first meal to begin her new feeding regimen late this morning. She is currently being provided with 16 grams of wet food, equivalent to one teaspoon, every six hours as her body once again becomes accustomed to nourishment," Adams said.
If subsequent feedings go well, Acevedo could take Lola to her temporary home Thursday.
Adams said Lola's story marks her as a plucky, and lucky, survivor.
"For a dog, what we usually see is that dogs can survive several days without water. They can survive several weeks without food as long as they have water. For Lola to have survived nearly four weeks without a regular source of food and water is amazing," he said.
"The miraculous part is that Terisa never gave up, Lola never gave up and through this rare occurrence of the car alarm going off and hearing some scratches, they were reunited. It was really an amazing story," he said.
Source: http://www.aolnews.com/2011/03/23/plucky-dachshund-lola-survives-one-month-in-charred-house/
Wednesday, March 23, 2011
Stinky, chihuahua
American reporter & return dog-napped pooch to its family 6 years later
Sandra Jordan, The St. Louis American
Posted: Tuesday, March 22, 2011
It's a day she hoped for when Amy Meley's Chihuahua, named Stinky, returned to her rightful home in south St. Louis. It's a shame dogs can't talk like humans, because Stinky had quite a journey.
After hearing a gunshot on Memorial Day weekend, Stinky ran off family property into the woods and made her way into the middle of Highway 143 near Edwardsville, Illinois. Witnesses told Meley that vehicles pulled over to keep from running over the pint-sized pet. But one person, described by witnesses to the canine caper as a blonde woman in a white Dodge Durango, did more than pull over.
"'I saw a woman with her on Sunday night driving down 143 right by the VFW Hall,'" a witness told Meley a few days later. "This woman picked her up and put her in the window of her car. We were all talking to her, saying ‘oh this dog is so cute - this has got to be someone's dog. The woman reportedly said, ‘Oh, she's so cute I might just keep her.' When witnesses protested, the lady reportedly said, ‘I'm just kidding.'"
But she wasn't kidding.
"She went into the VFW, turned around and went back into 143 and she said she turned into Ginger Lake Estates complex," Meley said.
That was the last time anyone saw Stinky.
"I started putting flyers up in the neighborhood that said thank you to the woman in the white Durango who picked up Stinky...please contact me if you need a reward ... I would drive and go back through Ginger Lake a few hours later and they'd be pulled down."
That was in 2005.
Meley was heartbroken. Someone stole the dog she rescued from a shelter in Chicago. Meley and her family plastered the subdivision and the Edwardsville area with laminated flyers; she put ads in the newspaper; she visited veterinarian offices; St. Clair and Madison County animal control offices; she posted her lost dog online; bugged the crap out of the police department and even offered an award at one time, but no Stinky. She became known as ‘The Stinky poster lady."
Photos of Stinky remained on her bedside nightstand, on her refrigerator and even on her mom's refrigerator. Meley kept her beloved dog's bed, her clothes, and her toys - all in hope that one day she would return. Stinky was 8 years old when she was reported stolen.
Meley now has - four big dogs - all pit bulls - all rescued animals, although two are foster dogs. Everyone who knows Meley, a seventh grade science teacher at Ritenour Middle School, also knows about Stinky, long gone and ever present at the same time.
Meley also began volunteering at Stray Rescue, in hopes that what she experienced would never happen to another family.
Fast forward to midday Sunday March 13. My husband and I were driving home in North St. Louis County when I noticed what at first appeared to be a weird looking squirrel foraging for something to eat from a yellow food wrapper. Upon closer approach, the squirrel turned out to be a little dog - a Chihuahua. Not only was it strange to see a food wrapper on the sidewalk in that particular area, it was even stranger to see a tiny pet without a leash or its owner.
It seemed the dog was oblivious to being only a few feet from a well-traveled road with fast-moving cars. My husband was thinking something would eat this dog up, because it's so small. As I was thinking it, my husband, Cardell Jordan, asked if I thought we should go back and get the dog and find out who it belonged to. We made a u-turn to grab this little fellow out of harm's way and get it back into the yard or house it escaped from - probably in one of the nearby subdivisions.
Or so we thought.
"I went over to where we saw her. She was walking in the grass, so I called her and she turned around and she started coming to me, like she was really needing some help," Jordan said. "So we kind of met, and she let me pick her up and I brought her back here."
He could feel all of her little rib bones.
"She was really shaking like she did not have a lot of balance," he said.
When he got back into the vehicle, we wrapped her in a towel and took her home. She had no collar, so our best hope was that she had a microchip that could identify her owner on Monday when the shelter and the vet's offices were open.
The dog may have been on its last leg because her eyes were red and looked very weak. It was starving - and ate every morsel of dog food we put in front of her and she drank plenty of water as well. The dog must have been out in the elements for a long time. Her nails were quite overgrown, but they were cut evenly across.
She didn't make a sound - and she slept on the towel in a crate that belonged to our little dog, which kept returning to the crate to check on the visitor's well-being.
In the meantime, our daughters created "Dog Found" posts on Facebook and I posted the same on lost pet websites. I also searched online for any missing Chihuahuas fitting her description within 50 miles of the St. Louis area. On fidofinder.com, I found a tan female Chihuahua missing from Dunlap Lake, Illinois. I thought I had a hit, until I clicked only to find that dog, named Stinky, disappeared in 2005.
"It couldn't be the same dog," I thought at the time.
The weather was nice on Sunday during the day, but the temperature dropped very cold that evening and produced a pretty good snowfall. We don't think this dog would have made it through the night.
Back in St. Louis that same evening, a friend visiting Meley asked her about the dog's photo on her frig, which stood out among all of the pit bulls.
"That's my original baby - that's Stinky. Someone took her six years ago," Meley explained. "I don't have to worry about her because Stinky is always here with me."
Microchip check
Promptly handling the most pressing item on his "Honey Do List," Monday after work, my husband took the dog to be scanned for free at St. Louis County Animal Control North, located on Seven Hills Drive. The dog did have a microchip and the owner was called and a message was left. Rather than leave the dog at the pound, my husband decided to bring her back home, at least for the rest of the week, where we could work on fattening her back up and helping her regain her strength while the shelter worked on contacting the owner.
I asked my husband if the shelter said who the owner was.
He said "No," by this time looking annoyed at what he suspected was the start of an inquisition.
I asked if the shelter mentioned what was the dog's name.
"Oh yea - it's Stinky," he said.
"I saw that name on one of the web sites, but the dog was reported lost years ago," I told him.
"The shelter said she was reported stolen in 2005 or 6," my husband said.
My husband was right.
I did have more questions, but not for him - they were about the dog.
Where had she been all this time?
How did she get from Edwardsville, Illinois to North St. Louis County in Missouri six years, 26 miles and one state away - not to mention crossing the Mississippi River?
This explains why she had no collar.
This explains why there were no missing dog flyers in the neighborhood.
This pooch is a "hot" dog!
The phone call
Weley's husband Riley heard the message first. It was the call his wife had waited almost six years to receive. When he eventually got Amy to listen to the message, she had a hard time believing what she was hearing.
"This is ridiculous that this animal control would call me - how did they get the wrong number?" she said to her husband, who said to her "They didn't. It's the microchip. They scanned her - it's like a barcode."
Meley then asked, "Could they have taken her microchip out and put it in another dog?"
He said, "No, they wouldn't do that. You are talking crazy - it's Stinky.'"
The next ring was a second call from St. Louis County Animal Control.
The big reveal
Needless to say, my husband received several happy, tear-filled messages and conversations with Amy the next day, who eagerly wanted to arrange the pick up.
Parent teacher night at her school delayed the reunion until late in the evening.
No problem - we would all end the evening on a high note.
Amy Meley came to the door and gave each of us a big hug. Then we brought out her now 14-year-old little furry bundle.
"Oh my God," as she covered her mouth then held out her arms. "Stink! What's up, girlfriend? Hi Momma!" Meley said as she finally got to cuddle her long lost family member. "I never, ever thought I would see her again."
Meley just sat on the floor with her dog and shed tears of joy.
Back home
"The pit bulls love her," Meley texted the next day. "She's still a little hesitant. She slept with one of our dogs on Thursday night."
On Friday, Stinky visited the veterinarian, and Meley said although she probably has lost some hearing and vision, she looked pretty good, considering everything.
I hope Meley believes in microchips for pets again. Losing Stinky made her a cynic over the years.
She would tell people "those chips don't do any good unless somebody good finds them."
Microchips are good.
And so is my husband, even if I am biased.
And what a lucky dog.
Source: http://www.stlamerican.com/news/local_news/article_ad800016-54d5-11e0-9f96-001cc4c03286.html
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Sandra Jordan, The St. Louis American
Posted: Tuesday, March 22, 2011
It's a day she hoped for when Amy Meley's Chihuahua, named Stinky, returned to her rightful home in south St. Louis. It's a shame dogs can't talk like humans, because Stinky had quite a journey.
After hearing a gunshot on Memorial Day weekend, Stinky ran off family property into the woods and made her way into the middle of Highway 143 near Edwardsville, Illinois. Witnesses told Meley that vehicles pulled over to keep from running over the pint-sized pet. But one person, described by witnesses to the canine caper as a blonde woman in a white Dodge Durango, did more than pull over.
"'I saw a woman with her on Sunday night driving down 143 right by the VFW Hall,'" a witness told Meley a few days later. "This woman picked her up and put her in the window of her car. We were all talking to her, saying ‘oh this dog is so cute - this has got to be someone's dog. The woman reportedly said, ‘Oh, she's so cute I might just keep her.' When witnesses protested, the lady reportedly said, ‘I'm just kidding.'"
But she wasn't kidding.
"She went into the VFW, turned around and went back into 143 and she said she turned into Ginger Lake Estates complex," Meley said.
That was the last time anyone saw Stinky.
"I started putting flyers up in the neighborhood that said thank you to the woman in the white Durango who picked up Stinky...please contact me if you need a reward ... I would drive and go back through Ginger Lake a few hours later and they'd be pulled down."
That was in 2005.
Meley was heartbroken. Someone stole the dog she rescued from a shelter in Chicago. Meley and her family plastered the subdivision and the Edwardsville area with laminated flyers; she put ads in the newspaper; she visited veterinarian offices; St. Clair and Madison County animal control offices; she posted her lost dog online; bugged the crap out of the police department and even offered an award at one time, but no Stinky. She became known as ‘The Stinky poster lady."
Photos of Stinky remained on her bedside nightstand, on her refrigerator and even on her mom's refrigerator. Meley kept her beloved dog's bed, her clothes, and her toys - all in hope that one day she would return. Stinky was 8 years old when she was reported stolen.
Meley now has - four big dogs - all pit bulls - all rescued animals, although two are foster dogs. Everyone who knows Meley, a seventh grade science teacher at Ritenour Middle School, also knows about Stinky, long gone and ever present at the same time.
Meley also began volunteering at Stray Rescue, in hopes that what she experienced would never happen to another family.
Fast forward to midday Sunday March 13. My husband and I were driving home in North St. Louis County when I noticed what at first appeared to be a weird looking squirrel foraging for something to eat from a yellow food wrapper. Upon closer approach, the squirrel turned out to be a little dog - a Chihuahua. Not only was it strange to see a food wrapper on the sidewalk in that particular area, it was even stranger to see a tiny pet without a leash or its owner.
It seemed the dog was oblivious to being only a few feet from a well-traveled road with fast-moving cars. My husband was thinking something would eat this dog up, because it's so small. As I was thinking it, my husband, Cardell Jordan, asked if I thought we should go back and get the dog and find out who it belonged to. We made a u-turn to grab this little fellow out of harm's way and get it back into the yard or house it escaped from - probably in one of the nearby subdivisions.
Or so we thought.
"I went over to where we saw her. She was walking in the grass, so I called her and she turned around and she started coming to me, like she was really needing some help," Jordan said. "So we kind of met, and she let me pick her up and I brought her back here."
He could feel all of her little rib bones.
"She was really shaking like she did not have a lot of balance," he said.
When he got back into the vehicle, we wrapped her in a towel and took her home. She had no collar, so our best hope was that she had a microchip that could identify her owner on Monday when the shelter and the vet's offices were open.
The dog may have been on its last leg because her eyes were red and looked very weak. It was starving - and ate every morsel of dog food we put in front of her and she drank plenty of water as well. The dog must have been out in the elements for a long time. Her nails were quite overgrown, but they were cut evenly across.
She didn't make a sound - and she slept on the towel in a crate that belonged to our little dog, which kept returning to the crate to check on the visitor's well-being.
In the meantime, our daughters created "Dog Found" posts on Facebook and I posted the same on lost pet websites. I also searched online for any missing Chihuahuas fitting her description within 50 miles of the St. Louis area. On fidofinder.com, I found a tan female Chihuahua missing from Dunlap Lake, Illinois. I thought I had a hit, until I clicked only to find that dog, named Stinky, disappeared in 2005.
"It couldn't be the same dog," I thought at the time.
The weather was nice on Sunday during the day, but the temperature dropped very cold that evening and produced a pretty good snowfall. We don't think this dog would have made it through the night.
Back in St. Louis that same evening, a friend visiting Meley asked her about the dog's photo on her frig, which stood out among all of the pit bulls.
"That's my original baby - that's Stinky. Someone took her six years ago," Meley explained. "I don't have to worry about her because Stinky is always here with me."
Microchip check
Promptly handling the most pressing item on his "Honey Do List," Monday after work, my husband took the dog to be scanned for free at St. Louis County Animal Control North, located on Seven Hills Drive. The dog did have a microchip and the owner was called and a message was left. Rather than leave the dog at the pound, my husband decided to bring her back home, at least for the rest of the week, where we could work on fattening her back up and helping her regain her strength while the shelter worked on contacting the owner.
I asked my husband if the shelter said who the owner was.
He said "No," by this time looking annoyed at what he suspected was the start of an inquisition.
I asked if the shelter mentioned what was the dog's name.
"Oh yea - it's Stinky," he said.
"I saw that name on one of the web sites, but the dog was reported lost years ago," I told him.
"The shelter said she was reported stolen in 2005 or 6," my husband said.
My husband was right.
I did have more questions, but not for him - they were about the dog.
Where had she been all this time?
How did she get from Edwardsville, Illinois to North St. Louis County in Missouri six years, 26 miles and one state away - not to mention crossing the Mississippi River?
This explains why she had no collar.
This explains why there were no missing dog flyers in the neighborhood.
This pooch is a "hot" dog!
The phone call
Weley's husband Riley heard the message first. It was the call his wife had waited almost six years to receive. When he eventually got Amy to listen to the message, she had a hard time believing what she was hearing.
"This is ridiculous that this animal control would call me - how did they get the wrong number?" she said to her husband, who said to her "They didn't. It's the microchip. They scanned her - it's like a barcode."
Meley then asked, "Could they have taken her microchip out and put it in another dog?"
He said, "No, they wouldn't do that. You are talking crazy - it's Stinky.'"
The next ring was a second call from St. Louis County Animal Control.
The big reveal
Needless to say, my husband received several happy, tear-filled messages and conversations with Amy the next day, who eagerly wanted to arrange the pick up.
Parent teacher night at her school delayed the reunion until late in the evening.
No problem - we would all end the evening on a high note.
Amy Meley came to the door and gave each of us a big hug. Then we brought out her now 14-year-old little furry bundle.
"Oh my God," as she covered her mouth then held out her arms. "Stink! What's up, girlfriend? Hi Momma!" Meley said as she finally got to cuddle her long lost family member. "I never, ever thought I would see her again."
Meley just sat on the floor with her dog and shed tears of joy.
Back home
"The pit bulls love her," Meley texted the next day. "She's still a little hesitant. She slept with one of our dogs on Thursday night."
On Friday, Stinky visited the veterinarian, and Meley said although she probably has lost some hearing and vision, she looked pretty good, considering everything.
I hope Meley believes in microchips for pets again. Losing Stinky made her a cynic over the years.
She would tell people "those chips don't do any good unless somebody good finds them."
Microchips are good.
And so is my husband, even if I am biased.
And what a lucky dog.
Source: http://www.stlamerican.com/news/local_news/article_ad800016-54d5-11e0-9f96-001cc4c03286.html
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Tuesday, March 22, 2011
Buck, pug mix
Oceanside Family Reunites With Missing Dog
The Rawlings Family Says Buck Was In Desert For 6 Weeks
March 21, 2011
OCEANSIDE, Calif. -- One North County family has been reunited with their dog after he was missing in the desert for six weeks.
The Rawlings family was on an off-roading weekend in January when their beloved pet pug-mix Buck was spooked in the desert.
Steve Rawlings was off-roading with two of his daughters and their dog in Johnson Valley, Calif., when their jeep crashed. Buck then jumped out of the jeep and ran away.
"He didn't dart off, but little by little, he got further and further away," said Steve.
As day turned to night, there was still no sign of Buck. Steve said he began to wonder if Buck would ever return.
"I would go out every hour or so and call for him, thinking he would come my way, but it didn't happen," said Steve.
The family posted fliers near the camp site, searched the Internet and even called San Bernardino radio stations for help.
The Rawlings received about six leads. None were promising, so the family began to lose hope.
"I thought coyotes… I figured the weather couldn't be good for him," said Steve.
But last Saturday night, which was six weeks since Buck had disappeared, family received the phone call they were waiting for.
"[The caller said,] 'It's a boy, red collar, blue tags' and that's when I knew it was him," said Michelle. "I was screaming."
A woman who runs a dog rescue in Twentynine Palms, which is more than 50 miles away from Johnson Valley, called the family to say she spotted a stray dog on her property. It took her two weeks to gain the dog's trust until she could get close enough to see the number on his collar.
"When we saw him – actually saw him – it sunk in," said Steve.
The family said their reunion last Saturday night was special, even for 7-year-old Sabrina, who was afraid Buck had forgotten her.
"It was exciting because he remembered us," she said.
The Rawlings family is extremely thankful to the San Bernardino family who reunited them with Buck and said it is a miracle that he is home.
Source (with video): http://www.10news.com/news/27272048/detail.html
Video HERE
Another (longer) version of the story is at: http://www.nctimes.com/news/local/oceanside/article_62683fa4-a511-576f-929a-96ba5a05a3e6.html
Printer-friendly version HERE
The Rawlings Family Says Buck Was In Desert For 6 Weeks
March 21, 2011
OCEANSIDE, Calif. -- One North County family has been reunited with their dog after he was missing in the desert for six weeks.
The Rawlings family was on an off-roading weekend in January when their beloved pet pug-mix Buck was spooked in the desert.
Steve Rawlings was off-roading with two of his daughters and their dog in Johnson Valley, Calif., when their jeep crashed. Buck then jumped out of the jeep and ran away.
"He didn't dart off, but little by little, he got further and further away," said Steve.
As day turned to night, there was still no sign of Buck. Steve said he began to wonder if Buck would ever return.
"I would go out every hour or so and call for him, thinking he would come my way, but it didn't happen," said Steve.
The family posted fliers near the camp site, searched the Internet and even called San Bernardino radio stations for help.
The Rawlings received about six leads. None were promising, so the family began to lose hope.
"I thought coyotes… I figured the weather couldn't be good for him," said Steve.
But last Saturday night, which was six weeks since Buck had disappeared, family received the phone call they were waiting for.
"[The caller said,] 'It's a boy, red collar, blue tags' and that's when I knew it was him," said Michelle. "I was screaming."
A woman who runs a dog rescue in Twentynine Palms, which is more than 50 miles away from Johnson Valley, called the family to say she spotted a stray dog on her property. It took her two weeks to gain the dog's trust until she could get close enough to see the number on his collar.
"When we saw him – actually saw him – it sunk in," said Steve.
The family said their reunion last Saturday night was special, even for 7-year-old Sabrina, who was afraid Buck had forgotten her.
"It was exciting because he remembered us," she said.
The Rawlings family is extremely thankful to the San Bernardino family who reunited them with Buck and said it is a miracle that he is home.
Source (with video): http://www.10news.com/news/27272048/detail.html
Video HERE
Another (longer) version of the story is at: http://www.nctimes.com/news/local/oceanside/article_62683fa4-a511-576f-929a-96ba5a05a3e6.html
Printer-friendly version HERE
Monday, March 21, 2011
Pepper, poodle
Pepper the Poodle
Told by Kat Albrecht to HomeAgain
I’m skeptical whenever I hear someone say that their dog was stolen. Although some dogs are occasionally stolen for profit, my research has shown that the majority of supposed “theft” cases are actually incidents where a dog has strayed from home and was picked up by someone who decided to keep the dog. Unfortunately, in the following case, the owner’s suspicion of theft was correct.
Pepper was a ten-year-old tiny black teacup Poodle who lived with her human, Martha, in a posh apartment in a very nice area of town. Unbeknownst to Martha, several apartments had been burglarized in her neighborhood over the past month. Of course, Martha didn’t think twice about leaving Pepper alone in her apartment while she ran several errands.
When Martha returned to her apartment one day, she immediately knew something was wrong. She was normally greeted by a yapping, wiggling ball of fur – but this day, there was silence. As soon as she entered the apartment Martha’s worst fears were confirmed –items that were once neatly in their place were strewn around the apartment floor. Drawers were open, seat cushions were out of place, and CDs littered the floor by her bookshelf. Martha yelled for Pepper but there was no response. She quickly called the police and waited until they arrived to search the apartment. Pepper was gone.
The point of entry and exit were the same – the window in Martha’s bedroom. The window was too high for Pepper to climb out of on her own. Pepper had been stolen.
By the time that Martha learned about our services, Pepper has been missing for two days. Martha had done the usual posting of flyers in the neighborhood, searching the shelters, and placing a classified ad in the paper. One mistake that Martha made, which I quickly corrected, was to change her flyers and posters so that they read “REWARD LOST DOG” instead of “STOLEN DOG.” The worst thing we could have done was to scare off any potential witnesses by letting them know the dog was stolen. Very few people are willing to be a snitch, but many are willing to be a hero by helping reunite a lost dog with his family. But as day two ticked by without any leads, we decided it was time to pull out the big guns – an intersection alert.
An intersection alert is when four to six volunteers stand on the corner of a major intersection near where the pet was lost (or stolen) and hold up giant florescent “REWARD LOST DOG” posters. Similar in concept to companies that pay people to stand on corners holding marketing signs, intersection alerts are designed to capture attention and get information out to the community that a dog is missing.
We started our intersection alert the following morning at 6:30 a.m. in order to capture the traffic for the morning commute. Our florescent orange posters read, “REWARD LOST TINY BLACK POODLE” and within twenty minutes we had our first lead! A gentleman in a white pickup truck pulled over and told me that his nextdoor neighbor, a woman in her early twenties, had a new small black Poodle. The description seemed to match, even down to the blue bows in Pepper’s poofy ears. I obtained the address, thanked him profusely for the tip, and never let on that Pepper was stolen. I didn’t call Martha just yet. And I didn’t go to the house myself to confront the woman. This was a felony investigation and the last thing the police needed was for us to interfere. So, I called the police and gave the information to the officer when he arrived.
Within twenty minutes, Martha was at the woman’s house and identified Pepper. The woman at the house claimed that Pepper was her family’s dog that she had owned for years. But Martha had told the police officer beforehand about a tiny patch of white fur on Pepper’s left hind foot and the royal blue bows in his ears. His markings matched and Pepper was recovered. Of course, there would have been no question of identity that it was Pepper if he had been microchipped. Martha was very lucky, because if Pepper was generic-looking there would have been no proof that Pepper was her dog and she probably would not have left with the Poodle in her arms.
It was exciting to see a happy ending to a case where there seemed to be no hope. But by changing one word in our message – from “stolen” to “lost” – and by using a bold method to get our message out to the community, Pepper was home again, where he belonged.
Source: http://fpblogengine.com/PetRescuerStories.ashx?blogid=2&postid=36
Told by Kat Albrecht to HomeAgain
I’m skeptical whenever I hear someone say that their dog was stolen. Although some dogs are occasionally stolen for profit, my research has shown that the majority of supposed “theft” cases are actually incidents where a dog has strayed from home and was picked up by someone who decided to keep the dog. Unfortunately, in the following case, the owner’s suspicion of theft was correct.
Pepper was a ten-year-old tiny black teacup Poodle who lived with her human, Martha, in a posh apartment in a very nice area of town. Unbeknownst to Martha, several apartments had been burglarized in her neighborhood over the past month. Of course, Martha didn’t think twice about leaving Pepper alone in her apartment while she ran several errands.
When Martha returned to her apartment one day, she immediately knew something was wrong. She was normally greeted by a yapping, wiggling ball of fur – but this day, there was silence. As soon as she entered the apartment Martha’s worst fears were confirmed –items that were once neatly in their place were strewn around the apartment floor. Drawers were open, seat cushions were out of place, and CDs littered the floor by her bookshelf. Martha yelled for Pepper but there was no response. She quickly called the police and waited until they arrived to search the apartment. Pepper was gone.
The point of entry and exit were the same – the window in Martha’s bedroom. The window was too high for Pepper to climb out of on her own. Pepper had been stolen.
By the time that Martha learned about our services, Pepper has been missing for two days. Martha had done the usual posting of flyers in the neighborhood, searching the shelters, and placing a classified ad in the paper. One mistake that Martha made, which I quickly corrected, was to change her flyers and posters so that they read “REWARD LOST DOG” instead of “STOLEN DOG.” The worst thing we could have done was to scare off any potential witnesses by letting them know the dog was stolen. Very few people are willing to be a snitch, but many are willing to be a hero by helping reunite a lost dog with his family. But as day two ticked by without any leads, we decided it was time to pull out the big guns – an intersection alert.
An intersection alert is when four to six volunteers stand on the corner of a major intersection near where the pet was lost (or stolen) and hold up giant florescent “REWARD LOST DOG” posters. Similar in concept to companies that pay people to stand on corners holding marketing signs, intersection alerts are designed to capture attention and get information out to the community that a dog is missing.
We started our intersection alert the following morning at 6:30 a.m. in order to capture the traffic for the morning commute. Our florescent orange posters read, “REWARD LOST TINY BLACK POODLE” and within twenty minutes we had our first lead! A gentleman in a white pickup truck pulled over and told me that his nextdoor neighbor, a woman in her early twenties, had a new small black Poodle. The description seemed to match, even down to the blue bows in Pepper’s poofy ears. I obtained the address, thanked him profusely for the tip, and never let on that Pepper was stolen. I didn’t call Martha just yet. And I didn’t go to the house myself to confront the woman. This was a felony investigation and the last thing the police needed was for us to interfere. So, I called the police and gave the information to the officer when he arrived.
Within twenty minutes, Martha was at the woman’s house and identified Pepper. The woman at the house claimed that Pepper was her family’s dog that she had owned for years. But Martha had told the police officer beforehand about a tiny patch of white fur on Pepper’s left hind foot and the royal blue bows in his ears. His markings matched and Pepper was recovered. Of course, there would have been no question of identity that it was Pepper if he had been microchipped. Martha was very lucky, because if Pepper was generic-looking there would have been no proof that Pepper was her dog and she probably would not have left with the Poodle in her arms.
It was exciting to see a happy ending to a case where there seemed to be no hope. But by changing one word in our message – from “stolen” to “lost” – and by using a bold method to get our message out to the community, Pepper was home again, where he belonged.
Source: http://fpblogengine.com/PetRescuerStories.ashx?blogid=2&postid=36
Sunday, March 20, 2011
Gretchen, labrador mix
Stolen puppy reunites with family after four years
by Nadia Crow/SourceMedia Group News
Posted March 19, 2011 12:27 pm
CEDAR RAPIDS-After four years, an Eastern Iowa family finally reunites with a lost relative, the family dog. The Hodson family eagerly awaited their four-year-old Labrador mix Gretchen’s arrival from Washington state at The Eastern Iowa Airport. It’s the story of the missing piece to the Hodson family puzzle.
“Nervous, well beyond nervous,” said Margaret Hodson who reunited with the family dog Saturday.
Back in 2007, the Hodsons learned terrible news; their Labrador mix Gretchen was stolen.
“We knocked on people’s doors we posted signs everywhere. I called all the veterinary clinics and we continued to do this for at least a year, a year and a half if not more,” said Hodson.
“I remembered her I didn’t forget her I still remembered that she got stolen,” said Meghan Case who reunited with the family dog Saturday.
The Hodsons were stationed in Washington while husband, Travis was in the US Army. Since his deployment to Afghanistan, the family has since moved back to Iowa. But there was one missing link.
“I thought for sure we lost her I thought for sure I wasn’t going to see her again,” said Hodson.
After waiting four years, their stolen puppy was found safe and sound wandering near a lake in Fort Lewis, Washington. She arrived at The Eastern Iowa Airport on an American Airlines flight Saturday morning to open arms.
“It was pretty neat, I love to see her back,” said Case.
The kids have grown up and Gretchen has too.
“She wasn’t as big as this now,” said Case.
But she fits right in.
“She’s been a protector, she’s been loyal, a good family member,” said Hodson.
A piece of technology, a microchip, helped put this family back together.
“I’m really glad we had her chipped because if we hadn’t we wouldn’t of been able to ever find her,” said Hodson.
After a long flight from the west coast, Gretchen and the Hodsons can now move on to the next chapter, together again.
Source: http://www.easterniowaoutdoors.com/2011/03/19/stolen-puppy-reunites-with-family-after-four-years/
by Nadia Crow/SourceMedia Group News
Posted March 19, 2011 12:27 pm
CEDAR RAPIDS-After four years, an Eastern Iowa family finally reunites with a lost relative, the family dog. The Hodson family eagerly awaited their four-year-old Labrador mix Gretchen’s arrival from Washington state at The Eastern Iowa Airport. It’s the story of the missing piece to the Hodson family puzzle.
“Nervous, well beyond nervous,” said Margaret Hodson who reunited with the family dog Saturday.
Margaret Hodson with Gretchen
Back in 2007, the Hodsons learned terrible news; their Labrador mix Gretchen was stolen.
“We knocked on people’s doors we posted signs everywhere. I called all the veterinary clinics and we continued to do this for at least a year, a year and a half if not more,” said Hodson.
“I remembered her I didn’t forget her I still remembered that she got stolen,” said Meghan Case who reunited with the family dog Saturday.
The Hodsons were stationed in Washington while husband, Travis was in the US Army. Since his deployment to Afghanistan, the family has since moved back to Iowa. But there was one missing link.
Travis Hodson gets a doggie kiss from long lost family pet Gretchen.
“I thought for sure we lost her I thought for sure I wasn’t going to see her again,” said Hodson.
After waiting four years, their stolen puppy was found safe and sound wandering near a lake in Fort Lewis, Washington. She arrived at The Eastern Iowa Airport on an American Airlines flight Saturday morning to open arms.
“It was pretty neat, I love to see her back,” said Case.
Four-year-old Blaine Hodson (right) looks at the family's long lost dog Gretchen while Maggie Hodson (center) talks to her daughter Meghan, 9, (second from right) after the family picked up the dog at The Eastern Iowa Airport on Saturday, March 19, 2011, in southwest Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Also pictured is Travis Hodson (left). Gretchen was stolen from the Hodson's home in Washington state nearly four years ago. The dog was identified through a microchip after she was turned into an animal shelter after someone found her wandering the streets.
The kids have grown up and Gretchen has too.
“She wasn’t as big as this now,” said Case.
But she fits right in.
“She’s been a protector, she’s been loyal, a good family member,” said Hodson.
 |
| Two-year-old Corbin Hodson (left) stands with his mother Maggie Hodson of Wayland, Iowa, as she holds the tail of her long lost dog Gretchen after she and her family picked up the dog at The Eastern Iowa Airport on Saturday, March 19, 2011, in southwest Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Gretchen was stolen from the Hodson's home in Washington state nearly four years ago. The dog was identified through a microchip after she was turned into an animal shelter after someone found her wandering the streets. Travis Hodson said the family looked for the dog for two years by going door-to-door, putting signs up and placing notices on Craigslist |
“I’m really glad we had her chipped because if we hadn’t we wouldn’t of been able to ever find her,” said Hodson.
After a long flight from the west coast, Gretchen and the Hodsons can now move on to the next chapter, together again.
 |
Saturday, March 19, 2011
Bella, Great Dane
Bella, a lost Great Dane, found on Lake Huron ice reunited with owners
Elisha Anderson, Detroit Free Press Staff Writer
5:04 PM, Mar. 17, 2011
A 1 1/2 year old Great Dane found in Lake Huron was reunited with her owners this afternoon.
The U.S. Coast Guard rescued the dog—named Bella— around 11 p.m. Wednesday night.
The family pet had been missing since early Tuesday morning when she ran from her house in Sarnia, Ontario. Shawn Byatt, 31, told the Free Press that he and his wife Emma Byatt, 29, had spent more than two days frantically looking for their 125-pound dog that stood just under three feet tall.
Bella was wearing a tag with her name, and it also included her owners’ address and phone number, but the tag broke off when Shawn Byatt tried to catch the dog as she took off. It cut his finger in the process, he said.
Shawn Byatt said he went through two tanks of gas and spent $50 making missing dog posters trying to track her down. He passed the posters out in his neighborhood, at pet supply stores, and on cars in parking lots, but nobody had seen her. He was hanging up a poster at a local coffee shop when his wife got the call their pet had been rescued.
“We couldn’t believe it,” he told the Free Press today. “We really didn’t think there was going to be a happy ending.”
Lucky for his family, crew members aboard the U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Bristol Bay spotted the dog as the ship was escorting a freighter through the ice. She was found about five miles off the Michigan coastline, two miles north of the Blue Water Bridge.
The captain parked the ship in the ice and deployed the ice rescue team, Coast Guard spokesman Lt. Justin Westmiller.
“We’ve rescued dogs in the past, but it hasn’t happened lately,” Westmiller said.
Bella was kept on the ship overnight and turned over to the St. Clair County Animal Control Office this morning, he said. She had redness in her paws from standing on the ice but was in good health.
“The dog would have been able to walk on the ice from the Sarnia side and literally walk across to the United States side,” Westmiller said.
The St. Clair County Animal Control Office hadn’t received any calls for the animal, so they called the Sarnia Animal Control Office, and the owners were located. They came to get her this afternoon.
“It never even occurred to us to look across the border,” Shawn Byatt said.
To Bella rescuers, Shawn Byatt wants to offer “a huge thank you.”
Source: http://www.freep.com/article/20110317/NEWS05/110317048/Lost-Great-Dane-found-Lake-Huron-ice-reunited-owners?odyssey=tab|topnews|text|FRONTPAGE
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Elisha Anderson, Detroit Free Press Staff Writer
5:04 PM, Mar. 17, 2011
Bella, a Great Dane, was rescued off the ice of Lake Huron on Wednesday, March 16, and reunited with her owners the next day.
A 1 1/2 year old Great Dane found in Lake Huron was reunited with her owners this afternoon.
The U.S. Coast Guard rescued the dog—named Bella— around 11 p.m. Wednesday night.
The family pet had been missing since early Tuesday morning when she ran from her house in Sarnia, Ontario. Shawn Byatt, 31, told the Free Press that he and his wife Emma Byatt, 29, had spent more than two days frantically looking for their 125-pound dog that stood just under three feet tall.
Bella was wearing a tag with her name, and it also included her owners’ address and phone number, but the tag broke off when Shawn Byatt tried to catch the dog as she took off. It cut his finger in the process, he said.
Shawn Byatt said he went through two tanks of gas and spent $50 making missing dog posters trying to track her down. He passed the posters out in his neighborhood, at pet supply stores, and on cars in parking lots, but nobody had seen her. He was hanging up a poster at a local coffee shop when his wife got the call their pet had been rescued.
“We couldn’t believe it,” he told the Free Press today. “We really didn’t think there was going to be a happy ending.”
Lucky for his family, crew members aboard the U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Bristol Bay spotted the dog as the ship was escorting a freighter through the ice. She was found about five miles off the Michigan coastline, two miles north of the Blue Water Bridge.
The captain parked the ship in the ice and deployed the ice rescue team, Coast Guard spokesman Lt. Justin Westmiller.
“We’ve rescued dogs in the past, but it hasn’t happened lately,” Westmiller said.
Bella was kept on the ship overnight and turned over to the St. Clair County Animal Control Office this morning, he said. She had redness in her paws from standing on the ice but was in good health.
“The dog would have been able to walk on the ice from the Sarnia side and literally walk across to the United States side,” Westmiller said.
The St. Clair County Animal Control Office hadn’t received any calls for the animal, so they called the Sarnia Animal Control Office, and the owners were located. They came to get her this afternoon.
“It never even occurred to us to look across the border,” Shawn Byatt said.
To Bella rescuers, Shawn Byatt wants to offer “a huge thank you.”
Source: http://www.freep.com/article/20110317/NEWS05/110317048/Lost-Great-Dane-found-Lake-Huron-ice-reunited-owners?odyssey=tab|topnews|text|FRONTPAGE
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Friday, March 18, 2011
Athena, shih tzu
Microchip Reunites a Boy and His Dog
Jennifer Wadsworth
March 11, 2011
Sixteen-year-old Jake Johnson's dog was missing for 19 months before the East Bay SPCA helped bring her home.
Technology and luck helped reunite a boy and his dog.
For 19 months, Athena, a young Shi Tzu, was missing. Jake Johnson, her 16-year-old owner, had given up hope of ever finding her. His best guess was that Athena escaped through a hole in the backyard fence after the family returned from vacation in August 2009.
The loss especially devastated the Hayward teen because his autism made it tough to form bonds with animals. With Athena it was different.
“We postered, flyered, visited every veterinary clinic, animal shelter, and groomer in the East Bay,” said Carol Johnson, Jake's mom. “Every day for over a year and a half, I took a second look at every Shih Tzu with Athena’s coloring that I saw on the street, in the grocery store — everywhere."
Eventually, Jake forced himself to let it go.
Fast-forward to January this year: In the far-flung East Bay suburb of Brentwood, two women were taking a walk near an empty field when they stumbled upon a hungry, worn-out but friendly Shih Tzu.
Ellen Romero took the dog back home on Jan. 25. Just this month, the Brentwood resident brought her newfound companion to the East Bay SPCA's clinic in Dublin to be spayed and microchipped.
Veterinarian Katherine Mills' scanner found that the dog already had a microchip. Mills matched the information to the Johnsons missing dog report filed in 2009.
Mills connected the Johnsons with the Romeros. The reunion was an emotional one.
“My first response was shock," said Carol Johnsons. "I quickly went to thinking of this other family, who would lose the dog that they had recently adopted. When I approached Athena at the Spay and Neuter Center and said her name, she started kissing my face. We were so grateful to have Athena back. ”
The East Bay SPCA's Executive Director, Allison Linquist, said Athena's story is a perfect example of how microchipping keeps people and animals together.
“We provide this for every animal that is adopted out of our shelters," she said. "It’s a painless, easy procedure that is so important to our local animal communities.”
Source: http://sanramon.patch.com/articles/microchip-reunites-a-boy-and-his-dog
Jennifer Wadsworth
March 11, 2011
Sixteen-year-old Jake Johnson's dog was missing for 19 months before the East Bay SPCA helped bring her home.
Technology and luck helped reunite a boy and his dog.
For 19 months, Athena, a young Shi Tzu, was missing. Jake Johnson, her 16-year-old owner, had given up hope of ever finding her. His best guess was that Athena escaped through a hole in the backyard fence after the family returned from vacation in August 2009.
The loss especially devastated the Hayward teen because his autism made it tough to form bonds with animals. With Athena it was different.
“We postered, flyered, visited every veterinary clinic, animal shelter, and groomer in the East Bay,” said Carol Johnson, Jake's mom. “Every day for over a year and a half, I took a second look at every Shih Tzu with Athena’s coloring that I saw on the street, in the grocery store — everywhere."
Eventually, Jake forced himself to let it go.
Fast-forward to January this year: In the far-flung East Bay suburb of Brentwood, two women were taking a walk near an empty field when they stumbled upon a hungry, worn-out but friendly Shih Tzu.
Ellen Romero took the dog back home on Jan. 25. Just this month, the Brentwood resident brought her newfound companion to the East Bay SPCA's clinic in Dublin to be spayed and microchipped.
Veterinarian Katherine Mills' scanner found that the dog already had a microchip. Mills matched the information to the Johnsons missing dog report filed in 2009.
Mills connected the Johnsons with the Romeros. The reunion was an emotional one.
“My first response was shock," said Carol Johnsons. "I quickly went to thinking of this other family, who would lose the dog that they had recently adopted. When I approached Athena at the Spay and Neuter Center and said her name, she started kissing my face. We were so grateful to have Athena back. ”
The East Bay SPCA's Executive Director, Allison Linquist, said Athena's story is a perfect example of how microchipping keeps people and animals together.
“We provide this for every animal that is adopted out of our shelters," she said. "It’s a painless, easy procedure that is so important to our local animal communities.”
Source: http://sanramon.patch.com/articles/microchip-reunites-a-boy-and-his-dog
Thursday, March 17, 2011
Toby, Australian Shepherd
Tweet brings Toby home
Dog lost in Kennedale
Social media leads to bull fighter's tweet reunion!
Written by Tammy Jones
Mar 15, 2011 at 12:19 PM
Toby, is an Australian Shepard who was rescued from an abusive situation over a year ago.
He's now best friends with professional bull fighter Jesse James Vick and son Cutter of Burleson, TX.
On Wednesday March 9th Toby & Jesse drove to Kennedale to buy horse shoes at Texas Ferrier Supply on New Hope Road. It was a warm day, so Jesse rolled the windows down on his pick up truck, left Toby in the cab and went inside Texas Ferrier Supply.
When he returned to the truck, Toby was gone. He'd run off.
Jesse went home to Burleson without his dog.
On Thursday, I saw the frightened Australian Shepard running across New Hope Road dodging cars. I could tell he looked lost and felt really guilty for not stopping to help him; I thought he was an unfortunate victim of dumping that sometimes happens out near my home and I have enough animals.
When I pulled in my own driveway I was a little sad thinking about the scared Australian Shepard I'd just seen; and I mentioned it to my kids. I actually had to squash my 23 year olds attempts to find him.
On Friday, I was monitoring Twitter as I always do for tweets about Kennedale.
To my suprise there it was @Dallas_CL: Lost Austrailian Shephard Kennedale Texas: Lost black tri colored Austrailian Shephard on 3/9/11 in Kennedale.
To make a long story short, I replied to the tweet poster telling them when and where I'd seen their dog.
That evening Jesse's mom, Reedee Vick called me and was on New Hope looking for their dog.
"My sons a professional bull fighter and this is his traveling buddy. He travels rodeo."
"We rescued him from a breeder about a year ago and he's just become his little traveling buddy."
She was unsuccessful in finding Toby that evening.
The next day she sought help from Russell & Debbie Fincher, who live in the area. As it turns out she's known the Fincher's for many years saying they used to race cars together. [small world huh?]
Reedee said the Fincher's reported seeing the dog, and Russell got on his four wheeler to look for Toby. Still they couldn't find him.
Jesse lives on his ranch in Burleson Texas with his 4 year old son Cutter James Vick where he raises Black Angus Cattle and Quarter Horses.
The next day Jesse took his basset hound with him to search for the missing shepard. Having a general idea of where Toby was; Jesse parked and hollered for the dog. Just when he let the basset hound out of the truck Toby stuck his nose out of the woods. When Toby saw the basset hound he ran straight to them and was so glad to see Jesse; and vice versa.
Reedee used various social media outlets like CraigsList and PetFinder to try and locate Toby. Saying now she needs to go back and cancel her postings.
The Vick's were very happy to be reunited with their lost friend, and he was very hungry when he got home.
"He ate five bowls of food. Bam, bam, bam, just as fast as he could eat it."
"He was a mess - he was full of ticks and he was a mess. He was gone four days. From Wednesday to Sunday."
"I’ve got that basset hound; they’re buddies. He sleeps with that basset hound. They were sure glad to see each other. He don’t leave our side."
"He’d been real timid when we got him. He’d been abused at that breeder. He’s akc registered. He was real timid with men and I don't know why."
"I gave him to Jessie; he’s a good little old dog, I just hated to lose him."
Thanks to smart use of social media, she didn't.
Source: http://www.kennedalenews.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1252&Itemid=9
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Dog lost in Kennedale
Social media leads to bull fighter's tweet reunion!
Written by Tammy Jones
Mar 15, 2011 at 12:19 PM
Toby, is an Australian Shepard who was rescued from an abusive situation over a year ago.
He's now best friends with professional bull fighter Jesse James Vick and son Cutter of Burleson, TX.
Toby and Cutter. Friends reunited.
On Wednesday March 9th Toby & Jesse drove to Kennedale to buy horse shoes at Texas Ferrier Supply on New Hope Road. It was a warm day, so Jesse rolled the windows down on his pick up truck, left Toby in the cab and went inside Texas Ferrier Supply.
When he returned to the truck, Toby was gone. He'd run off.
Jesse went home to Burleson without his dog.
On Thursday, I saw the frightened Australian Shepard running across New Hope Road dodging cars. I could tell he looked lost and felt really guilty for not stopping to help him; I thought he was an unfortunate victim of dumping that sometimes happens out near my home and I have enough animals.
When I pulled in my own driveway I was a little sad thinking about the scared Australian Shepard I'd just seen; and I mentioned it to my kids. I actually had to squash my 23 year olds attempts to find him.
On Friday, I was monitoring Twitter as I always do for tweets about Kennedale.
To my suprise there it was @Dallas_CL: Lost Austrailian Shephard Kennedale Texas: Lost black tri colored Austrailian Shephard on 3/9/11 in Kennedale.
To make a long story short, I replied to the tweet poster telling them when and where I'd seen their dog.
That evening Jesse's mom, Reedee Vick called me and was on New Hope looking for their dog.
"My sons a professional bull fighter and this is his traveling buddy. He travels rodeo."
"We rescued him from a breeder about a year ago and he's just become his little traveling buddy."
She was unsuccessful in finding Toby that evening.
The next day she sought help from Russell & Debbie Fincher, who live in the area. As it turns out she's known the Fincher's for many years saying they used to race cars together. [small world huh?]
Reedee said the Fincher's reported seeing the dog, and Russell got on his four wheeler to look for Toby. Still they couldn't find him.
Jesse lives on his ranch in Burleson Texas with his 4 year old son Cutter James Vick where he raises Black Angus Cattle and Quarter Horses.
The next day Jesse took his basset hound with him to search for the missing shepard. Having a general idea of where Toby was; Jesse parked and hollered for the dog. Just when he let the basset hound out of the truck Toby stuck his nose out of the woods. When Toby saw the basset hound he ran straight to them and was so glad to see Jesse; and vice versa.
Reedee used various social media outlets like CraigsList and PetFinder to try and locate Toby. Saying now she needs to go back and cancel her postings.
The Vick's were very happy to be reunited with their lost friend, and he was very hungry when he got home.
"He ate five bowls of food. Bam, bam, bam, just as fast as he could eat it."
"He was a mess - he was full of ticks and he was a mess. He was gone four days. From Wednesday to Sunday."
"I’ve got that basset hound; they’re buddies. He sleeps with that basset hound. They were sure glad to see each other. He don’t leave our side."
"He’d been real timid when we got him. He’d been abused at that breeder. He’s akc registered. He was real timid with men and I don't know why."
"I gave him to Jessie; he’s a good little old dog, I just hated to lose him."
Thanks to smart use of social media, she didn't.
Source: http://www.kennedalenews.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1252&Itemid=9
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Wednesday, March 16, 2011
Laverne, lab mix
Happy tail: Lost dog found after 65 days
By Catherine Kavanaugh, Daily Tribune Staff Writer
Tuesday, March 15, 2011
Mixed lab makes it through winter, 12 miles of busy streets
FERNDALE – A dog that ran away on Jan. 7 -- the day after she was adopted -- somehow survived the coldest and snowiest days of winter and is back with her foster care guardian.
Laverne, a Labrador retriever mix last seen on Laprairie Street on Jan. 13, was found 12 miles away in the area of Telegraph and Schoolcraft roads in Detroit.
The 4-year-old brindle dog had fended for herself 65 days, crossed busy mile roads and freeway overpasses, and depended on the kindness of at least one stranger.
“A nice lady had been feeding her in her garage for a week and called the Michigan Anti-Cruelty Society,” said Tracy Balazy of Dearborn, Laverne’s foster care guardian and soon-to-be forever home owner.
Balazy was in the process Tuesday of adopting Laverne – a dog she had fostered for five months and then with some reluctance gave up to a Ferndale couple so she could give temporary shelter to another homeless dog.
However, absence made Balazy’s heart grow fonder of the shy, mild-mannered Laverne. The volunteer with the Dearborn Animal Shelter never stopped looking for the dog and even offered a $250 reward, which was later raised to $500, for her return.
Balazy left 500 fliers at Ferndale houses and businesses in the area of Livernois and Eight Mile roads, where Laverne’s first adoptive owner said she rushed past him and out of sight the day after he brought her home to his girlfriend’s house on Gardendale.
The search was on. On one bitterly cold weekend, 10 people fanned out across southwest Ferndale to look for Laverne. They were encouraged by two sightings, one from an Allen Street resident who said the 50-pound dog had been picking through his garbage.
Balazy said she was relieved to learn the timid and skittish Laverne had some street sense. It made it easier for her to stay hopeful during days of single-digit temperatures, nights of sub-zero wind chills and all of February – the second snowiest month on record.
“On some days I’d go looking for her I’d be all bundled up and I’d be freezing,” Balazy said. “One time there was ice on the inside of my car window. I wondered how Laverne could stand it.”
Balazy went through a lot of fleeting optimism on her searches.
“I imagined all kinds of scenarios,” she said. “I’d call for her and think she might come out from an alley. I’d see paw prints and try to follow them but they always ended at a shoveled sidewalk.”
As much as the cold and snow, Balazy was worried about Laverne crossing busy streets. Not knowing which direction to turn, she expanded her searches into Detroit and as far north as Clawson and Troy. Ferndale residents also stayed on diligent guard for Laverne.
On days when it was fit for man and beast to be outside, Balazy would take her rescued dog, Uma, to look for Laverne. The pair had become fast friends and Balazy figured if anything could lure Laverne out of hiding it would be the furry black mutt who had become her creature of comfort.
Every time Balazy saw people outside in Ferndale, she would show them a flier with Laverne’s picture.
“They would say, ‘Oh yeah, we know about this dog. We’re watching for her,’ ” Balazy said. “Other times people would call me and say your flier is still hanging, should I leave it? Did you find her? Everyone in Ferndale was so helpful. The community is great.”
Balazy was volunteering Saturday for the Dearborn Animal Shelter at a home and garden show when she learned Laverne had been located and was waiting to be picked up at the Michigan Anti-Cruelty Society, Detroit – one of the many places she had left a flier.
“I was shocked,” Balazy said. “They recognized Laverne from a flier but she has a microchip and they could have easily scanned it, too.”
Balazy and Elaine Greene, executive director of the Dearborn Animal Shelter, went to get Laverne immediately. They had a low-key reunion.
“Laverne was just sitting there quietly. She was always very gentle and it was just business as usual,” Balazy said. “She’s in good shape, too. She weighs the same as when she took off, maybe even a little more.”
Balazy’s husband, Chris, has a theory.
“I bet she figured out where every little old lady who feeds feral cats lives,” he said. “Laverne probably muscled in and had her fill.”
When Laverne and Uma saw each other for the first time in more than two months, the dogs nuzzled. Laverne is staying very close to her buddy these days. She ran behind Uma when a neighbor stopped by to welcome her home.
“We’ll never know for sure what Laverne has been through,” Balazy said. “I’m just thrilled she was found safe.”
The woman who called the Michigan Anti-Cruelty Society is eligible for the reward along with the two men sent to retrieve Laverne.
How did she make it so far? Balazy said Laverne might have hid by day and roamed at night when traffic was lighter.
On Tuesday, Balazy was going to fill out the paperwork to adopt the mutt who miraculously made it back to her after some trying months and miles.
“She’s lying on the couch – very much a dog of luxury,” Balazy said. “We’re both much better now.”
Source: http://www.dailytribune.com/articles/2011/03/15/news/doc4d7faaf4dea3d368760606.txt?viewmode=default
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By Catherine Kavanaugh, Daily Tribune Staff Writer
Tuesday, March 15, 2011
Mixed lab makes it through winter, 12 miles of busy streets
FERNDALE – A dog that ran away on Jan. 7 -- the day after she was adopted -- somehow survived the coldest and snowiest days of winter and is back with her foster care guardian.
Laverne, a Labrador retriever mix last seen on Laprairie Street on Jan. 13, was found 12 miles away in the area of Telegraph and Schoolcraft roads in Detroit.
The 4-year-old brindle dog had fended for herself 65 days, crossed busy mile roads and freeway overpasses, and depended on the kindness of at least one stranger.
“A nice lady had been feeding her in her garage for a week and called the Michigan Anti-Cruelty Society,” said Tracy Balazy of Dearborn, Laverne’s foster care guardian and soon-to-be forever home owner.
Balazy was in the process Tuesday of adopting Laverne – a dog she had fostered for five months and then with some reluctance gave up to a Ferndale couple so she could give temporary shelter to another homeless dog.
However, absence made Balazy’s heart grow fonder of the shy, mild-mannered Laverne. The volunteer with the Dearborn Animal Shelter never stopped looking for the dog and even offered a $250 reward, which was later raised to $500, for her return.
Balazy left 500 fliers at Ferndale houses and businesses in the area of Livernois and Eight Mile roads, where Laverne’s first adoptive owner said she rushed past him and out of sight the day after he brought her home to his girlfriend’s house on Gardendale.
The search was on. On one bitterly cold weekend, 10 people fanned out across southwest Ferndale to look for Laverne. They were encouraged by two sightings, one from an Allen Street resident who said the 50-pound dog had been picking through his garbage.
Balazy said she was relieved to learn the timid and skittish Laverne had some street sense. It made it easier for her to stay hopeful during days of single-digit temperatures, nights of sub-zero wind chills and all of February – the second snowiest month on record.
“On some days I’d go looking for her I’d be all bundled up and I’d be freezing,” Balazy said. “One time there was ice on the inside of my car window. I wondered how Laverne could stand it.”
Balazy went through a lot of fleeting optimism on her searches.
“I imagined all kinds of scenarios,” she said. “I’d call for her and think she might come out from an alley. I’d see paw prints and try to follow them but they always ended at a shoveled sidewalk.”
As much as the cold and snow, Balazy was worried about Laverne crossing busy streets. Not knowing which direction to turn, she expanded her searches into Detroit and as far north as Clawson and Troy. Ferndale residents also stayed on diligent guard for Laverne.
On days when it was fit for man and beast to be outside, Balazy would take her rescued dog, Uma, to look for Laverne. The pair had become fast friends and Balazy figured if anything could lure Laverne out of hiding it would be the furry black mutt who had become her creature of comfort.
Every time Balazy saw people outside in Ferndale, she would show them a flier with Laverne’s picture.
“They would say, ‘Oh yeah, we know about this dog. We’re watching for her,’ ” Balazy said. “Other times people would call me and say your flier is still hanging, should I leave it? Did you find her? Everyone in Ferndale was so helpful. The community is great.”
Balazy was volunteering Saturday for the Dearborn Animal Shelter at a home and garden show when she learned Laverne had been located and was waiting to be picked up at the Michigan Anti-Cruelty Society, Detroit – one of the many places she had left a flier.
“I was shocked,” Balazy said. “They recognized Laverne from a flier but she has a microchip and they could have easily scanned it, too.”
Balazy and Elaine Greene, executive director of the Dearborn Animal Shelter, went to get Laverne immediately. They had a low-key reunion.
“Laverne was just sitting there quietly. She was always very gentle and it was just business as usual,” Balazy said. “She’s in good shape, too. She weighs the same as when she took off, maybe even a little more.”
Balazy’s husband, Chris, has a theory.
“I bet she figured out where every little old lady who feeds feral cats lives,” he said. “Laverne probably muscled in and had her fill.”
When Laverne and Uma saw each other for the first time in more than two months, the dogs nuzzled. Laverne is staying very close to her buddy these days. She ran behind Uma when a neighbor stopped by to welcome her home.
“We’ll never know for sure what Laverne has been through,” Balazy said. “I’m just thrilled she was found safe.”
The woman who called the Michigan Anti-Cruelty Society is eligible for the reward along with the two men sent to retrieve Laverne.
How did she make it so far? Balazy said Laverne might have hid by day and roamed at night when traffic was lighter.
On Tuesday, Balazy was going to fill out the paperwork to adopt the mutt who miraculously made it back to her after some trying months and miles.
“She’s lying on the couch – very much a dog of luxury,” Balazy said. “We’re both much better now.”
Source: http://www.dailytribune.com/articles/2011/03/15/news/doc4d7faaf4dea3d368760606.txt?viewmode=default
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Tuesday, March 15, 2011
Lobo, German Shepherd
Owner credits technology for reunion with dog
Posted: 03/01/11
MEDLEY, Fla. (WSVN) -- A pet owner is crediting a microchip for his dog's return.
Father Anibal Morales was reunited with his German Shepherd, Lobo, on Monday after three years of separation. Morales, a Catholic priest, said three years ago, the dog somehow disappeared, and he is very happy to have him back. "As a priest, we don't have family of our own," he said. "Losing him was like losing a part of my family."
Late last week, someone found Lobo and dropped him off at Miami-Dade Animal Services. "Out of the blue, I was not expecting it at all. Actually, I was finishing one of the masses when I got the phone call," Morales said.
Father Morales said the only reason they are reunited today is because of the microchip he put on the dog.
Andrew Banchs with Miami-Dade Animal Services said the microchip meant the difference between the dog being lost and found. "As long as the dog shows up at a regular vet, any private vet or shelter in the whole world, it doesn't matter where, they can find the owner," Banchs revealed.
Lobo was found suffering from a skin condition and appears to be scared and skinny, but Father Morales said he will be nursed back to health at his home.
Source: http://www.wsvn.com/news/articles/local/21003663341447
Posted: 03/01/11
MEDLEY, Fla. (WSVN) -- A pet owner is crediting a microchip for his dog's return.
Father Anibal Morales was reunited with his German Shepherd, Lobo, on Monday after three years of separation. Morales, a Catholic priest, said three years ago, the dog somehow disappeared, and he is very happy to have him back. "As a priest, we don't have family of our own," he said. "Losing him was like losing a part of my family."
Late last week, someone found Lobo and dropped him off at Miami-Dade Animal Services. "Out of the blue, I was not expecting it at all. Actually, I was finishing one of the masses when I got the phone call," Morales said.
Father Morales said the only reason they are reunited today is because of the microchip he put on the dog.
Andrew Banchs with Miami-Dade Animal Services said the microchip meant the difference between the dog being lost and found. "As long as the dog shows up at a regular vet, any private vet or shelter in the whole world, it doesn't matter where, they can find the owner," Banchs revealed.
Lobo was found suffering from a skin condition and appears to be scared and skinny, but Father Morales said he will be nursed back to health at his home.
Source: http://www.wsvn.com/news/articles/local/21003663341447
Monday, March 14, 2011
Maizey, yellow lab
Lost dog reunited with owners thanks to good samaritans
By Maria Lindsay
11/18/2010 - South Side Leader
GREEN — A lost-dog story has ended well for one Green family, thanks to a little luck and a dog lover who happened to find the pooch.
Paul and Linda Doerr, owners of Quick Clean Car and Pet Wash Store, found an older female yellow Labrador wandering on Ashwood Road Oct. 20 at about 9 p.m.
“We are dog lovers and we could not turn our backs on one wandering around, so we took her in,” said Paul Doerr, adding that he and his wife own two Labradors — a yellow one and a chocolate one.
Paul Doerr said someone had come to his home earlier in the day looking for the owner of the dog and had apparently let her loose when they failed to find its owners.
Doerr said the dog was well fed and cared for, but she had no collar, just a red “shock collar” worn by pets contained by an electric fence.
“Someone cared enough to keep her contained, but she was dirty as if she had been running through a stream,” he said.
The Doerrs washed and cleaned her at their business.
“My wife wanted to call her Daisy,” said Paul Doerr.
Paul Doerr said he and his wife called three veterinarians in Green to see if anyone had reported her lost and to find out if the dog had an identifying microchip but were unsuccessful in identifying the owners.
He decided to put large signs about the dog in front of the business, which is located at the corner of Mayfair and Massillon roads.
“Our pet groomers at the business wanted to adopt her, but we decided to give it some time,” said Doerr. “The owner apparently was on Craig’s List and saw notes about the dog posted at our business.”
Owner Jesse Carvill contacted Paul Doerr Oct. 25, and soon the dog, which actually was named Maizey, was reunited with him and his young daughter Avery, who live about half a mile down the street from where the dog was found.
“When they were reunited, the dog perked right up and was overjoyed to see her owners,” said Paul Doerr.
Paul Doerr said Carvill told him he had been having problems with his electric fence, and the dog somehow got out.
Carvill could not be reached for comment by presstime.
“They were lucky. This was one of the few good-ending stories,” said Paul Doerr. “It emphasizes the need for why dogs should have a microchip or wear a collar with a license or identification tag at all times so it can be identified when it goes missing.”
Source: http://www.akron.com/pages.asp?aID=10859
By Maria Lindsay
11/18/2010 - South Side Leader
Jesse Carvill and his daughter Avery are shown after being reunited with their dog Maizey, who was lost for about five days. The dog was found by Quick Clean Car and Pet Wash owners Paul and Linda Doerr, who took Maizey in and put signs in front of the business in an effort to find her owners.
GREEN — A lost-dog story has ended well for one Green family, thanks to a little luck and a dog lover who happened to find the pooch.
Paul and Linda Doerr, owners of Quick Clean Car and Pet Wash Store, found an older female yellow Labrador wandering on Ashwood Road Oct. 20 at about 9 p.m.
“We are dog lovers and we could not turn our backs on one wandering around, so we took her in,” said Paul Doerr, adding that he and his wife own two Labradors — a yellow one and a chocolate one.
Paul Doerr said someone had come to his home earlier in the day looking for the owner of the dog and had apparently let her loose when they failed to find its owners.
Doerr said the dog was well fed and cared for, but she had no collar, just a red “shock collar” worn by pets contained by an electric fence.
“Someone cared enough to keep her contained, but she was dirty as if she had been running through a stream,” he said.
The Doerrs washed and cleaned her at their business.
“My wife wanted to call her Daisy,” said Paul Doerr.
Paul Doerr said he and his wife called three veterinarians in Green to see if anyone had reported her lost and to find out if the dog had an identifying microchip but were unsuccessful in identifying the owners.
He decided to put large signs about the dog in front of the business, which is located at the corner of Mayfair and Massillon roads.
“Our pet groomers at the business wanted to adopt her, but we decided to give it some time,” said Doerr. “The owner apparently was on Craig’s List and saw notes about the dog posted at our business.”
Owner Jesse Carvill contacted Paul Doerr Oct. 25, and soon the dog, which actually was named Maizey, was reunited with him and his young daughter Avery, who live about half a mile down the street from where the dog was found.
“When they were reunited, the dog perked right up and was overjoyed to see her owners,” said Paul Doerr.
Paul Doerr said Carvill told him he had been having problems with his electric fence, and the dog somehow got out.
Carvill could not be reached for comment by presstime.
“They were lucky. This was one of the few good-ending stories,” said Paul Doerr. “It emphasizes the need for why dogs should have a microchip or wear a collar with a license or identification tag at all times so it can be identified when it goes missing.”
Source: http://www.akron.com/pages.asp?aID=10859
Sunday, March 13, 2011
Manny, chocolate lab
Microchip helps reunite lost dog with family
Updated: Dec 17, 2010 10:58 PM CST
Avon - There was a happy reunion Friday night for an injured dog, rescued by complete strangers. A microchip was key to getting the dog back home.
The one-year-old, energetic chocolate lab was lost, then found and now, has been reunited with his rescuers.
"I had to come by and say 'thank you' and let you see Manny in a better condition," said the dog's owner, Courtney Tillery. "I also wanted to bring you a Christmas card to thank you."
Tillery's dog, Manny, had quite the 24-hour adventure. She was taking him on a walk Wednesday when he got loose.
"I think he saw another dog and went to go after them and he's a pretty strong dog, got right out of his collar and took off. That was the first time he's ever gotten out, you know, so it was definitely a shock," Tillery said.
As it turns out, Manny didn't get that far. Although he wandered for hours, he was discovered in a condominium complex, just one neighborhood over from Tillery's apartment. Scott Moulton, a dog lover himself, found Manny hurt and in need of help. He'd snagged his tooth on something outside.
"This dog comes up to me, friendly as can be, but bleeding," Moulton said. "My step-daughter and them were calling around to vets asking questions, 'What do I do?' Well, they said, 'Bring the dog in'."
Dr. Brian Mehringer of Avon Veterinary Clinic took action, performed surgery, and removed Manny's tooth. The dog was healthy, but still not home.
"At that point, we said, 'Hey look, we're going to do the standard thing. We're going to scan for a microchip, see if it has an owner.' Well, we found a microchip," Dr. Mehringer said.
That chip eventually led to Courtney Tillery and a heartfelt homecoming.
"If he wasn't microchipped, it would have been days, weeks, if ever that I would have found him," Tillery said.
And if not for Scott Moulton and his family, she says, the reunion may not have happened either.
"I really appreciate everything you've done for him and my family. You're definitely Christmas angels," she said.
Source: http://www.wthr.com/story/13707023/microchip-helps-reunite-lost-dog-with-owners
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Updated: Dec 17, 2010 10:58 PM CST
Manny was found injured and returned to his owners.
Avon - There was a happy reunion Friday night for an injured dog, rescued by complete strangers. A microchip was key to getting the dog back home.
The one-year-old, energetic chocolate lab was lost, then found and now, has been reunited with his rescuers.
"I had to come by and say 'thank you' and let you see Manny in a better condition," said the dog's owner, Courtney Tillery. "I also wanted to bring you a Christmas card to thank you."
Tillery's dog, Manny, had quite the 24-hour adventure. She was taking him on a walk Wednesday when he got loose.
"I think he saw another dog and went to go after them and he's a pretty strong dog, got right out of his collar and took off. That was the first time he's ever gotten out, you know, so it was definitely a shock," Tillery said.
As it turns out, Manny didn't get that far. Although he wandered for hours, he was discovered in a condominium complex, just one neighborhood over from Tillery's apartment. Scott Moulton, a dog lover himself, found Manny hurt and in need of help. He'd snagged his tooth on something outside.
"This dog comes up to me, friendly as can be, but bleeding," Moulton said. "My step-daughter and them were calling around to vets asking questions, 'What do I do?' Well, they said, 'Bring the dog in'."
Dr. Brian Mehringer of Avon Veterinary Clinic took action, performed surgery, and removed Manny's tooth. The dog was healthy, but still not home.
"At that point, we said, 'Hey look, we're going to do the standard thing. We're going to scan for a microchip, see if it has an owner.' Well, we found a microchip," Dr. Mehringer said.
That chip eventually led to Courtney Tillery and a heartfelt homecoming.
"If he wasn't microchipped, it would have been days, weeks, if ever that I would have found him," Tillery said.
And if not for Scott Moulton and his family, she says, the reunion may not have happened either.
"I really appreciate everything you've done for him and my family. You're definitely Christmas angels," she said.
Source: http://www.wthr.com/story/13707023/microchip-helps-reunite-lost-dog-with-owners
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Saturday, March 12, 2011
Meise, shepherd puppy
I-80 Rescued Dog Reunited with Owner
By Admin - Deanna,
on July 7th, 2009
The female mixed breed dog that was rescued from I-80 in Reno, NV, by Trooper Brett Tierney last week, has been reunited with her owner, Ralph Soboi. Seems that Soboi had only had the 7-month-old puppy, Meise, for only one day before “pranksters” removed her collar and let her loose.
After hearing about the story from a friend, Soboi went to animal control the following day and claimed Meise saying his three nieces, 2, 4 and 6, were especially happy to have her come home.
“The girls were here waiting for her to come home,” he said. “It meant the world to them.”
“I think they feel terrible,” Soboi said about the “pranksters” who let Meise loose. “I believe that karma will catch up with them.”
Soboi was grateful to Trooper Tierney for rescuing Meise and Tierney was glad that Meise was back with her family. Meise is reported to be settling back in just fine.
“He was a very good officer,” Soboi said. “I’m very thankful for him saving her. That’s pretty darn nice.”
“I’m just happy that the dog was reunited with its family,” Tierney said, wishing the dog and family well.
While I am usually always happy to hear about dogs being reunited with their families, I am disappointed that Trooper Tierney couldn’t adopt this sweet girl that he rescued. Even more so with a last statement Soboi made that he hoped Meise will have a littler of puppies. As if there aren’t enough dogs and puppies dying every day in desperate need of homes, this man wants to breed a mixed-breed dog to bring more puppies into this world. A sad shame to what should be a happy ending to a story.
Source: http://fortheloveofthedogblog.com/news-updates/i-80-rescued-dog-reunited-with-owner
By Admin - Deanna,
on July 7th, 2009
The female mixed breed dog that was rescued from I-80 in Reno, NV, by Trooper Brett Tierney last week, has been reunited with her owner, Ralph Soboi. Seems that Soboi had only had the 7-month-old puppy, Meise, for only one day before “pranksters” removed her collar and let her loose.
After hearing about the story from a friend, Soboi went to animal control the following day and claimed Meise saying his three nieces, 2, 4 and 6, were especially happy to have her come home.
“The girls were here waiting for her to come home,” he said. “It meant the world to them.”
“I think they feel terrible,” Soboi said about the “pranksters” who let Meise loose. “I believe that karma will catch up with them.”
Soboi was grateful to Trooper Tierney for rescuing Meise and Tierney was glad that Meise was back with her family. Meise is reported to be settling back in just fine.
“He was a very good officer,” Soboi said. “I’m very thankful for him saving her. That’s pretty darn nice.”
“I’m just happy that the dog was reunited with its family,” Tierney said, wishing the dog and family well.
While I am usually always happy to hear about dogs being reunited with their families, I am disappointed that Trooper Tierney couldn’t adopt this sweet girl that he rescued. Even more so with a last statement Soboi made that he hoped Meise will have a littler of puppies. As if there aren’t enough dogs and puppies dying every day in desperate need of homes, this man wants to breed a mixed-breed dog to bring more puppies into this world. A sad shame to what should be a happy ending to a story.
Source: http://fortheloveofthedogblog.com/news-updates/i-80-rescued-dog-reunited-with-owner
Friday, March 11, 2011
Max, chocolate lab
Dog missing since fire found
By Brenda Bernet, Amarillo Globe-News
Mar 10 2011 - 12:34am
One more lost dog has been reunited with his family after the Feb. 27 wildfires.
Max, a chocolate Labrador retriever mix, was found Wednesday, ending a 10-day search. He went missing after the fires destroyed Willow Creek Kennels.
"I didn't give up hope," said Terri Hastings, who remained encouraged after hearing story after story of reunions of owners and their pets. "I'm just amazed at how good he really looked."
Chance Smith, manager and obedience instructor for the kennels, saw Max on the day of the fires. Smith was parked on Loop 335 and Eastern Street behind a roadblock. He remembered seeing Max walking south on Eastern toward the roadblock, but the dog stopped about 100 yards away and headed back toward the kennels.
Smith told Hastings on Friday he would keep searching until she told him to stop.
On Wednesday, rancher Bill Hefley alerted the kennels he found a dog while checking on his cattle. Hefley and another person from the kennels tried to catch Max, but Max wouldn't come to them.
Smith arrived and joined in the chase. After some coaxing, Max hopped into Smith's truck.
Hastings had missed some calls on Wednesday. When she checked her phone, she had a couple of messages from Smith, who said he had found her dog.
"My heart started beating really fast," she said.
She immediately left to meet Smith, and Max jumped all over her when they were reunited. The dog lost 9 pounds, but a veterinarian said he was healthy.
Hastings sent text messages to her three children. On the drive home, Max whined as Hastings neared the family driveway. He had a bath and found a favorite napping spot, sprawled out on one of her boys' beds.
"He's doing good," she said.
Source: http://amarillo.com/news/local-news/2011-03-10/dog-missing-fire-found
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By Brenda Bernet, Amarillo Globe-News
Mar 10 2011 - 12:34am
One more lost dog has been reunited with his family after the Feb. 27 wildfires.
Max, a chocolate Labrador retriever mix, was found Wednesday, ending a 10-day search. He went missing after the fires destroyed Willow Creek Kennels.
 |
Max, a chocolate Labrador mix, sits close to his owner, Terri Hastings, Wednesday in their backyard. Max had been missing since a wildfire destroyed the Willow Creek Kennels Feb. 27
|
"I didn't give up hope," said Terri Hastings, who remained encouraged after hearing story after story of reunions of owners and their pets. "I'm just amazed at how good he really looked."
Chance Smith, manager and obedience instructor for the kennels, saw Max on the day of the fires. Smith was parked on Loop 335 and Eastern Street behind a roadblock. He remembered seeing Max walking south on Eastern toward the roadblock, but the dog stopped about 100 yards away and headed back toward the kennels.
Smith told Hastings on Friday he would keep searching until she told him to stop.
On Wednesday, rancher Bill Hefley alerted the kennels he found a dog while checking on his cattle. Hefley and another person from the kennels tried to catch Max, but Max wouldn't come to them.
Smith arrived and joined in the chase. After some coaxing, Max hopped into Smith's truck.
Hastings had missed some calls on Wednesday. When she checked her phone, she had a couple of messages from Smith, who said he had found her dog.
"My heart started beating really fast," she said.
She immediately left to meet Smith, and Max jumped all over her when they were reunited. The dog lost 9 pounds, but a veterinarian said he was healthy.
Hastings sent text messages to her three children. On the drive home, Max whined as Hastings neared the family driveway. He had a bath and found a favorite napping spot, sprawled out on one of her boys' beds.
"He's doing good," she said.
Source: http://amarillo.com/news/local-news/2011-03-10/dog-missing-fire-found
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Thursday, March 10, 2011
Pepper, schnauzer
Woman and Long Lost Dog Reunited by Chance
March 8th, 2011
A woman walks into a dog grooming salon, and walks out with her long lost dog. Some might call it fate.
Michelle (last name unknown) told local reporters that she was shocked when she went to pick her dog at a grooming salon, only to recognize another dog that was being groomed. It looked very much like her dog Pepper, who had been missing for three years.
“When I went to pick up Smokey to bring her back home, I saw a dog that looked just like Pepper, the dog that ran away 3 years ago,” said Michelle, the owner.
“I just kept on saying, ‘Oh my goodness, that looks like my dog.’ I wouldn’t let it go. When I said, ‘Pepper,’ her ears perked up, and she howled at me, and she got really excited, so it led me to believe that is was my dog.”
The owners of that dog agreed to have the Schnauzer scanned for a microchip, and the results confirmed her identity.
The understanding family allowed Michelle to reclaim her long lost friend, and today Pepper is back in the safety original home, reunited with her guardian by chance – and a microchip.
Source: http://www.lifewithdogs.tv/2011/03/woman-and-long-lost-dog-reunited-by-chance/
March 8th, 2011
A woman walks into a dog grooming salon, and walks out with her long lost dog. Some might call it fate.
Michelle (last name unknown) told local reporters that she was shocked when she went to pick her dog at a grooming salon, only to recognize another dog that was being groomed. It looked very much like her dog Pepper, who had been missing for three years.
“When I went to pick up Smokey to bring her back home, I saw a dog that looked just like Pepper, the dog that ran away 3 years ago,” said Michelle, the owner.
“I just kept on saying, ‘Oh my goodness, that looks like my dog.’ I wouldn’t let it go. When I said, ‘Pepper,’ her ears perked up, and she howled at me, and she got really excited, so it led me to believe that is was my dog.”
The owners of that dog agreed to have the Schnauzer scanned for a microchip, and the results confirmed her identity.
The understanding family allowed Michelle to reclaim her long lost friend, and today Pepper is back in the safety original home, reunited with her guardian by chance – and a microchip.
Source: http://www.lifewithdogs.tv/2011/03/woman-and-long-lost-dog-reunited-by-chance/
Wednesday, March 9, 2011
Luna, American Bulldog Mix
At last, Luna safe at home
Missing dog, owners are reunited after 9 days
By Carol Demare, Staff Writer
Tuesday, January 12, 2010
COLONIE -- After nine days on the lam, Luna, the deaf bulldog mix who broke out of her boarding pen at a veterinary hospital, was back in her owners' arms Monday, a few pounds lighter but none the worse for wear.
Officials at the Shaker Veterinary Hospital on Maxwell Road, from where Luna escaped at 4:30 a.m. on Jan. 2, said it's possible the dog ate food left out by concerned dog lovers throughout Latham and Loudonville, drank water that wasn't frozen and may have found shelter in old barns and a vacant greenhouse during freezing temperatures.
Luna lost about 12 pounds, said Ken Wolfe, assistant director of the veterinary hospital. She weighed 65 pounds when she pushed open the door to her crate and took off.
As Luna looked at the cameras and showed her friendly side at an afternoon news conference at the veterinary hospital, her rescue was detailed by Wolfe and her owners.
It began about 12:30 a.m., when dogs started barking inside a home on Springwood Manor Drive which runs alongside the property of State Police Troop G headquarters on Route 9 in Loudonville.
Family members looked out and saw Luna in their partially fenced-in backyard. They recognized the dog from a story that appeared in the Times Union on Sunday, said Shelley Rataul, one of the dog's owners.
They tried to get the dog in the house but Luna barked and wouldn't go in. So, they called the veterinary hospital and from there Ralph Rataul, the other owner, hurried to the Springwood Manor Drive home.
Source: http://www.timesunion.com/local/article/At-last-Luna-safe-at-home-553552.php
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Another version of the story, with video, is at: http://capitalregion.ynn.com/content/top_stories/492769/missing-deaf-dog--luna--found-safe/
Missing dog, owners are reunited after 9 days
By Carol Demare, Staff Writer
Tuesday, January 12, 2010
COLONIE -- After nine days on the lam, Luna, the deaf bulldog mix who broke out of her boarding pen at a veterinary hospital, was back in her owners' arms Monday, a few pounds lighter but none the worse for wear.
 |
| Luna, the American Bulldog Mix that has been missing from the Shaker Veterinary Hospital since Jan. 2, was found in good health today. Here, she greets reporters during a visit with her owners, Shelley and Ralph Rataul |
Officials at the Shaker Veterinary Hospital on Maxwell Road, from where Luna escaped at 4:30 a.m. on Jan. 2, said it's possible the dog ate food left out by concerned dog lovers throughout Latham and Loudonville, drank water that wasn't frozen and may have found shelter in old barns and a vacant greenhouse during freezing temperatures.
Luna lost about 12 pounds, said Ken Wolfe, assistant director of the veterinary hospital. She weighed 65 pounds when she pushed open the door to her crate and took off.
As Luna looked at the cameras and showed her friendly side at an afternoon news conference at the veterinary hospital, her rescue was detailed by Wolfe and her owners.
It began about 12:30 a.m., when dogs started barking inside a home on Springwood Manor Drive which runs alongside the property of State Police Troop G headquarters on Route 9 in Loudonville.
Family members looked out and saw Luna in their partially fenced-in backyard. They recognized the dog from a story that appeared in the Times Union on Sunday, said Shelley Rataul, one of the dog's owners.
They tried to get the dog in the house but Luna barked and wouldn't go in. So, they called the veterinary hospital and from there Ralph Rataul, the other owner, hurried to the Springwood Manor Drive home.
Source: http://www.timesunion.com/local/article/At-last-Luna-safe-at-home-553552.php
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Another version of the story, with video, is at: http://capitalregion.ynn.com/content/top_stories/492769/missing-deaf-dog--luna--found-safe/
Tuesday, March 8, 2011
Mac, Jack Russell terrier
Found Dog in Bray – Mac’s Back!
Emmet, blogmaster Lost Dog in Bray
Published on May 5, 2010
So the huge news is we’ve got Mac back. The other great news is that while he’s a bit thin, he’s physically in great condition. He has clearly been shaken up by his ordeal, but aside from being tired and initially timid, he’s very quickly returned to form.
The cool thing is we got Mac back as a combined result of pretty much everything we’ve been doing. We worked hard, and a lot of other people worked even harder on our behalf, but the combined effort is what led to finding him.
First up we got the word out on twitter via my account (@emmet), people really responded to this and it created a huge awareness. A couple of hundred people retweeted info on Mac, and really helped spread the word he was missing. As a result of that activity, Sian from whatswhat.ie contacted me. We’d never been in touch before, but John had mentioned her before in some context or other. So she put me in touch with her business partner from what’s what , Barbara
I know this is getting convoluted, but Barbara put me in touch with the legendary Lesley. Lesley runs Bray Directory and basically seems to have friends in both high and low places. She’s kept us going through a lot of the crappier times in the last week. Barbara and Lesley basically went around talking to people and harassing them and raising awareness. Impressive stuff.
So it seems that whoever took the dog felt enough pressure on them from people on all sides of the law, that they decided to let Mac go last Friday. Someone spotted him in Fassroe where he was abandoned by his abductees. From here, Mac made his way to Enniskerry, and to be honest I’m shocked he had the road sense to make it that far. He then basically followed this girl home, and they took him in on the weekend.
I spent my weekend plastering bray with flyers, and basically the girl’s father saw one of these. He checked out the website (site developed in record time by the legendary Niall Flynn), and confirmed from the photos it was Mac they had. The father got in touch with me, and then my wife picked up Mac this evening.
At first Mac was really quiet and timid, but he was physically really well. He’s lost a lot of weight, but hasn’t been maltreated. Despite his initial reticence, when he got home he went nuts, running around like a mad thing, really, really happy.
So basically that’s the direct path to how he was found, but lots of other people helped too. We had senior members of the Gardai taking a close personal interest, we had private detectives making enquires free of charge, we had some media coverage, not to mention twitter, facebook, blogs etc. and we even had a few really decent members of the traveling community working for us.
To be honest I really didn’t think we’d get mac back, but I thought if I threw everything at it, it mightn’t become a defining moment in the lives of my children. I am really blown away by the help and support we’ve got from everyone, without it he wouldn’t be here now. One bath later, my living room smells like a smelly wet dog, but I wouldn’t have it any other way.
Thanks.
Emmet
Source: http://lost-dog-in-bray.com/found-dog-in-bray-macs-back.html
Emmet, blogmaster Lost Dog in Bray
Published on May 5, 2010
So the huge news is we’ve got Mac back. The other great news is that while he’s a bit thin, he’s physically in great condition. He has clearly been shaken up by his ordeal, but aside from being tired and initially timid, he’s very quickly returned to form.
The cool thing is we got Mac back as a combined result of pretty much everything we’ve been doing. We worked hard, and a lot of other people worked even harder on our behalf, but the combined effort is what led to finding him.
First up we got the word out on twitter via my account (@emmet), people really responded to this and it created a huge awareness. A couple of hundred people retweeted info on Mac, and really helped spread the word he was missing. As a result of that activity, Sian from whatswhat.ie contacted me. We’d never been in touch before, but John had mentioned her before in some context or other. So she put me in touch with her business partner from what’s what , Barbara
I know this is getting convoluted, but Barbara put me in touch with the legendary Lesley. Lesley runs Bray Directory and basically seems to have friends in both high and low places. She’s kept us going through a lot of the crappier times in the last week. Barbara and Lesley basically went around talking to people and harassing them and raising awareness. Impressive stuff.
So it seems that whoever took the dog felt enough pressure on them from people on all sides of the law, that they decided to let Mac go last Friday. Someone spotted him in Fassroe where he was abandoned by his abductees. From here, Mac made his way to Enniskerry, and to be honest I’m shocked he had the road sense to make it that far. He then basically followed this girl home, and they took him in on the weekend.
I spent my weekend plastering bray with flyers, and basically the girl’s father saw one of these. He checked out the website (site developed in record time by the legendary Niall Flynn), and confirmed from the photos it was Mac they had. The father got in touch with me, and then my wife picked up Mac this evening.
At first Mac was really quiet and timid, but he was physically really well. He’s lost a lot of weight, but hasn’t been maltreated. Despite his initial reticence, when he got home he went nuts, running around like a mad thing, really, really happy.
So basically that’s the direct path to how he was found, but lots of other people helped too. We had senior members of the Gardai taking a close personal interest, we had private detectives making enquires free of charge, we had some media coverage, not to mention twitter, facebook, blogs etc. and we even had a few really decent members of the traveling community working for us.
To be honest I really didn’t think we’d get mac back, but I thought if I threw everything at it, it mightn’t become a defining moment in the lives of my children. I am really blown away by the help and support we’ve got from everyone, without it he wouldn’t be here now. One bath later, my living room smells like a smelly wet dog, but I wouldn’t have it any other way.
Thanks.
Emmet
Source: http://lost-dog-in-bray.com/found-dog-in-bray-macs-back.html
Sunday, March 6, 2011
Blue, smudge pot dog
RCDAS: Smudge Pot Dog Reunited With Owner
By Barbara McLean, John Welsh
February 8, 2011
A curious dog that got its head stuck in a smudge pot top returned home to his owner Monday, Feb. 7.
The dog, nicknamed "Smokey" by the officer who rescued the dog because its head was blackened by the smudge pot part, is actually known as "Blue" by his owner.
Owner Daniel Carlson of Hemet heard about Blue's predicament when friends told him they saw Blue on television news reports and on the Internet. Carlson went to the San Jacinto Valley Animal Shelter to redeem his pet.
Riverside County Animal Services officer Amy Farrell discovered the dog with the canister portion of a discarded smudge pot part on Feb. 4. The dog's head was stuck, but Officer Farrell was able to rescue the dog fairly easy without harming Blue. Lt. John Stephens assisted Officer Farrell by driving to his own home to grab a pair of tin snips that they both used to free Blue.
Carlson said his dog is about 1 year-old and unaltered. He said he plans to get Blue fixed soon. Officer Farrell said the dog was very excited to see his owner again. "He was jumping on him and wanted to be pet," she said.
When dogs are in tact, they have a tendency to want to roam much more than dogs that are altered, Riverside County Chief Veterinarian Dr. Allan Drusys said.
"Dogs are looking for love and sometimes get into strange situations when they're out roaming, such as this unusual incident," Dr. Drusys said. "Blue is one of our fortunate dogs. We were able to help - and the owner was reunited with his wandering pet."
"But so many other pets end up in much more tragic situations," Dr. Drusys warned. "The most common, sadly, is being hit and killed by a passing motorist."
Source: http://blogs.inlandsocal.com/pets/2011/02/rcdas-smudge-pot-dog-reunited.html
By Barbara McLean, John Welsh
February 8, 2011
A curious dog that got its head stuck in a smudge pot top returned home to his owner Monday, Feb. 7.
The dog, nicknamed "Smokey" by the officer who rescued the dog because its head was blackened by the smudge pot part, is actually known as "Blue" by his owner.
Owner Daniel Carlson of Hemet heard about Blue's predicament when friends told him they saw Blue on television news reports and on the Internet. Carlson went to the San Jacinto Valley Animal Shelter to redeem his pet.
Riverside County Animal Services officer Amy Farrell discovered the dog with the canister portion of a discarded smudge pot part on Feb. 4. The dog's head was stuck, but Officer Farrell was able to rescue the dog fairly easy without harming Blue. Lt. John Stephens assisted Officer Farrell by driving to his own home to grab a pair of tin snips that they both used to free Blue.
Carlson said his dog is about 1 year-old and unaltered. He said he plans to get Blue fixed soon. Officer Farrell said the dog was very excited to see his owner again. "He was jumping on him and wanted to be pet," she said.
When dogs are in tact, they have a tendency to want to roam much more than dogs that are altered, Riverside County Chief Veterinarian Dr. Allan Drusys said.
"Dogs are looking for love and sometimes get into strange situations when they're out roaming, such as this unusual incident," Dr. Drusys said. "Blue is one of our fortunate dogs. We were able to help - and the owner was reunited with his wandering pet."
"But so many other pets end up in much more tragic situations," Dr. Drusys warned. "The most common, sadly, is being hit and killed by a passing motorist."
Source: http://blogs.inlandsocal.com/pets/2011/02/rcdas-smudge-pot-dog-reunited.html
Saturday, March 5, 2011
Puppy in Stark County
Fido Finder Success Story
Debbie L
Saturday September 25 2010
I just want to thank this website for even being on here.
My Father called me Sunday September 19, asking me to try to use my computer to find his 10 week old puppy, it slipped out between my 77 year old Autistic Uncle's feet and he didn't know it.
I searched every website I could think of even the newspapers. I went to the Stark Cty Humane Society, the Stark County Dog Warden looking at all the dogs, no puppy.
On Wednesday September 22, I found this website - FidoFinder.com. I took note that it is a free website to post lost and found dogs.
I searched for found dogs, and there was someone in Massilon who found one. But I thought it was too far away from where he was lost. So I entered the info on the puppy.
By Thursday morn at 7:45 AM September 23, that same lady had responded to my entry. I gave my Father the name and number and they have been very happily reunited.
I have purchased a new name tag from your site and had it sent to my Father. He is very appreciative of this site.
Thank you loads, Debbie L.
Source: http://www.fidofinder.com/lost-dog-success-story.php?id=1051
Debbie L
Saturday September 25 2010
I just want to thank this website for even being on here.
My Father called me Sunday September 19, asking me to try to use my computer to find his 10 week old puppy, it slipped out between my 77 year old Autistic Uncle's feet and he didn't know it.
I searched every website I could think of even the newspapers. I went to the Stark Cty Humane Society, the Stark County Dog Warden looking at all the dogs, no puppy.
On Wednesday September 22, I found this website - FidoFinder.com. I took note that it is a free website to post lost and found dogs.
I searched for found dogs, and there was someone in Massilon who found one. But I thought it was too far away from where he was lost. So I entered the info on the puppy.
By Thursday morn at 7:45 AM September 23, that same lady had responded to my entry. I gave my Father the name and number and they have been very happily reunited.
I have purchased a new name tag from your site and had it sent to my Father. He is very appreciative of this site.
Thank you loads, Debbie L.
Source: http://www.fidofinder.com/lost-dog-success-story.php?id=1051
Friday, March 4, 2011
Shorty
Man Saves Paralyzed Girl's Missing Dog
Filed Under: Inspiration Dog Rescue Amazing
February 11, 2011
Here's some happy news to warm your heart.
Heather Siebert lost the use of her body from the neck down after a paralyzing car accident last June and if it wasn't for one man's act of kindness, would have lost her dog and best friend Shorty.
Gregg Stokes was driving down a country road in North Carolina when he spotted the injured dog and immediately pulled over to help the animal.
Luckily, the animal wasn't severely injured and Gregg was able to take the animal home.
While asking around the community for the owner of the dog, he happened to bring it to Heather's former high school where everyone immediately recognized the dog.
Heather had just about given up hope and thought Shorty was gone for good when the kind stranger reunited her with the dog.
"When I'm having my bad days, my mom and dad just put Shorty on my bed and let him lay here with me," Heather told reporters after the reunion.
Her mother was appreciative of the stranger's act of kindness and overjoyed with their good fortune, saying:
"It just seems like every time something negative happens, there's something positive that brings a ray of sunshine back into our lives."
We're SO happy for the Seiberts and Shorty!
We wish Heather the best as she continues to live a full and happy life, even after such a tragic accident, with Shorty by her side.
Watch a video of the story HERE
Source: http://teddyhilton.com/2011-02-11-man-saves-dog-from-the-road
Filed Under: Inspiration Dog Rescue Amazing
February 11, 2011
Here's some happy news to warm your heart.
Heather Siebert lost the use of her body from the neck down after a paralyzing car accident last June and if it wasn't for one man's act of kindness, would have lost her dog and best friend Shorty.
Gregg Stokes was driving down a country road in North Carolina when he spotted the injured dog and immediately pulled over to help the animal.
Luckily, the animal wasn't severely injured and Gregg was able to take the animal home.
While asking around the community for the owner of the dog, he happened to bring it to Heather's former high school where everyone immediately recognized the dog.
Heather had just about given up hope and thought Shorty was gone for good when the kind stranger reunited her with the dog.
"When I'm having my bad days, my mom and dad just put Shorty on my bed and let him lay here with me," Heather told reporters after the reunion.
Her mother was appreciative of the stranger's act of kindness and overjoyed with their good fortune, saying:
"It just seems like every time something negative happens, there's something positive that brings a ray of sunshine back into our lives."
We're SO happy for the Seiberts and Shorty!
We wish Heather the best as she continues to live a full and happy life, even after such a tragic accident, with Shorty by her side.
Watch a video of the story HERE
Source: http://teddyhilton.com/2011-02-11-man-saves-dog-from-the-road
Thursday, March 3, 2011
Clifford, Staffordshire Terrier
Lost Dog Reunited With Owner Four Years On
Author: Nick Mays
Thursday, 03 March 2011
A MISSING dog has been reunited with his owner after four years, thanks to Battersea Dogs & Cats Home.
Clifford the Staffordshire Bull Terrier went missing in 2008, during which time 28 dog years have passed. Clifford escaped from his home in Enfield after the door was accidentally left open, and owner Mark Lapinid spent months searching for him. Mark registered lost reports with local councils, the police and Battersea’s Lost Dogs & Cats Line.
Mark had previously microchipped Clifford, and knew if ever the dog appeared at a vet or rescue centre, the microchip would show Mark’s contact details. But as the years passed, Mark began to lose hope of ever seeing his much loved dog.
However earlier this month Clifford was brought into Battersea by a member of the public. Battersea staff scanned him for a microchip and quickly located Mark’s details, before getting in touch.
Mark explains: “When I heard from Battersea I came straight down to the centre, I couldn’t believe it, and my whole family were so excited. We all thought Clifford was gone forever.”
As soon as Clifford saw Mark he jumped up excitedly, wagging his tail and licking his long-lost owner. Mark adds: “Seeing Clifford again is amazing. I don’t know what he’s been up to for four years, but I hope he’s been well looked after, perhaps living with another family.”
Clifford was one and a half years old when he went missing, so had grown considerably over the years, but Mark recognised him straight away. He says: “Clifford was the runt of the litter, but he had a little white marking on his chest in the shape of a ‘T’, and my family are Tottenham fans, so he was made for us. He’s still got the mark now. I’d recognise him anywhere.”
Battersea Lost & Found Assistant Kayleigh Parr helped Mark when he visited Battersea. She explains: “It was fantastic to be able to reunite Mark and Clifford after four years. It really highlights the importance of microchipping, because it meant we could quickly locate Mark’s details on the central microchip database. It’s also really important to keep your contact details up to date with your chip provider, as you never know when your pet could go missing.”
Anyone who loses or finds a dog or cat should call Battersea’s Lost Dogs & Cats Line. In 2009, Battersea received over 6,000 lost reports from owners whose pets had gone missing and nearly 10,000 found reports from people who had found a dog or cat, successfully reuniting 1,989 dogs and 100 cats with their owners.
Source: http://www.londondogforum.co.uk/item.do?item=774 or http://www.londondogforum.co.uk/lost-dog-reunited-with-owner-four-years-on-i774.html
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Author: Nick Mays
Thursday, 03 March 2011
A MISSING dog has been reunited with his owner after four years, thanks to Battersea Dogs & Cats Home.
Clifford the Staffordshire Bull Terrier went missing in 2008, during which time 28 dog years have passed. Clifford escaped from his home in Enfield after the door was accidentally left open, and owner Mark Lapinid spent months searching for him. Mark registered lost reports with local councils, the police and Battersea’s Lost Dogs & Cats Line.
Mark had previously microchipped Clifford, and knew if ever the dog appeared at a vet or rescue centre, the microchip would show Mark’s contact details. But as the years passed, Mark began to lose hope of ever seeing his much loved dog.
However earlier this month Clifford was brought into Battersea by a member of the public. Battersea staff scanned him for a microchip and quickly located Mark’s details, before getting in touch.
Mark explains: “When I heard from Battersea I came straight down to the centre, I couldn’t believe it, and my whole family were so excited. We all thought Clifford was gone forever.”
As soon as Clifford saw Mark he jumped up excitedly, wagging his tail and licking his long-lost owner. Mark adds: “Seeing Clifford again is amazing. I don’t know what he’s been up to for four years, but I hope he’s been well looked after, perhaps living with another family.”
Clifford was one and a half years old when he went missing, so had grown considerably over the years, but Mark recognised him straight away. He says: “Clifford was the runt of the litter, but he had a little white marking on his chest in the shape of a ‘T’, and my family are Tottenham fans, so he was made for us. He’s still got the mark now. I’d recognise him anywhere.”
Battersea Lost & Found Assistant Kayleigh Parr helped Mark when he visited Battersea. She explains: “It was fantastic to be able to reunite Mark and Clifford after four years. It really highlights the importance of microchipping, because it meant we could quickly locate Mark’s details on the central microchip database. It’s also really important to keep your contact details up to date with your chip provider, as you never know when your pet could go missing.”
Anyone who loses or finds a dog or cat should call Battersea’s Lost Dogs & Cats Line. In 2009, Battersea received over 6,000 lost reports from owners whose pets had gone missing and nearly 10,000 found reports from people who had found a dog or cat, successfully reuniting 1,989 dogs and 100 cats with their owners.
Source: http://www.londondogforum.co.uk/item.do?item=774 or http://www.londondogforum.co.uk/lost-dog-reunited-with-owner-four-years-on-i774.html
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