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/
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