Fido, Staffordshire bull terrier

Bath resident finds dog 120 miles from home
Battersea Dogs & Cats Home
31 January 2012

The two year old Staffordshire Bull Terrier, named Fido, was taken to the world famous animal charity in London, over two hours away from the dog’s home in Bath, after he was found wandering the streets of Kensington by police. Like all dogs who arrive at the charity, Fido was scanned for a microchip – a tiny ID chip that sits under the animal’s skin – and staff were able to contact Mr Eyles to tell him they had his dog.

A dog from Bath who was missing for over eight months has been reunited with his family over 120 miles from home thanks to a microchip and Battersea.

Mr Eyles said: “I couldn’t believe it when I got the call from Battersea and travelled to London immediately to get Fido. I didn’t think I’d ever see my dog again, and it’s thanks to the microchip that we’ve been reunited. If it wasn’t for the microchip I’d never have found him – every dog owner should get it done. Fido is such a friendly boy and really popular where we live so I know lots of people in Bath will be pleased that he’s coming home.”

Last year Battersea took in almost 6000 dogs, of which only 28 per cent were microchipped. Tracey Maskell works in Battersea’s Lost Dogs & Cats Line team and helps reunite animals with their families.

She added: “Reuniting owners with their lost pets is the best part of the job and I was delighted to be the one to tell Fido’s owner that his dog was safe and sound. I couldn’t believe it when I found out how long he’d been missing and where he was from. This story just goes to show how important it is to make sure your pet has adequate identification. We encourage all dog and cat owners to have their pet microchipped and to wear a collar and tag.”

Source: http://www.battersea.org.uk/about_us/whats_new/bath_resident_finds.html

Tasha, black lab

Dog lost after fatal car crash reunited with Weston family 6 days later
By Susannah Bryan, Sun Sentinel
January 3, 2012

WESTON— Elyssa Hausman remembers sitting in the median in a daze, peering at the Hyundai's shattered back window.

That's when it hit her. Where was Tasha?

The family's 11-year-old black Labrador had been in the back with the luggage.

And now she was nowhere to be found.

Worse news was to come. In the ambulance on the way to the hospital, Elyssa, 17, learned the woman she called mom had died in the crash.

The family of four was driving home on Christmas Eve after a 10-day vacation when another car drifted into their lane near Port Orange and sideswiped their Hyundai SUV.

Their vehicle careened into the grass median on southbound Interstate 95 and flipped before hitting a tree.

Chris Goss, 54, died at the scene. Her 18-year-old son Jeffery Goss, her longtime companion Steven Hausman and his daughter Elyssa made it out with scrapes and bruises.

Hausman and Goss met in 2003 and never married, but considered themselves a family, Elyssa said.

Griefstruck, the three survivors drove home to Weston on Christmas Day. They had funeral arrangements to make. And a dog to find.

Elyssa called animal shelters, the Volusia County pound, state highway officials, even the company that mows the median along I-95.

No luck. After six days, the family had almost given up hope of ever seeing Tasha again.

Then a call came in from an animal control officer in Volusia County.

On the day after Goss' funeral, Tasha had been found wandering near the crash site, hungry and thirsty and covered in ticks.

A veterinary technician drove Tasha home that same day. But first she needed surgery — 32 stitches on a seven-inch gash that stretched from the top of her head to her neck.

"I have no idea how she survived the crash," said Amanda Goss, 23, who came home from college after getting the news about her mom. "We think my mom had something to do with it. We believe my mom wanted to give us back the dog so we could have some kind of joy while we are grieving."

As soon as the car drove up in the driveway about 10:30 p.m., the family dashed out to greet Tasha.

"We all went running out the front door," Elyssa said. "That's the first time we'd smiled since Christmas Eve."

The dog was still groggy from surgery, but managed to lick off the peanut butter they'd smudged on their hands to greet her.

"It was like bringing home a piece of my mom when we found her," Amanda said. "It's a miracle she was thrown from the car and was missing for six days and she had no broken bones. None of it makes sense. Everyone in the crash … it's amazing that they all didn't die."

Elyssa thinks Goss watched over Tasha for those six days "to make sure she'd come home to us."

Source: http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/broward/weston/fl-family-reunited-wth-dog-20120103,0,5760286.story
Video at: http://www.sun-sentinel.com/videogallery/67136791/News/family-reunited-with-dog-after-tragedy

Lucky, English bulldog

The Incredible Tale of Lucky Collins
By Sam Strike
January 26, 2012

The dog, found nearly dead on the streets of Philadelphia, is back to stay with his family in Garrett Hill.

Lucky likes to snuggle under a blanket in his favorite spot in the house — the couch

To say that Lucy Collins is lucky would be an understatement.

Two weeks ago the seven-year-old Bulldog was found emaciated and near death on the streets of Philadelphia and was dropped off to the Ryan Veterinary Hospital (University of Pennsylvania) by an unknown Good Samaritan.

He was nearly all-bones and had multiple open wounds. Doctors found a BB pellet in his face and scars all over his body.

They could hardly find a body temperature. But they did find a microchip that led them to the Collins family of Garrett Hill.

When Nicole Collins got the phone call two weeks ago that Lucky had shown up at the hospital, “My stomach dropped,” she said.

The Collins family had given lucky away about four years prior to a former coworker of Nicole’s husband John. Lucky – the trusted family dog of four years – had lacerated their son’s eye after he jumped on the dog, and the parents felt they could no longer keep him if there were any risk of harm to their children.

After a few years, John Collins and the coworker who took Lucky lost their jobs and contact with each other.

So the phone call from the veterinary hospital — accompanied by a police check to make sure the Collinses were not Lucky’s abusers — shocked the family.

When they saw Lucky at the hospital that first night, “He was filthy with dirt, disgusting,” Nicole Collins said.

“We said, ‘Lucky, we’re here, we’re here’. And he opened his eyes and looked at me,” she said.

Collins said Lucky did not skip a beat coming back to his Garrett Hill home. He had lived with the family from when he was a few months old to when he was about four years old.

At first he was too weak to climb the stairs or climb on top of the kitchen chairs like he used to (to happily steal food). He needed to rest a lot but only eat a little because they were reintroducing food to his system.

Lucky was 33 pounds and should have been about twice that weight, doctors said.

In the two weeks that he has been back home he has gained four pounds. And the family says that despite whatever he experienced on the streets, he is still the same sweet, gentle Lucky.

He is still potty trained and he still hogs the Collins’ bed at night, Jennifer said.

“Dogs do remember. They don’t forget,” she said.

He is anemic and still has low red blood count and protein levels, so he has an uphill battle, Collins said. But they are taking him to the doctor weekly and giving him the food and medicine he requires.

Of course, that food and medicine costs a few hundred dollars a month. So Collins has set up a collection can at the Bryn Mawr 7-11 and at the National Penn Bank in the Strafford Shopping Center seeking donations towards his care.

Once he improves these costs will no longer be necessary, but for now, for example, his food costs $250 a month.

Collins said the family will never know exactly what happened to Lucky or how he found himself on the streets, but the family, including kids Victoria, 15, Amber, 13, and John, 11, are happy that he’s home.

After all, this is the dog who ate a pound of chocolate, a rubber snake toy and a bunch of tampons and survived them all.

“This dog has nine lives. We’re convinced of that,” said Mary Ann Schrader, Nicole Collins’ mother.

Source: http://radnor.patch.com/articles/the-incredible-tale-of-lucky-collins#photo-8969445

Grizzly Bear, German shepherd

Missing Dog Returns After 2 Years
Micro Chip Helps Reunite Dog, Owner
Cris Ornelas - 23ABC South County Reporter
January 25, 2012

TAFT, Calif. -- A family in Taft is thrilled to have their dog back two years after it first went missing.

Grizzly Bear is content to be home

The German shepherd named Grizzly Bear was rescued from the Kern County animal shelter as a puppy, but just a few months after finding a home, he disappeared.

Ella Trainor adopted Grizzly from the animal shelter at 7-months-old. Then, three months later, Grizzly vanished from the family's yard.

"He disappeared out of my yard," Trainor said. "I’m sure he was stolen because none of the gates were open and he couldn't jump because he actually hurt his hip the night before."

Trainor searched everywhere for Grizzly but never found a thing.

"I put up fliers. I put ads in the paper. I kept looking for him," she said.

Even after two full years passed, Trainor said she never gave up hope she'd find Grizzly.

"The week before I got the call I had told both my daughters, ‘I know my dog is not dead. Grizzly is somewhere and I am going to find him,’ and lo and behold I get a phone call the next Sunday," Trainor said.

Thanks to a microchip under his skin, Grizzly was identified by animal control after he was found in southwest Bakersfield.

Bakersfield, Calif. is about 26 miles from Taft, Calif.

"What I was told is that Grizzly followed a little girl home from school and he kind of wandered the streets and the dad put him in the back yard and called animal control," Trainor said.

Animal control reunited Trainor and Grizzly the same day.

"I was kind of emotional. I was bawling," Trainor said.

But where Grizzly was and what he did for two full years is still a mystery.

“We wish dogs could talk and tell us what happened," Trainor said.

Trainior said she paid to have Grizzly micro chipped, but now, all dogs adopted from Kern County animal control are required to be chipped.

Source, with video: http://www.turnto23.com/south_county/30290804/detail.html

Tank, jack russell terrier

Divine Intervention? Dog lost for nearly a year reunited with family
Written by Tammie Fields
4:10 PM, Jan 12, 2012


Tampa, Florida - A dog separated from his family for 10 months found his way home this week with the help of a Tampa church.

A few church members say they noticed a Jack Russell Terrier at Celebration Church at 16235 Lake Magdalene Boulevard in Tampa on Saturday.

Sunday during the church service, the dog was running back and forth outside the glass sanctuary doors as church members sang.

Donna Kenney says, "The dog was very friendly. The children fed him and hugged him. One child made a little scarf to put around his neck. It was really cute."

She says her son Mike took the dog home that day since the dog couldn't be left alone at the church. Mike says, "I figured if it was my dog, I would want someone to do the same for me."

Church members noticed the animal had a tag on him and so they called the Pasco County Animal Services department in hopes of tracking down the owner. It worked.

Donna Kenney called Barbara Korynas to deliver the good news. She says she was afraid the number might be an old number and she wouldn't be able to find her.

Barbara picked up the phone though and after she was reunited with the dog her family named "Tank," she explained how it all happened. She says Tank went missing while she was at work.

"As the days went on, we took different routes home, calling his name and he never showed up," she said.

Korynas says the family hung Tank's Christmas stocking this year hoping he would return.



Click HERE to read the latest blog entries from Pastor Deanna Shrodes about Tank's journey. It's still a mystery where Tank was for the 10 months he was missing.

Source: http://www.wtsp.com/news/article/231682/8/Divine-Intervention-Dog-lost-for-nearly-a-year-reunited-with-family

Remi, German short-haired pointer

Minnesota dog reunited with owner after missing for 5 months
By Bob Shaw, Pioneer Press
Updated: 01/23/2012

Remi is reunited with his owner, Kali Barrett of Alexandria, Minn. on Saturday Jan. 21, 2012 at the Animal Humane Society in Woodbury.

Someone should make a movie about Remi, the toughest dog in America.

Over five months, the dog traveled 150 miles and survived wintry Minnesota weather. Covered with wounds and starved enough to lose one-quarter of his body weight, he is believed to have escaped from dog-nappers,

And like a celluloid hero, he came through it all with his tail wagging.

Remi, a German shorthair pointer, was reunited with his owner on Saturday at the Animal Humane Society facility in Woodbury.

"I couldn't believe it," said Kali Barrett, who lives in Alexandria, Minn.

She said she raised Remi on her farm. "He is my baby," Barrett said. "I sleep with him. He rides with me in the pickup, not in the bed of the pickup."

One day in August, she said, she was mowing her lawn when Remi started chasing something and ran off. A few days later, she found his dog tags at the end of her driveway, where she believes someone tossed them as a taunt.

She suspects a neighbor snatched the dog for pheasant-hunting.

Weeks turned into months and her hopes dimmed. She grew tired of all the false alarms, when well-meaning neighbors would call after spotting other dogs.

"I thought he was dead, hit by a car. Or someone had him who liked him," said Barrett.

Remi was recovered thanks to the persistence of Brittany Foley.

Foley, who works at the Humane Society facility in Woodbury, noticed the dog after he was picked up in Oakdale about two weeks ago.

The dog was horribly thin and had wounds on his legs, face and hips.
But he was friendly. "He wanted someone to be with him," said Foley. "We knew someone had loved him at some point."

The dog needed injections of water for four days. He had lost 14 pounds and could only eat about a quarter cup of food at a time.

Foley said she felt an instant connection. "He looked at you like he was trying to tell you something," she said.

The Humane Society kept the dog beyond the five-day legal minimum for strays, and Foley spent hours searching websites for information.

She finally found a missing-dog listing on Craigslist - but surely, she thought, this dog couldn't be the one. The Craigslist dog was lost in Alexandria in August and didn't look much like the scrawny, banged-up dog in her kennel.

Then she checked the markings on his sides. They matched the description. Then she checked the legs. Another match.

"It kept matching up and matching up," Foley said.

The wounds on Remi were not consistent with a dog that had lived outdoors for five months but the pressure wounds of a dog kept in a small box for weeks or more. "They were deep, round sores," Foley said.

This is consistent, she said, with the idea that the dog was dog-napped. "Hunters use boxes for transport, in the back of their pickups," said Foley.

Remi seems to be recovering from his nightmarish experience.

"When I got him home, he sniffed his La-Z-boy," said Barrett. "Then he just crawled in and slept."

Source: http://www.twincities.com/news/ci_19801365?source=rss

Arco, german shepherd

Bomb-sniffing dog leads chase after escape in Michigan
By Elisha Anderson, Detroit Free Press
January 18, 2012

ROMULUS, Mich. – Arco — a retired bomb-sniffing dog who once patrolled hallways on Capitol Hill— spent Tuesday playing an elaborate game of hide-and-seek with his new owner, police and animal control officers.

The 5-year-old Belgian German shepherd escaped his collar during a bathroom break near Detroit Metro Airport, said Sherry Schumann, his new owner. He was on the run for more than 12 hours.

Schumann lives in Perrysburg, Ohio, and came to metro Detroit to meet her new pet for the first time Monday. But after he got away, she spent the night searching for Arco in the rain, with help from Romulus and airport police.

The group spotted the dog several times throughout the night, but he eluded them.

When two officers got close enough to try to catch Arco, the dog bit them both and kept running.

One Romulus officer needed stitches for a wound to his hand, while the other, an airport police officer, was bitten on his hand but didn't need stitches, officials said.

Romulus animal control officer Kim Matthews, armed with dog treats and hot dogs, joined the search Tuesday morning. She spotted Arco running along railroad tracks near I-94 and Vining, near the airport.

She called his name, and he recognized it. Animal control officers, police and staff from the Detroit Dog Rescue came to the scene, spending several hours playing with the dog and letting him get to know them.

One of the officers threw a stick, and Arco knew exactly what to do with it.

"The dog took off and wanted to play catch," Matthews said.

Matthews broke off pieces of hot dog and Arco ate the whole bag — along with most of a bag of dog treats. When he got close enough to Matthews, she looped a leash around his head, ending his time on the lam.

The dog is now at the Romulus Animal Shelter, where he will stay in quarantine for 10 days to make sure he doesn't have any diseases, such as rabies.

After that, animal control officers plan to release him to Schumann, who said he will become a tester at her business, Woofer's Delight in Toledo, Ohio, which bakes dog treats.

Schumann said she's overjoyed her dog was found safe, and she got to spend time with him Tuesday afternoon.

"I gave him a hug, and he gave me a kiss," she said

Source: http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/story/2012-01-18/michigan-dog-escape/52632368/1

Former Bomb-Sniffing Dog Found Safe after Escaping from Airport: MyFoxDETROIT.com

Video shot during the search:

Bomb-sniffing dog on the loose: wwlp.com

Molly, pug

Crouch End couple reunited with stolen dog after Twitter storm
by Tim Lamden
Tuesday, January 10, 2012


A Crouch End couple are celebrating after a celebrity-backed Twitter campaign helped to reunite them with their stolen dog.

Catriona Fox, 27, admitted “falling apart” after her boyfriend Justin Liebenberg, 36, called her last Friday to tell her burglars had broken into their flat on Stapleton Hall Road and stolen their three-year-old pug Molly.

Family members and friends encouraged the couple to spread word of the missing dog online and within 24 hours there was a Facebook page and Twitter account dedicated to finding Molly.

News of the missing dog was quickly picked up by celebrity Twitter users, such as Jonathan Ross, Bianca Jagger and Joanna Page, who posted appeals on the social networking site and by Sunday evening Molly was reunited with her owners.

Speaking about the panicked 48 hours in which Molly was missing, Miss Fox said: “We haven’t slept, we haven’t eaten, we have been beside ourselves.”

Neighbours called the police last Friday after seeing two men leaving the couple’s basement flat holding a bag and the pet pug, having forced open the front window with a crowbar.

Besides Molly, the intruders made off with two laptops and a PlayStation, having ransacked the entire flat.

Miss Fox said: “What we don’t understand is why they took [Molly], whether they were being utterly horrible or whether they thought they could sell her.”

The subsequent Facebook page and Twitter account set up in the hunt for Molly quickly attracted attention from hundreds of concerned well-wishers, including an array of high-profile celebrities, who issued their own appeals to thousands.

Molly was eventually returned home after she was found wandering in Enfield by a woman who then checked online to discover the internet appeal.

Miss Fox said: “We are overwhelmed and just so pleased to have her back. The interest in it has been amazing, it’s restored our faith in people.”

Source: http://www.tottenhamjournal.co.uk/news/crouch_end_couple_reunited_with_stolen_dog_after_twitter_storm_1_1173458
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Sadie, Newf/lab/springer spaniel mix

Lost dog reunited with owner following news coverage of a house fire
Penny Eims, Dog News Examiner
January 11, 2012

Fruitport Township, MI - Call it what you will...fate, destiny, devine intervention...some things are just meant to be.

Sadie, 13, receives oxygen from Fruitport Township firefighter Chris Anderson after being removed from a house fire Monday. Fire department personnel responded to a house fire at 2584 E. Pontaluna shortly after 8:30 a.m. on Monday. Sara Puente and her daughter Gabrielle Puente were home at the time and escaped without injury, as did Sadie, another dog and two cats

Back in November, 13 yr-old Sadie wandered away from her home with the Tejchma family.

The senior dog is mostly blind, hard of hearing and doesn't get around quite the way that she used to, but somehow she managed to travel several miles away from her family's home.

The Tejchma family searched high and low for their missing dog, but their efforts weren't successful. As the days turned into weeks - their hope for finding Sadie alive faded.

Despite the family's failed attempts to locate their senior dog, she was alive and well.

A woman named Sara Puente had discovered the wayward dog just after Thanksgiving - she told WZZM news that the dog "looked miserable", so she took her home.

Since Sadie was not wearing any type of identification, Puente was unable to locate her true family.

Fast forward to this past Monday when the Puente family was on the news following a fire at their home.

As fate would have it, a member of the Tejchma family was watching the report about the Puente family's house fire and low and behold, Sadie herself was featured in the news clip.

Sadie's original family spotted the dog being administered oxygen on the news cast and they immediately recognized her as their own.

The Tejchma family contacted the fire department for help - letting them know that the dog who had been on television was their family pet - a dog who they had owned since Sadie was just six weeks of age.

The fire department reached out to the Puente family to let them know.

Sadie's guardian, Marie Tejchma, feared that Puente might not want to turn Sadie back over to her.

But Puente understood the bond between a dog and their person, and she was more than happy to reunite Sadie with the family who loved, and missed her.

Sadie created a bond between the two families who now consider each other friends.

In fact, Sadie's family may even take in the Puente's Dachshund temporarily while they search for a new place to live following the devasting fire.

It is one of those rare stories where everything just seems to work out the way that it is supposed to.

Source: http://www.examiner.com/dogs-in-national/lost-dog-reunited-with-owner-following-news-coverage-of-a-house-fire

Another version of the story is at: http://www.mlive.com/news/muskegon/index.ssf/2012/01/fruitport_township_fire_reunit.html

Bruno, Italian greyhound

Lost Italian Greyhound in Kirkland FOUND!
by Robert Pregulman
January 15, 2012

Bruno, the red Italian Greyhound that escaped from his home in Kirkland earlier this week has been found and is safe at home!

His mom provided me with some of the details of what happened so other people can learn from her experience.

You should note a few things from her account of what happened:

1. When a dog runs away it tends to put as much distance as possible between itself and whatever startled it. This means the area you’ll need to search will be larger than you anticipate. Bruno was about a mile away from his house about 30 minutes after his escape, and by that night he was 2 miles away.

2. You can find many resources online to help you with your search. Many people have found posting lost dog notices on Craigslist is helpful. Findtoto.com alerts people in targeted areas about your dog and gives them a number to call if they see it.

And the website for Federal Way-based Missing Pet Partnership has tons of helpful information that can significantly increase the chances that you find your pet.

3. If you run up to a lost dog, even if it’s yours, it will most likely run away. The best thing to do is kneel down, hold out some food, and wait for it to come to you.

Here’s the account of how Bruno’s mom found him:

Bruno was accidentally let out of my house on Monday afternoon around 2:30 while we were not home. The search began around 3pm but he had already been seen almost a mile from home at that point based on later calls. Many of us searched the area we thought he would be in almost straight from 3pm to about 7:30.

My husband went back out from about 8-9 and my mom went out from about 10:30 to 12:30am. What is sad is that we were in the wrong spot! He had already made it a couple of miles from home in another neighborhood that we would have never expected.

Multiple people saw him and tried to catch him but he was too fast and scared. Based on other calls, he actually ended up in an entirely different neighborhood that same night. (Monday) (Crossing VERY busy streets in the process.)

Monday night I created an 8 x 11 colored flyer and we reached out to many online organizations to post including things like craigslist and a Pet Amber Alert.

Tuesday am around 4:15 I went out looking again and began hanging flyers all over my neighborhood including vets, major grocery stores in the general Kirkland area, coffee shops, etc. I looked all day as I would receive calls here and there from my flyers.

One supposed sighting in an area I wouldn’t have expected but I thought it was another dog I had seen with a woman earlier. I went home to be with my spouse, children, devastated to not have him back yet. After my kids went to bed I went out again in the neighborhood he was last seen to look and ran into my good friend who was looking. Nothing.

Tuesday night I contacted the Missing Pet Partnership who shared amazing advice for how to find him and what to do when I did.

Wednesday AM I set up a phone service through findtoto.com and within minutes started receiving phone calls. This was very stressful as people were saying they saw him but I was doubtful it was him as it was near a location I would have never thought he would go. (I live in N. Rose Hill, he was in S. Rose Hill, across 85th!) Around 12:30-12:45 I received a few phone calls telling me people saw him and that he had been hit. This was from findtoto.com calls.

I went to a location where two people told me they had just seen him around 1:30. I walked around a bit, spoke to myself a bit softly, asked everyone who I saw if they had seen him, including kids getting out of school at Rose Hill Elementary. I had walked away from a house that I went up to, where someone said they saw him, when kids across the street yelled that they saw him.

I ran over and he did see me but scurried off! They helped me barricade the area a bit as I didn’t want him to take off. I followed the advice from Missing Pet Partnership to be calm, not chase, kneel down, don’t look at him, and offered food (I threw some near him and smaller pieces to get him close.) I also called my other dogs name as they told me that would be familiar and less threatening to him and to not call his name. He slowly got close enough to eat pupperoni from my hand and get my scent and I gently picked him up.

I was so emotional at that moment I think the kids thought I was crazy. I thanked them profusely and anyone else who has called throughout the week. I have also tried to return calls from people and emails letting them know he was found. I am in the process of removing my flyers as well as the advice I saw was to do that if I find him so people can spend their energy looking for other lost animals.

Finally, I do think there is something about thinking/envisioning FINDING the animal vs. that it’s lost. I tried to say out loud and think it in my head over and over, “I will find you, I am looking for you.” I did this a lot even though it wasn’t easy.

Source: http://www.seattledogspot.com/2012/01/15/lost-italian-greyhound-in-kirkland-found/

Mickey

Oklahoma Soldier Reunites With Lost Dog
By Jamie Oberg, News 9
Jan 14, 2012

When Crystal Tucker lost her dog before she had to deploy over sees with the National Guard, she was afraid she'd never see Mickey again. A chain of coincidences brought the pair back together Saturday.

OKLAHOMA CITY - One Oklahoma Air National Guard soldier thought her baby, "Mickey," was gone forever.

"Oh my God!" cried Senior Airman Crystal Tucker. "Baby, oh you're so excited! Oh my God," Crystal cried Saturday when she saw her dog come around the corner at the PetSmart at NW 63rd and May.

The tale of how this heartwarming reunion was even possible is pretty incredible.

"I got a knock at the door one night and a guy said I have this dog and he's been hit by a car and can you take him in and we said ‘ya'," Bella Foundation President, Eric McCune said.

Mickey was picked up in August without tags or a microchip and could have easily suffered a fate at the pound.

But for five months, he was in good hands. "She had no idea we had him," McCune said.

Lucky for Mickey, he ended up with The Bella Foundation just after they had just started a new program to provide veterinary care to animals whose owners were unable to pay.

"We put up signs, ads on craigslist, posts on Facebook," McCune said. "Nobody ever stepped forward."

Meanwhile, Tucker, who is with the 137th Air Medical Evacuation Squadron, had to deploy to Germany and leave her lost little Mickey behind.

"I had him for four years, and I wasn't ready to give up on him yet,"

Tucker said she never gave up hope. "It was very scary,"

Another dog lover, whose name also happens to be Kristel, took Mickey in and had been fostering the dog she called "Rudy" in hopes the dog's owner would one day be found.

When her deployment was nearing its end, Tucker went on-line from Germany to check before coming back home. Maybe, just maybe…

And she found him.

"They had him listed as Rudy and I was like ‘No! That is Mickey!"

Crystal Tucker made arrangements to meet Kristel Evans and bring Mickey back home.

"Thank you so much!" Tucker said to foster mom, Kristel Evans when they met.

"He's been such a good boy!" Evans replied. "It's been my pleasure."

A happy homecoming for the Air National Guard Soldier got even better just one day after arriving in the states.

"Just to see him come around the corner and just know he'd be back in my arms…It was great!" Tucker said.

There was one last thing Crystal made sure to get before leaving the store Saturday: new dog tags so Mickey will be safe and everyone will know just where he belongs.

"He was just meant to come back home."

The Bella Foundation waived the $150 adoption fee for the soldier; they hope this story also reminds people the importance of adoptions and more importantly, micro-chipping your pets.

Source: http://www.news9.com/story/16522322/oklahoma-soldier-reunites-with-lost-dog
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Another version of the story is at: http://www.kfor.com/news/local/kfor-airman-reunited-with-lost-dog-at-homecoming-20120115,0,44749.story

Calee, pitbull puppy

Coincidence reunites lost puppy with owner
Penny Eims, Dog News Examiner
January 14, 2012

Orange County, CA - An amazing coincidence and a case of mistaken identity led to a long-overdue reunion between a Pit bull puppy named Calee and her guardian, Brittani Hemmingson.

Rewind to July 27, the day that Calee disappeared...

Three people were seen taking the puppy away and since that time, a desperate search has been underway for Calee's safe return.

A Facebook page was created with the hopes that more eyes could be on the lookout for the missing dog and the page worked in the way that it was intended.

Days ago, a Facebook follower posted a photo of a dog who was at the OC animal shelter that looked similar to Calee on the Facebook page.

Hemmingson was afraid to get her hopes up - too many times she has had her hopes dashed by false alarms.

A friend was able to go to the shelter to see if the dog was in fact, Calee. There was a tell-tale mark on the puppy's coat which would identify the missing dog - a "C" on her back.

Low and behold, the dog at the shelter had the mark that they were hoping for.

The friend sent a photo to Hemmingson - seeing the identifying mark brought the girl to tears - joyful tears of relief.

Just a day before, Hemmingon has posted on the Facebook page that she had to move back to Northern California. At the time that Calee was found, her guardian was already 5.5 hours north...

But the distance meant nothing to Calee's relieved guardian - she promptly got in the car with her boyfriend and made the trek back to Orange county.

Though months had passed, Calee remembered her family - and the reunion was wonderful.

Now for the strange twist to this story.

The dog who brought Hemmingson's friend to the shelter in the first place was not actually Calee.

Confused? The dog who the friend initially saw online was actually a nine month old Pit bull that has since been named Kalia.

Kalia looks almost identical to the missing puppy, Calee.

If not for Kalia being posted online, Calee would not have been found when the friend showed up in person.

And more to this story...Kalia, the dog who led to the happy reunion, does not have a family waiting for her.

In fact, she is at risk of being killed.

The page which was designed to help reunite Calee and her family is now being used as a platform to save Kalia.

The hundreds of followers on Calee's Facebook page have managed to drum up $500 in donations for Kalia, but as of yet, there is nobody to rescue and pull the puppy who still remains behind bars at the OC Animal shelter.

Calee's guardian refers to Kalia as her puppy's "Savior" - that puppy has until 5 pm on Sunday to be pulled, or she will be gone forever.

Click on Kalia's name to see her photo and information about the shelter that she is housed at.

And Calee - welcome home!

Source: http://www.examiner.com/dogs-in-national/coincidence-reunites-lost-puppy-with-owner

Emma, black lab

Fire crews rescue man, dog from ravine over Occoquan River
By Kari Pugh
Published: December 23, 2011

Volunteer fire crews late Friday saved a man and his dog from a dark and steep ravine over the Occoquan River off Signal Hill Road.

The black Labrador retriever, Emma, had gone missing two days earlier, said Lake Jackson Volunteer Fire Chief Jim Bailey. On Friday evening, her owner found her huddled on a crevice more than 200 feet down the embankment, about 30 feet above the water.

He went down to get his dog, but lost his footing -- and his grip on his flashlight, which slipped down into the water. He fell about 200 feet down, stopping himself by hanging onto a tree.

It was too dark to climb his way back up, so the man called out for help. His wife called 911 about 8 p.m., and the dramatic rescue began.

Crews from the Buckhall, Lake Jackson, Occoquan-Woodbridge-Lorton, Stonewall and Dale City volunteer fire departments, along with the Manassas Rescue Squad, set up over the ravine.

A firefighter rappelled down with a safety harness, and the duo was hoisted up to safety, Bailey said.

Lake Jackson volunteers put a boat in the water and rescued the dog from below.

“It took some coaxing to get her to come to me,” Bailey said. “She was way down the hill, tucked into a crevice. If she had stepped back a foot, she would have fallen in the water.”

Dog and owner weren’t injured, Bailey said. But Emma was happy to be rescued.

“She was real excited when we reunited her with her family,” Bailey said.

Source: http://www2.insidenova.com/news/2011/dec/23/fire-crews-rescue-man-dog-ravine-over-occoquan-riv-ar-1565457/
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Lola, shepherd lab mix

Owner reunited with missing service dog
Posted: 12/22/2011

MEDLEY, Fla. (WSVN) -- A dog owner has been reunited with his precious pooch after the canine went missing a few days ago.

On Tuesday afternoon, Rodrigo Gasteazoro took his service dog, a German Shepherd-Labrador mix named Lola, to the vet at the Trail Animal Hospital in West Miami. All of a sudden, something frightened Lola, and she suddenly took off.

Lola ran across a busy roadway, and Gasteazoro and his girlfriend, Nicole De Llamo, had been looking for Lola since then.

Gasteazoro suffers from a neuromuscular disorder called Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease, which severely weakens his arms and legs. He is confined to a wheelchair and says Lola has been a big help to him. Just weeks ago, Gasteazoro got locked out of his home and Lola was able to open the door for him from inside the house.

A woman who lives near the animal hospital said she saw what she believed to be a stray dog in the area. The canine still had a leash attached to its collar. The woman said she called 311, which connected her to Animal Control Services.

Animal Control arrived at the scene and waved a wand over the dog's microchip. They discovered the dog was indeed Lola and contacted Gasteazoro.

Gasteazoro and De Llamo were reunited with their dog on Thursday afternoon, just two days after she went missing. "[I feel] relief, utter relief, utter relief," said Gasteazoro. "I can't thank everyone enough. I mean, as cheesy as it sounds, it's a testament to the system working. That microchip kind of saved the day, and then, people doing their part to report her and get her back to us."

Source and video: http://www.wsvn.com/news/articles/local/21006229256023/dog-owner-reunited-with-missing-service-dog/

Previous story at http://www.wsvn.com/news/articles/local/21006213487835/owner-searching-for-missing-service-dog/

Owner searching for missing service dog
12/22/2011

WEST MIAMI, Fla. (WSVN) -- A dog owner is looking for his lost service dog and is hoping the public can help him find the missing pooch.

Rodrigo Gasteazoro took his service dog, a German Shepherd-Labrador mix named Lola, to the vet at the Trail Animal Hospital in West Miami Tuesday afternoon, when something frightened Lola, and she suddenly took off. "When I went to hand her off, so as not to get tangled, something startled her. She got scared, and she pulled away. Before I knew it, she was going across the street," said Gasteazoro. "I was praying for traffic to stop all of a sudden."

Lola made it across the busy roadway, but Gasteazoro has not seen his dog since.

Gasteazoro suffers from a neuromuscular disorder called Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease, which severely weakens his arms and legs. He is confined to a wheelchair and says Lola has helped him out tremendously this past year. "All of a sudden, there's an extra set of hands, or mouth, if you will, to help with just the little things," said Gasteazoro. "She picks things up for me on the floor, she can open doors for me."

"A couple of weeks ago, Rodrigo got locked out of the house, and Lola opened the door for him before I could ever get home," said Nicole De Llamo, Gasteazoro's girlfriend. "She's been a huge change to our lives."

Tuesday night, Gasteazoro and De Llamo searched the area for Lola but to no avail. They have also posted missing flyers in the neighborhood in hopes that someone will find Lola and return her to them. "She's quite possibly the sweetest dog I've ever encountered," Gasteazoro said.

De Llamo said, "She's my baby. She's definitely my baby."

Lola still has a red leash attached to her, and Gasteazoro said all of his contact information is on the dog's collar. If you see Lola, please call the number on her tag. Lola's owners are offering a reward for their dog's safe return.

Another version of the story, with video, is at: http://www.wsvn.com/news/articles/local/21006229256023/owner-reunited-with-missing-service-dog/

Harmony, pit mix

Family: Stolen Dog 'Made to Fight'
By Nicole Mooradian
January 10, 2012

Harmony, a deaf boxer-American bulldog puppy, is back home; however, she's traumatized from her ordeal, her family tells Patch.

Patrick Thomasson kisses Harmony shortly after she returns home from her ordeal.

A deaf puppy who had been missing for about two weeks was reunited with her family Monday, Sheyla Thomasson confirmed to Patch in an email.

Harmony, who was stolen from a car in the Manhattan Village mall in Manhattan Beach on Dec. 27, was found in Lennox, Thomasson told Patch in a phone conversation Tuesday. A person called the phone number listed on one of the many "missing dog" fliers plastered all over the South Bay.

According to a news release from Manhattan Beach Police Department spokeswoman Officer Stephanie Martin, the caller said a family member discovered Harmony on Hawthorne Boulevard near 116th Street.

Erin Lovejoy—the director of the Lovejoy Foundation, which received the tip about Harmony's location—and Patrick Thomasson confirmed the puppy was Harmony and brought her home.

She was in bad shape, Sheyla Thomasson said. The veterinarian who examined her said it looked as though the dog had been dragged over concrete. Harmony also had cigarette burns on her body and a bloodied paw, among other injuries.

"We're trying to bring her back to health," Thomasson said, noting that the veterinarian said Harmony was "definitely made to fight."

Nevertheless, the prognosis is good. "It's sad. It's very, very sad, but she's doing a lot better today already," Thomasson said. "It's just going to be awhile until she's back to normal."

For the next few days, Harmony is staying with Lovejoy, who fostered the white boxer-American bulldog mix for six weeks before the Thomassons adopted her, and visiting her adopted family several times per day. On Friday, when the Thomasson's children will be out of the house, Harmony will come back for her first night at home, Thomasson said.

"We don't know what [Harmony is] capable of right now because she's been so abused," Thomasson said, noting that Lovejoy's house is a more familiar one for the dog. "Saturday, we'll see how she's doing with Bella [the Thomasson's other dog], and then Sunday, the kids will come back."

The reward, which had grown to more than $4,000 since the puppy's disappearance, will not be paid, Thomasson said.

The people who called about Harmony "didn't want a reward," she said, so all donations made to the fund will be returned.

The MBPD is still investigating, Martin said. The person who took Harmony also stole an iPad, a $25 Visa gift card and about $70 in cash.

When Harmony was stolen, the community rallied around the Thomasson family, who had adopted the dog just before Christmas, by canvassing neighborhoods, posting fliers and increasing the reward.

"The whole community came together tremendously," said Thomasson. "Everybody kept the faith."

Source: http://palosverdes.patch.com/articles/stolen-dog-reunited-with-family

Zeus, sheltie

Owner Reunited With Dog After He Disappeared
Monday, December 26 2011, 11:54 PM EST

HUBER HEIGHTS -- It's a sound that has been missing from Tammy Shelton's home since Christmas, her dog Zeus barking.

"As you can see, he's like Mom's beside me, it's all right. and I'm like, Zeus is beside me, it's more than all right," said Shelton.

Sunday, some boys saw a person in a green van swoop Zeus out of the side lawn. We interviewed Tammy and she pleaded for the people to bring the dog back, no questions asked. The right person saw the report.

"Neighbors said, that lady was on the news... you better return that dog," said Shelton.

A woman showed up with Zeus, returning the dog but did not accept the reward.

"My son was here, so there was a knock at the door and she just informed him that, "here he is, he could have gotten run over." Well I really would have liked to thank her.... I still do. I don't really know, I don't know how the story goes but he's home, he's home," said Shelton.

Tammy says she'll be keeping a much closer eye on him, even if he's in the side yard. She's even considering installing a permanent microchip so she could always track him.

Source with video: http://abc.daytonsnewssource.com/shared/newsroom/top_stories/videos/wkef_vid_4468.shtml

Previous story and video at: http://abc.daytonsnewssource.com/shared/newsroom/top_stories/videos/wkef_vid_4459.shtml

HUBER HEIGHTS -- A local woman is extremely distraught and she is begging for thieves to return her best friend. Two kids saw someone steal her dog, and he's still missing.

"It's Christmas, just bring him back," said Tammy Shelton since a Grinch has taken all of Tammy Shelton's Christmas cheer. Her beloved dog, Zeus, was plucked from her yard, stolen in broad daylight on Christmas.

"We were delivering Christmas gifts to all my friends with this Santa outfit on," said Shelton.

She took the outfit off of Zeus around 2:30 and let him out in the side yard, as she always does.

"He goes and then he lays right on the cement," said Shelton.

When he wasn't there, she panicked and searched the whole neighborhood. Then neighborhood boys told her they saw people in a green van take zeus, even after they protested. She traveled to the humane society with no luck, so she called police.

"He took the police report he said I hate to tell you but this is the time of year. They want your money they want your reward. Even if someone had told them where that dog goes they want your money. But you know what they can ask me any amount of money, if they just bring him back... I would give it to them," said Shelton who says Zeus has a hard time moving around because of hip dysplasia. And with no teeth, can only eat certain foods. But mostly, he's only ever known one mom, Tammy. She's worried about what they would want with a 12 year old dog who's her best friend.

"Whatever you want, just bring him back," said Shelton.

She says if you know anything about the dog, she's urging you to contact her. No questions asked.

Stella, border collie mix

Dog, missing after wreck, reunited with owner
Reporter: Laura Leslie
January 9th, 2012

Raleigh, N.C. — Emily Odom got her dog back.

Stella, a seven-year-old border collie mix, spent more than 10 days in the elements after she and her owner, Odom, were in a wreck on Interstate 95 Dec. 26.

On Monday, the two were reunited after Stella was spotted outside a Harnett County body shop.

Odom was rear-ended in a traffic jam on I-95 near Dunn, and the impact sent her truck flipping into the opposing lanes. She ended up upside-down, hanging from her seat belt and bleeding from her head.

Stella wasn't hurt, and when rescuers arrived, Odom let her out of the car.

But the frightened dog ran.

Odom, friends and volunteers mounted a campaign to find Stella, posting flyers throughout Harnett and Johnston counties and contacting WRAL News.

The search came to fruition when someone at the body shop recognized Stella and called Odom. When she arrived, the dog ran right into her arms.

Source: http://www.wral.com/news/news_briefs/story/10577717/

Video appeal for help in the search for Stella at: http://www.wral.com/news/local/video/10554001/#/vid10554001

Spike, mongrel

Dog owner gets ‘best Christmas present’ after being reunited with lost pet
Kate Ferguson, Reporter
Saturday, January 7, 2012

A Christmas day stroll on Hampstead Heath nearly turned to tragedy for one dog owner after he was separated from his usually faithful mongrel Spike.

Oliver Woolnough was walking his dog Spike on Christmas day on the Hampstead Heath when Spike got lost. They were reunited the next day thanks to Battersea Dogs Home.

Oliver Woolnough of Rosebery Road, Muswell Hill, was on his way to his daughter’s Hampstead home for turkey and all the trimmings when he decided to take his 16 year-old pet for a walk on the Heath.

But, distracted by a lively Jack Russell pup which he was also taking for a stroll, Mr Woolnough lost sight of his beloved dog.

The 65 year-old combed the woods for two hours, but had to give up his search as night fell.

Luckily, two fellow Heath walkers spotted the lost dog and took the forlorn pet to Battersea Dogs Home, who used Spike’s microchip to reunite him with his owner the following day.

Mr Woolnough said: “He probably looked quite vulnerable.

“He used to be able to find his way across London. Once, he was waiting for me outside the Whittington hospital in Highgate and managed to find his way back to our home in Crouch End.

“But I was more worried this time because he was getting old.”

He added: “There are a lot of concerned dog owners on the Heath – they act like a real community.

“I am really grateful to the walkers for finding him, I was so relieved when I was reunited with Spike.”

Source:
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Vito, search & rescue dog

Vito, missing search and rescue dog, has been found
By Michael S. Rosenwald
01/08/2012

Vito was found late Saturday.

Vito, the missing search and rescue dog, has been found.

His owner and handler Sonja Heritage got a call at 10:30 p.m. Saturday from a man who had seen media reports telling the story of how Vito went missing Thursday after getting spooked during a training exercise in Bowie.

“You’re missing a dog, right?”the man said. “I have your dog. I have him. He’s safe.”

Heritage, a member of the elite Fairfax Urban Search and Rescue Team, could barely contain her emotions.

“He was so sweet,” she said. “What an amazing man.”

His name is Omar. On the night of his 38th birthday, pushing midnight, he met up with Heritage and reunited Vito with her. He brought along his brother and father.

“We were all crying and Vito was jumping around and everyone was so happy,” Heritage said. “What an amazing ending.”

Omar is mechanic and Vito had been riding to work with him in his truck, enjoying a hard-working blue collar life. Heritage’s husband does similar work, so Vito was a natural for the role.

Heritage doesn’t know all the details of how and when Omar found Vito, but the dog’s rescuer works near Whitemarsh Park, which is where Vito went missing.

“This is an amazing man,” Heritage said. “He took such good care of him. He understood what a special dog Vito is.”

Omar turned down cash. All he asked was for the chance to visit Vito. “So now Vito has an uncle Omar,” Heritage said. “There is nothing but love coming from that man.”

Vito slept soundly last night, at home, in bed with his owners.

Source:

Ole, Welsh corgi

Dog found alive 4 days after Montana avalanche
Friday, January 6, 2012

BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) – A dog that was feared dead after he was swept away in a weekend avalanche that killed his owner showed up four days later at the Montana motel where his owners had stayed the night before going backcountry skiing.

Search and rescue team member Bill Whittle said he was "positive" that the Welsh corgi — named Ole — had been buried in Saturday's avalanche.

"The avalanche guys were up there on Monday investigating and they were looking for the dog too and never seen any signs," he said.

But on Wednesday, Ole showed up exhausted and hungry back at the motel, four miles from where the slide occurred, the Billings Gazette reported.

"When I first saw the dog, it was sitting in front of their room staring at the door," Cooke City Alpine Motel owner Robert Weinstein said in an email to The Associated Press on Thursday.

Dave Gaillard of Bozeman was skiing with his wife when the avalanche struck near Cooke City, an old mining town just outside Yellowstone National Park.

"His last words to me were, 'Retreat to the trees.' I think he saw what was coming from above, that I did not see," Kerry Corcoran Gaillard told the Bozeman Daily Chronicle.

Gaillard's daughter, 11-year-old Marguerite, was putting photos of Ole on poster board as a memorial Wednesday afternoon.

"She found out when she was halfway done with that that Ole was still alive," said Gaillard's step-daughter, Silver Brelsford.

Whittle drove the dog back to the family in Bozeman.

"He was tired," Brelsford told the AP. "He's doing really well now."

Sidney resident Jody Ray Verhasselt, 46, also died Saturday in another avalanche while snowmobiling north of Cooke City. The two New Year's Eve avalanche deaths have taken a toll on the small mountain community.

"We needed this," Whittle said of Ole's survival. "It kind of cheered everyone up."

Searchers recovered Gaillard's body earlier this week. Family members were preparing for his funeral on Friday.

Source: http://yourlife.usatoday.com/parenting-family/pets/story/2012-01-06/Dog-found-alive-4-days-after-Montana-avalanche/52410830/1

Lola, corgi mix

Pompano Beach man reunited with dog lost at sea
By Juan Ortega, Sun Sentinel
Wednesday, Jan. 4, 2012

Lola, a Corgi mix, about 4 years old, who disappeared during a fishing trip off Hillsboro Beach on Friday was reunited with her owners on Tuesday.

A dog vanished during a fishing trip in the waters off Hillsboro Beach. And after a four-day search that led to Boca Raton, the 4-year-old Corgi mix and her owner were reunited Tuesday.

With the public's help, Mike Peters, 33, of Pompano Beach, tracked his dog to Ed Hubbard, a volunteer at Tri-County Humane Society in Boca Raton.

Hubbard had been tending to her after she appeared along the beach in Boca Raton, Hubbard said. "She looks great," Peters said. "She must have swam to shore and been in shock. I can't believe she was up in Boca Raton."

Peters and his girlfriend, Heather Wolfe, 42, of Fort Lauderdale, were searching for Lola since Friday afternoon, when the dog fell off their 22-foot boat near Hillsboro Inlet, Peters said.

The dog was between his legs as the boat approached the inlet, and in an instant, "she was gone," he said. He searched the waters to no avail, he said. He and his girlfriend began posting fliers about her disappearance in public places and on Facebook, he said.

Still, Peters was optimistic about the dog's survival. It was part of Lola's routine to swim across a lake near her home almost every day, Peters said. Additionally, the waters were calm Friday.

Though Lola normally wore a dog tag, it wasn't on during the trip. Peters figured a "horrible haircut" that Lola received from a groomer would help the public recognize Lola. She looked like a lion: Her body was shaved, with hair remaining only on her head and neck, he said.

Lola was found in the 900 block of Ocean Boulevard in Boca Raton. About 7 p.m. Saturday, police asked the Tri-County Humane Society to pick up Lola from a police facility, according to Hubbard, the volunteer. Hubbard responded and took Lola back to his home and tended to her, he said.

Tuesday, someone read an article on the Sun Sentinel's website about the search for Lola and put Peters in touch with Hubbard, Peters said. Hubbard said he was "tickled pink when somebody called."

What did Hubbard think of Lola's hairdo? "Strange" and "incomplete," he said.

http://www.palmbeachpost.com/news/pompano-beach-man-reunited-with-dog-lost-at-2078914.html

Dodger, collie mix

Family, Dog Reunited After 4 Years Apart
Microchip Used To Find Owner, Police Say
January 3, 2012

SEVERNA PARK, Md. -- A North Carolina family got a late Christmas gift when Maryland police helped reunite them with a dog that had been missing for more than four years.

Dodger, a Collie mix, went missing from the Willey family's Owings Mills, MD home in 2007 while family members were away. The family conducted a search and contacted local shelters, but the dog wasn't found.

Police said a good Samaritan found an older Collie mix in Severna Park on Dec. 27 and took it to Anne Arundel County Animal Control. The dog was found on Honeysuckle Lane.

Dodger was reunited with family members in late December.

The dog was microchipped, and animal control workers contacted the microchip company for information about the dog's owners, police said.

The company was able to contact a member of the Willey family in Virginia, and that family member put the company in touch with the dog's owner, who now lives in Cedar Ridge.

The owner, William Douglas Willey, and his sons visited the police department Dec. 30 to be reunited with the dog.

Police said the dog had abrasions on his face and teeth missing and that it wasn't clear where the dog had been.

"Dodger’s return to his family underscores the importance of using microchips for tracking and also registering our pets." 
- County Executive John Leopold

"Animal control staff are elated to reunite 'Dodger' with his family and wish them the best of luck in the future," the police department said in a news release.

Authorities and county officials are using the case as an example of why microchips are important for pet owners.

“Dodger’s return to his family underscores the importance of using microchips for tracking and also registering our pets," said County Executive John Leopold.

A microchip can be implanted by a veterinarian.

Source: http://www.wxii12.com/r/30125397/detail.html
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Mottel, pomeranian

Yelp has arrived!
By Kevin Fasick and Aaron Feis
December 31, 2011

A cruel dognapper snatched Mottel a few days ago, but the 17-year-old Pomeranian is starting the new year on a happy bark — he was reunited with his best friend yesterday.

REUNION: Actress and teacher Lenore Harris clutches her prized Pomeranian, Mottel, yesterday after the dog was stolen from her cart in a drugstore.

“It’s a miracle,” said West Sider Lenore Harris, 59, who was grateful to a mother and daughter who rescued Mottel after they found him in a bag at an Upper East Side bus stop a day after he was snatched from her in a drugstore.

“It’s a great holiday New York story,” said Lenore’s sister, Rosalind Harris, an actress who played Tzeitel in the movie “Fiddler on the Roof.”

Lenore, herself an actress who played a public defender on “Law & Order,” said she took Mottel with her to a CVS drugstore at 93rd Street and Broadway Tuesday night.

She put Mottel’s carrier in her shopping cart. She turned to speak to the pharmacist and “it wasn’t even a minute. I turned around and the dog was gone.”

“I ran to the front of the store yelling, ‘Somebody stole my dog!’ ” she said. “The employees said they saw the man walk out very fast with the bag.”

“I know this sounds dramatic, but you want to commit suicide,” said Lenore, who teaches speech at the HB Studio acting school. “I wanted to kill myself.”

She and her two sisters spent $1,500 on fliers and posters and on drivers to take them around looking for him.

The story’s happy ending began Wednesday night when Sonya Thorpe, 43, and her 9-year-old daughter Naomi, saw a bag at the bus stop at 96th Street and First Avenue.

“Naomi picked up the bag. She thought it would be nice for school,” said Thorpe.

“I took it from her and I set the bag down and I heard a whimper.” she said. “I opened the bag and said, ‘Oh my God, he’s so cute.’ ”

Yesterday morning, Thorpe read the tag that indicated he had a microchip and where to call if he was lost.

American Veterinary Identification Devices quickly called Lenore, who went to the Thorpes to get the dog.

Today Lenore is taking Mottel for a special grooming and bath “so he enters the new year sparkling,” she said yesterday at the Westside Veterinary Center, where doctors said Mottel was fine.

Source: http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/manhattan/yelp_has_arrived_cULfzEMMVXgYLPNGYzl5eJ

Duke, rottweiler

Lost, Injured Dog Reunited with Owner After FOX 17 Story Airs
Jonathan Seely, FOX 17 Web Producer
December 30, 2011

After airing a story last week about dogs in the Muskegon area with serious injuries as a result of dog fighting, a dog and owner have been reunited.

MUSKEGON, Mich— After airing a story last week about dogs in the Muskegon area with serious injuries as a result of dog fighting, a dog and owner have been reunited.

Earlier this month, Rotty the Rottweiler was lost and injured. He was turned over to Pound Buddies shelter in Muskegon Heights with a dislocated hip, scratches and bites, where he was treated.

Doctors think Rotty was a 'bait dog' used for training fighting dogs.

Despite the sad start, the story has a happy ending. It turns out Rotty’s real name is Duke and he belongs to a family in the Ravenna area.

A friend of the family saw FOX 17’s story and the pet and owner were reunited Thursday night.

Source, with video: http://www.fox17online.com/news/fox17-lost-injured-dog-owner-reunited-after-fox-17-story-airs-20111230,0,1779391.story