Shadow's Capture

Shadow's Capture
by Laura Weitner
December 8, 2014

One of my rescue friends contacted me about a lost dog.  I was at work at the time, but told them if they didn't find the dog by the time I got off work that night, I would help look.

Shadow was one of our local shelter dogs.  A friend of mine who volunteers for the shelter had taken Shadow into her home as a foster.  The dog had been adopted out to a couple about a week before.  I was told the couple had lost the dog 2-3 days before but the dog was soon found.

On this day, the couple had taken the dog out early in the morning and the dog slipped his collar and ran away.  A few rescue friends searched for him all day.  When I got off work, they filled me in on what happened.

They had seen Shadow several times throughout the day.  He was traveling a pretty broad distance in a short amount of time and was in and out of busy traffic all day.

Shadow is a skittish dog and terrified of cars.  So, I was appalled to hear that the rescuers would drive up on him really fast, open the car door and yell his name when they would see him.  At one point they said one of the ladies jumped out of the car and chased after him.  Of course he bolted each and every time.

After hearing all this, I thought I would never get a hold of Shadow if I saw him that night.

While getting my bearings straight in the area he went missing, one of the rescuers called and told me where he had just been spotted.  I was there within 2-3 minutes.

The dog was nowhere to be found.  I kept broadening my search are and within 10 minutes I spotted him about 5 blocks away from where he was last sighted.

I drove past him and went about half a block down to park because I didn't want my truck to scare him.

I loaded myself up with treats in a crunchy sounding bag, and I had my snappy snare.  I did not have a magnet dog so I wasn't sure if I would ever get close enough to him but I was going to try.

I practiced all my calming signals and it only took a few minutes for me to get his attention.  I kept my back to him the whole time but could see that he was slowly getting closer and closer to me.

Finally, when he was right at my side, I captured him with my snappy snare.


This was my first rescue where everything was absolutely "textbook".  I used every part of my training with this rescue and it worked with no problems at all!  I honestly was so proud of myself for it.

Shadow was captured about 1 to 1 1/2 miles from his home about 13 hours after he went missing.  I was able to find and capture him within 45 minutes of starting my search.

Shadow is finally safe and secure!

Puppy Love, Chihuahua

Puppy Love's Capture
by Laura Weitner
November 24, 2014

It was late one Friday night when I was wasting time playing around on Facebook.  A friend tagged me in a post in a panic about her brother's dog that went missing earlier that day.

The dog, Puppy Love, is a 10 year old blind chihuahua with diabetes.  The dog had already missed 2 insulin shots so they were extremely worried.

I almost didn't do it because I was sick and it was freezing outside but I couldn't get it out of my head so I jumped in my truck and headed out.  A friend even phoned me and said 'Laura, you don't have to go look for every missing dog.  It isn't always your responsibility."

My response was, "If I don't do it, I know no one else will."  We do not have a community that really cares about finding missing pets, other than just asking someone else to do it or just simply sharing on Facebook.

I am so glad I went!  This honestly was my easiest find yet.

I knew the dog probably had not traveled far, but was worried that she was just hiding out somewhere and I wouldn't be able to see her in the dark.

I wanted to drive the neighborhood just to get my bearings when all of a sudden, a little dog ran across the road in front of me.  This was so easy I almost didn't believe what I was seeing.  She was a block from her home.

Puppy Love was in quite a panic, running aimlessly.  I could tell she was able to see just a bit because when I was behind her, she kept looking back and tried to run faster from me.  I think she could see the lights from my truck and maybe my shadow if anything.

Calming signals were not working at all with this mostly blind dog who was in an absolute state of panic.  So, I dismissed everything I was trained to do and just ran after her.  This was an old dog so I could easily outrun her.

I ran up to her and tried to scoop her up but she started snapping. So I got my snappy snare and secured her that way.  After allowing her to scream bloody murder for a couple of minutes, she finally calmed down.

I was able to pick her up with my jacket protecting me from getting bit.  Once she was in my arms, she was just precious, no fear biting at all.

I immediately reunited her with her family who was so relieved.  It was a good night! Afterwards, the family wrote me this letter which I felt was so nice:

November 9, 2014 I write this letter concerning a true friend to animals. On Friday evening, the 7th of this month, unbeknown to us, my 10 year old, blind and diabetic Chihuahua decided to follow our dalmatian mix on an excursion through the neighborhood. Usually our river lot is large enough to satisfy their adventure needs, but this day it proved insufficient. To make a long story short, Puppy Love (our Chihuahua) did not return with our dalmatian. My wife, son, and I began searching our little township of Chesapeake, OH right away. After about four hours of looking, we came up empty handed. My sister and brother had notified all of their Facebook friends of the situation and asked them to help in any way they could since Puppy Love was blind and had well passed her time for insulin injection and feeding. The happy ending came later that night when my sister’s good friend (our good and dear friend now), Laura Weitner, called me that she had found our Puppy Love and was bringing her to our home. Thanks to Laura, our Puppy Love did not spend the night in the frigid cold, but rather was fed, given her medicine and slept in a nice warm bed with her mommy and daddy! We are truly thankful for you, Laura, and we consider you and angel to animals in need. We have an entire house full of rescue animals which we love and take care of to the best of our ability. It is both a pleasure and a blessing to meet others who have a genuine heart for animals in distress. Thank you so very much! Dean and Family

Dharma, saluki

The Story of Dharma
by Cathy Scott
November 18, 2014

I was heading home one night after a pet sit visit and I missed my usual turn into my street. I went to the next light by our hospital and in front of me runs a gorgeous Saluki.

Dharma and her owner in the hotel room, where they were staying

I followed her. She was limping and I could see blood from her mouth. I knew it would be hard to get her but I had to try. She was doomed if I didn't. Other good Samaritans saw me and joined in to help.

We were able to get her to run into a storage facility that fortunately dead ended. We got her to a small end of the facility and another person there helped me block her so that I could get a leash on her.

Once we did, she gratefully gave up. I gently picked her up and put her in my van.

She walked right in the crate with no hesitation.

I then immediately said "someone is missing this dog".

I went to the nearest vet and had her scanned and to my surprise she had no chip. But she had clearly been recently groomed and was in very good shape, other than some injuries from being on the run.

I went home and immediately put her picture on Facebook.

One of my friends found a Craigslist ad that looked very much like her, and I called the number.

I waited a couple of hours and the woman on the phone immediately identified her right down to a small scar on her back leg. I knew I had found her owner.

They had been putting up endless amounts of flyers for her, but she had run so far away from where she was lost, I never saw them. Unbeknownst to me at the time, the dog had been on the run in the streets of San Jose for 36 hours. It's truly amazing she survived.

Tragically they had been in a motor vehicle accident and the tow truck driver had let this gorgeous dog out of the car, even though the owner had them gated in the back seat. They had just come from the local dog show. This dog I found was and is an amazing show champion.

The other amazing thing is that the owner and I had mutual friends. Right at the moment I found her, other friends of mine were getting the word that Dharma was lost. With the power of social media I was able to find the owner.

The picture is of the owner and the dog laying on the bed in the hotel room where they were staying.

Needless to say she now has a microchip.

The owner and I have remained life long friends. We connect when we can and I'm planning a visit to her home to visit the dogs this coming year. I'm so grateful it was a happy ending.

Jack, yellow lab

Volunteers find dog who disappeared following crash
By Erin Andersen / Lincoln Journal Star1
November 10, 2014

Jack is back.

It’s welcome news for an Elmwood family injured in a traffic accident early Saturday near Bennet.

Jack

Jack, a 5-year-old yellow Labrador, was in the family’s Chevy Suburban en route to a day of duck hunting, when a pickup driven by Christopher Swift, 22, of Cheney, crossed the Nebraska 43 center line and collided with the Suburban, sending it rolling into the ditch, said Lancaster County Chief Deputy Jeff Bliemeister.

Rick Hauschild, 47, his son Lane Hauschild, 19, and nephew Kyle Hauschild, 30, were thrown from the Suburban, as was Jack, according to Kathy Eidson Hauschild, wife of Rick and mother of Lane.

Jack lay in the ditch by his family until the ambulance arrived. It is theorized the sirens spooked the dog, who took off across the fields.

Rick Hauschild was taken by helicopter to Bryan West Campus, where he was placed in a medically induced coma. On Monday afternoon, he was in serious condition with two collapsed lungs and crushed vertebra, but was conscious and alert, said family friend Tom Keller of Malcolm.

Lane Hauschild was listed in good condition, with two broken hips. Kyle Hauschild was treated and released, as was Swift, Bliemeister said.

The accident, which occurred around 5 a.m., remains under investigation by the Lancaster County Sheriff’s Department. Alcohol is suspected as a factor, Bliemeister said.

When no one spotted Jack after the crash, Keller made a plea for help on Facebook. That's when Sam Franklin, founder of Lost Pets of Lancaster County, summoned a cadre of volunteers to search the fields near Bennet and pepper the community with "lost dog" fliers.

Their first lead came at 9 p.m. Sunday, when a woman reported seeing a black Lab and a yellow Lab running near 140th Street and Wittstruck Road.

Because of the second dog, searchers were not convinced Jack was one of the spotted dogs. Then they learned of Chewy, a black Lab/German shepherd mix from Bennet, who had run off sometime Sunday morning.

Although Chewy likes to wander the countryside, she never misses a meal, said owner Vicki Hillman. So when Chewy didn’t turn up for dinner, Hillman grew worried, and posted her own missing dog flier.

That’s when searchers put two-and-two together -- especially when they discovered that 2-year-old Chewy was in heat, and Jack was an intact male. Odds were the two dogs had not only found one another, but were sticking close by each other.

Monday afternoon, volunteers had just resumed the search when they were called back in.

Wayward Chewy was spotted heading home, with her golden suitor close behind.

The exhausted pooches snoozed as volunteers showered them with treats and attention.

Lori Koss immediately sent a photo to Kathy Hauschild at the hospital, who showed it to her healing husband.

“He had a big ol’ smile on his face,” Keller said.

For Franklin and Koss, Monday’s success brings the number of pet/owner reunifications to nearly 600 since Lost Pets of Lancaster County started on Jan. 1.

“This is just an awesome ending,” Koss said. “This is what we do this for.”

And Hillman has her own plug -- “if anybody wants puppies in a couple of months” she knows a canine couple who are no doubt expecting.

Source: http://journalstar.com/news/local/volunteers-find-dog-who-disappeared-following-crash/article_f8cbc3c3-c3d7-55fa-a1ff-6a2b807bf8cd.html

Blue, Sheltie

Blue is Found After 4 Days
By Lynette Ruder, Missing Pet Tracker
Saturday, November 8, 2014

I have been training my sheltie Bear now for a bit over a year as a lost pet trailing dog, after training with Kat Albrecht and the Missing Pet Partnership. There have been so many ups and downs in the training, including weeks at a time that I would be so frustrated, not sure if I had both the skills and determination to stick with this. Add to that marginally supportive family and friends at best (with a few wonderful exceptions), well, I seem to reconsider this MAR (Missing Animal Response) business just about all the time. Still I have kept at it, slowly but surely. Often taking two steps back before a half step forward.

Finally, the hard work paid off this evening! Now, it took some luck in the form of people doing the right things and following instructions – like no one calling to the dog or trying to grab him. Additionally, the town was a very close-knit community and it seemed that everyone in town was out looking and calling in sightings. But it was a great success!

I saw a posting on Craigslist about a sheltie that was lost in Perry Park, Colorado, which is my area. So I called to ask about the situation. “Blue” had gone missing on Wednesday, November 4, 2014, apparently jumping the fence, and there were a few sightings within a couple of days. They agreed to have me bring Bear out to trail Blue’s scent.

We started where the owners had last seen him last night before losing him in the darkness. Yesterday, Blue had let the owners come within 15 feet but no closer. The owner brought another of their dogs along.

We tracked from the last known location for over a mile. There was so much scrub oak that I had to let Bear work off-leash -- GPS collar on of course! We traveled just over a mile in just over an hour, the brush was so thick.

We identified two locations under porches that Blue appeared to have slept or rested for some time.

We finally made our way back to pavement and were starting to make some better speed when the owner got a call - a sighting 2 miles down the road! We got there as fast as we could; night was falling.

We started near the point last seen. Bear took off like a maniac. We were all on a mission. Once we scrambled over some brush and red rocks, the owner caught a glimpse of Blue up in front of us.

The owner had an idea to get her other dog howling. It seemed strange but she said that her 4 shelties would do group howls at home. She got that started, and Bear started barking along with them.

Unbelievably, Blue turned right around and headed straight towards us. It worked! See for yourself!

Happy ending!

Post by Missing Pet Tracker.

Riley, beagle

Riley's Story
October 3, 2014
Find Riley (on Facebook)

Thank you all so much for the overwhelming support, both when Riley was missing and again today now that she has been found! Here's the story:

As I posted yesterday, it had been a week and we (Steve and Chelsea) had yet to hear any news of her whereabouts. We went searching every day and just posted new bright signs last night. We went to bed sure that we'd go another day without seeing our puppy.

Around 12:30 a.m. we got a phone call saying that someone saw our dog outside her building. We quickly gathered the supplies we needed: flashlights, treats, squeaky toys, a blanket, and her leash. 

The sighting was just down the street from our house, along a path Riley's dogwalker regularly took her, so we had a lot of hope that we'd see her! Unfortunately, after searching the immediate area thoroughly, we didn't see her and went home. Even though we didn't get her back at that moment, we felt a new optimism at our first sighting! If you saw the post, you probably could tell how excited I was!

Eventually we were able to fall back asleep, only to be woken up again around 4:30 a.m. from a neighbor to come outside immediately because he was pretty sure he saw Riley behind our building. This time we had left some of the things we needed in the car, but we didn't waste time and immediately ran out.

The next hour is a little bit of a blur, but here's what I remember. Riley had made her way back to our apartment building but was staying hidden in some thick forest/brush up high on a hill. I climbed up the hill as Steve and the neighbor stayed on the street to try and find her. The trees on the hill were too dense and there was a fence blocking much of it. I could hear her tags jingling, though, so I knew she was close! 

I ran back down onto the road in time to get a flash of her peeking out of the trees. She seemed like she recognized us but was a little scared. Eventually she made her way down the side of the hill and onto the street. 

That probably would have been the end of the story, but there was a locked gate standing between us and her! I tried to climb the gate but it was too high to jump down on the other side. I called to her and she came over, but someone walking across the street spooked her and she ran away again. I couldn't believe I had been so close to catching her only to see her run off.

Steve and I decided to stay out and wait. We are so thankful we did, because eventually she came back out of the trees. Steve sank down onto the ground and she ran down to see him and (basically) into his arms. 

I've already taken her to the vet and it looks like she is lucky - no major problems except weight loss. Lucky girl gets to eat extra for a few days!

THANK YOU EVERYONE for liking and sharing this page. We had so many eyes looking for her and without the help of our neighbors and friends we might not have had such a happy ending. I'll keep the page up for a few days so that everyone can see the good news. She's hooooooome!!!!

Source: https://www.facebook.com/WheresRiley

Nala

Nala's Story

Bill Pierce

Oct 3rd, 2014

Nala is a rescue that we adopted after moving to WA. When we found her on Pet Finder and contacted the rescue, we were told she was very timid and skittish and would be very difficult to place. My wife made regular visits to the rescue to try to bond with her before we attempted a trial adoption. 

After finally getting her home she started to become comfortable but was still scared of fast movement and loud noises (still is to an extent) but was settling in nicely. After about 3 weeks my wife took her for a walk with an extendable leash. While on the walk she slipped and fell on some ice causing her to drop the leash, and scaring Nala, causing her to bolt. And to make matters worse she had a large piece of plastic clanging along behind her, scaring her more. Well we found the leash about 5 hrs later but no Nala. She had gotten wrapped around a tree and had chewed through the string portion at the end of the leash.

We spent the next week walking the neighborhood, posting signs, which were removed almost immediately and all delivered back to us later that night, as apparently the HOAs in our area prohibited posting any signage.

I work overseas so I spent my remaining vacation time, carrying my grill out to the woods at midnight to 2 am to cook up some grub to hopefully draw her back, sure to have been an odd sight for the neighbors driving by. We had already received calls from people from signs posted in our complex and at the local stores of a dog matching her description in the neighborhood but was barking at people and running away. Nala had never barked previously in any situation, so we were unsure this was actually her.

We were able to find a dog tracking team, willing to drive up from Utah, to help search for her as the pups in our area with missing pet partnership were still in training. We were able to discern that she was staying within the few neighborhoods surrounding ours, and acting more like a cat instead of following her nose in a straight line.

The tracking team was able to figure out she had been making her home on the local private golf course, but we were refused access to look for her. We then located a hole in the fence of the next neighborhood where she was coming through to eat the food left for the local population of feral cats.

Because of Nala's fear of people and the initial reaction to chase after a loose dog, we were receiving several calls of missed chances and sightings.

We were given the use of a collarum trap that is normally used for coyotes, which launches a spring loaded collar about 3-5 feet after the bait is pulled, and were warned that it would most likely only work once. We set the trap and placed an infrared camera nearby to monitor it and within a few hours the trap had worked and we had Nala back.

So after 32 days she was back on a leash headed for home where she ran inside and jumped up on her spot on the couch like nothing had happened.

She is now 6.5 years old and has a "brother" we adopted a bit later to give her a dog to be around in addition to her humans. Even though she is still afraid of many things, she has a strong connection with my wife and loves to lay on us to watch movies and take a nap after her breakfast, and absolutely loves the dog park and playing with other dogs.

The background we received on her at the time of adoption was that she was the most fearful in the litter born to a skittish farm dog, where none of the puppies were not socialized with people at all and were outside at all times. The initial reaction from most people however is that she is abused.

It took a lot of time to bring her back home... Countless trips to all the local shelters and numerous nights spent in the car monitoring game cameras and walks through the woods.... But it's never too much to get a member of your family home.

Dickens, border terrier

HOME AT LAST!!!! HERE IS THE STORY OF DICKENS' RETURN
November 12, 2013

I left Warrenton Sunday night feeling dejected, like we were now looking for a needle in a hay stack. Dickens had moved from the Old Town area of Warrenton (where he potentially had thousands of eyes looking for him), ACROSS 29 and had headed into an area populated by large estates and multi-million dollar horse farms. He could travel cross-country in that area for DAYS and never be seen.

He had last been seen on Waverly Dr. on Sunday morning the 10th. However, we didn't learn about that sighting until Thursday the 14th when the family that saw him went into town to the PetSmart and saw his poster!! They called right away, but we were 4 days behind him.

Team Dickens immediately got flyers out in the new neighborhood, and we contacted Ann Wills of Dogs Finding Dogs to alert them of the sighting. A search was tentatively set for Sunday. I arrived back in Warrenton on Saturday, and joined the rest of the team in plastering the new area with flyers and calling, and calling, and calling his name. Saturday yielded no results, and as I mentioned in my last post, we put our hopes on the tracking dogs.

Sunday AM arrived wet and rainy, and we contacted Dogs Finding Dogs to set up a search. I was concerned that the rain would have weakened or washed away the scent, but was advised that in actuality, light rain was a good thing as it would re-hydrate the scent. The problem was that the last sighting was now a week old. Ann explained that her dogs could pick up a scent that was weeks old, but a dog on the run could travel as much as 5 miles a day, and even if we got a good track, the likelihood of catching up to him was nearly zero. It was recommended that we wait until we had a new sighting - one within 24 or 48 hours - and then initiate a search. Ann recommended that in the mean time, we contact FindToto.com and arrange for a blitz of phone calls to neighbors in the vicinity of the last sighting. Rick got on this immediately, and within 30 minutes, 1250 calls had been made to homes in Warrenton!!!!!

Ann also suggested that I go out and purchase towels and rub myself and my other dogs down with them, cut them in to 1" by 4" strips and start laying a track for him to follow. I did this and started walking, with Dickens' mother Pixie and sister Wiccan, from the sighting at Waverly Road, down Culpepper St to Monte Rosa St., behind the American Legion Hall to the Horse Show grounds and back across 29. We went down Locust St to the Co-Op on Washington St. and from there it was up Washington St to the Greenway, and up the Greenway back to Leed's Square, which had been Dickens' "home away from home" for the first week of his adventure. Every 50 feet or so along the track, I tossed a strip of the cloth to help him follow us. Some of you may have seen us walking along and probably wondered what I was tossing onto the side of the road!

After laying the track, I headed home for the Northern Neck, the rest of Team Dickens continued to post flyers until dark. All our hopes were now on someone seeing the flyers in the expanded area, or the phone calls generating a response.

I was at work today at approximately 11:30 am when a phone call came in from a gentleman who said he had seen a flyer and that Dickens had been in his back yard for the last 2-3 days! He said that they saw him early in the mornings and late in the evenings, and he suspected that Dickens' was spending his days in the woods behind his house! In 15 minutes I headed home to collect my mother and my other dogs, and within the hour we were on the road for Warrenton once again!

We called Rick and asked him to get the trap from the Comcast lot and meet us at the new location, which was again ACROSS Route 29 and about 1/4 mile down from the WalMart towards the intersection with Route 17. I arrived at the site at about 3:20 and began walking the property with Pixie. She instantly began air-scenting and looking this way and that and I knew we were getting close. Then she found a spot on the ground and rolled and rolled and rolled in it. I called for Dickens many times and didn't hear or see anything. After about 15 minutes, I returned to the van, and put Pixie back inside her crate. I left the tail gate up as it was a pretty day, and got back inside the van to sit and wait for Rick and Julie, who had an ETA of about another 10 minutes.

As we sat waiting, Pixie and Wiccan began barking wildly at something behind the van. I looked in my rear side mirror and TO MY AMAZEMENT, THERE WAS DICKENS behind the van!!!!! HE CAME TO US! I got out carefully so as not to spook him. I walked calmly behind the van and called his name. At first he seemed unsure who I was, but suddenly the light bulb came on and he realized it was me and I scooped him up in my arms. I got a TOTAL FACE WASHING and his warm little tongue never felt better - even with a BAD CASE of doggy breath! Rick and Julie arrived moments later and the long journey and sleepless nights were finally at an end! I'm sure Dickens was wondering WHAT TOOK US SO LONG?????????

But Dickens' story doesn't stop here. We had previously discussed the best plan of action if - excuse me - WHEN Dickens was found, and we had decided that he should return home to the Northern Neck with me for a period of time to recover physically and emotionally, and then we would take a few weeks and multiple visits to gradually re-introduce him to his new forever family so that he would have a strong and safe relationship with them before he made the final move. The goal is now for us to have him moved permanently to his new family in January, where he will start off 2014 as the unofficial "Mayor of Warrenton."

Tomorrow Dickens will see the vet and begin treatment to protect against tick-borne illness (yes, he had his share of ticks) and will be wormed because heaven knows what he ate on his journey!!!
He is in remarkably good condition given his ordeal - 15 days in the wilderness.

Over the next few weeks I will posting about Dickens' recovery and I will share some WONDERFUL tips that I learned about conducting a search for a lost dog that were shared with me from friends and fellow dog lovers all over this country and even from Canada!!!

I know that many, many people in Warrenton were worrying about and watching out for Dickens. I don't know who most of you are, but I thank ALL OF YOU!!! I do want to acknowledge those who I know were a part of the official "Team Dickens:""

Source: https://www.facebook.com/LostFoundDogs.VA/photos/a.550218351721478.1073741845.125859484157369/550746008335379/?type=3&theater

Nekita, husky mix

Woman, with help from the Network, reunites with lost dog after more than a year
Samantha Wright Allen
July 18, 2014

More than a year-and-a-half ago, Hope Cadieux opened the door for her dog, Nekita, like she had so many times before, so the husky mix could take a run on the family’s St. Albert farm.

Nekita never came back.

But two weeks ago, with the help of the Ottawa and Valley Lost Pet Network, that lost cause became a found dog.

Nekita went missing more than a year ago, but with the help of the Ottawa and Valley Lost Pet Network, owner Hope Cadieux was reunited with the husky border collie mix two weeks ago.

“They gave me hope when I didn’t have any,” says Cadieux of the Facebook page where she posted a picture of the husky border collie cross and its two puppies that went missing in January 2013. Days later, one puppy came back but the other, Ace, is still missing. Up until early July, that was Nekita’s story, too.

“I thought we would never see her again,” says the 18-year-old of the first dog she bought with her own money.

One day Cadieux opened her Facebook feed to find her name tagged many times to a photo of a familiar-looking dog. The woman who found that dog took it to bylaw officers in Casselman, where Cadieux now lives with her family.

Cadieux says she’d been through that drill before, visiting potential pups that never turned out to be hers.

“I didn’t really get my hopes up. I thought it would be a lost cause again.”

But when Cadieux walked in the room and said Nekita’s name, she knew it was the right dog.

“She just lit up and it was really nice to see. She came up to us and started jumping on us,” she says of the dog, who is almost four. “I was overwhelmed.”

Cadieux says she never would have found her dog without the network.

“They work miracles.”

One of those miracle workers is founder Gisele Villeneuve, who started the page in December 2012. Before, Villeneuve managed a lost pet group closer to her home in Renfrew, but she thought, given how far animals can roam, the group’s reach needed to be wider.

“You never know where a lost pet will end up,” says Villeneuve, who owns four dogs. Since then the page has grown to more than 10,000 likes. She says the site tracked more than 150 reunions of pets and their owners in the first five months of 2014. They’ve since stopped counting.

“We have to go through hundreds of notifications every day,” she says, adding the group contacts the owners with any leads posted to make sure all leads are followed up. Villeneuve manages the page part-time with 15 other administrators, four of whom volunteer full time.

Villeneuve lists success stories like so many memories.

There have been feral dogs, caught and adopted or returned. An orange cat, missing for two years, returned to a “little boy who was heartbroken.” And then there was a woman who searched for a stranger’s dog for three days because the Ottawa owner was stuck in Ottawa. She found the dog.

There was also Katy Meredith, who lost her cat on her wedding day. Because of the network, Max was home three days later.

“It’s just amazing. They reconnect animals every day, and people need to know that because those people are the ones who are going to find your pet.”

Now Meredith is a regular poster, and hopes more in the Ottawa Valley will like the page and keep an eye out for missing pets.

“It works like magic, sometimes within hours,” says Villeneuve, adding it’s important to be sure the owner is the correct one — ask for vet bills, pictures and watch if the animal responds to its name. “That’s the power of social media.”

The organization even posts when deceased animals are found because it can give the family closure.

Villeneuve is quick to add it’s important to report through the proper channels as well, like the local animal shelter or the Ottawa Humane Society. She also stresses that a microchip is important to help bylaw officers identify lost and stolen pets.

“This network is a community hero. It’s so heartwarming,” she said, to see strangers helping strangers. “It will restore your faith in humanity.”

http://ottawacitizen.com/news/local-news/woman-with-help-from-the-network-reunites-with-lost-dog-after-more-than-a-year

Donald

Donald's Story
July 8th, 2014

Donald started out at a high kill shelter on the put to sleep list (all dogs are on the pts list there) when a wonderful rescue stepped in to save him.

He was put on the transport van, labeled as a flight risk, which traveled from SC to DE on Saturday, 6/28.

Donald - before, during and after trapping

Once he arrived, he was placed into the backseat of a car to head to his overnight stop.  An inexperienced volunteer opened the car door, with Donald in the back, and that is when he made his escape.  People took off after him, but he was off into waist high weeds.

Later that night a search was on for him, with a dog friendly dog (since he loves dogs), but it was getting dark and the ticks were everywhere.  The search was called off.

The following morning at 8:30am, 6/29 Donald was spotted in the same spot where he escaped from the night before. But took off once he saw people.

A trap was borrowed from a local rescue, a trail was set up with food to lead him back to the area he escaped, and to lure him near the trap.  It was baited with food and left set up overnight in hopes of catching him.

That same day 6/29, two volunteers spent over three hours in the woods looking for him, and spotted him with on the top of the hill far away.  The pink slip lead is what allowed the volunteers to spot him in all the green.

Another volunteer traveled from NJ set up a camera, donated two cases of dog food and supplied the two volunteers with 200 large posters with protective covers to hang and tons of hand out posters.  The volunteer from NJ also spent hours waiting on Donald, but he never showed up.

On 6/30 at 7am Donald was spotted in the same spot as he was previously seen, but didn't go into the trap.

The food was changed and later that day the area was blanketed with the posters. Neighborhoods were walked and people were told of Donald's escape by the three volunteers.  The trap was checked three times before it got dark; no Donald.  The clock was ticking.  Fourth of July was just around the corner and the fear was that the fireworks would scare him from his spot.

The plan for the next day, 7/1 was to change the food again, but this time with freshly cooked fatty bacon including the grease, and KFC honey BBQ tenders due to the pungent smell.  Since Donald's feeding time at the shelter was 7:30, the idea was to place the food a couple of hours before his normal feeding so it would be fresh when he came to eat.  Another trapper said that dogs usually come out at dawn and dusk so the plan was changed to dawn.

Dawn the next day, 7/1, was at 5am. So the KFC was purchased the night before, the bacon was cooked the following morning at 3:30am, and the KFC was heated to bring out the aroma.  Both items were packed up and by 4am, two volunteers were at the trap.

Since it was dark when the volunteers arrived, the headlights were pointed in the area of the trap.  As the volunteer's approached the trap, they could see the trap door was down.  At that moment they knew something was in the trap.  Further into the weeds, suddenly barking!

It was Donald!  He was super scared, but safe.

A call was made to a volunteer with a SUV to transport Donald. Another volunteer was called to help lift the trap with Donald in it.  Trappers warned the volunteers never take a trapped dog out of the trap at the spot they were caught.  If they escaped again, the chances of them being trapped again are very slim.  The dog should be taken in the trap to a safe place and then taken out of the trap.  When the two additional volunteers arrived, Donald was loaded into the SUV and escorted via caravan style to a volunteer's house.

The SUV was pulled into the garage where Donald was safely taken out.  Donald was scared and very thirsty.  He was taken to his own room, put in a large crate with fresh bedding, food and a lot of water.  The volunteer stayed with him downstairs as emails & texts were sent out that he was safe.

Later that day he was bathed, had over 300 ticks removed from his body, played with some of the volunteers dogs and was taken to his temporary foster home until he can join the transport next weekend. He will then, finally make it to his rescue.

So many people were involved in his recovery.All the advice given made the difference in his safe capture.

Donald's normal life can now begin!

Josie, border collie mix

Dog Missing for Nearly 2 Months is Found, Reunited With Owner
By Tracy Bloom & Kimberly Cheng
June 21, 2014

A pet owner who was devastated when her dog went missing for nearly two months after escaping from a Culver City boarding facility got the happy ending she had badly wanted: a reunion with her precious pooch.

Lori Tritel was reunited with her dog “Josie,” a Border Collie mix, about two weeks ago after an exhaustive search that ended up costing her thousands of dollars, she told KTLA on Saturday.

Josie went missing on April 18 after she jumped over a 12-foot-high fence while in the care of Doggie Central.

Tritel, who was at the facility at the time in another room and had watched in horror as her dog jumped the fence, was devastated when Josie escaped.

“She ran toward their back fence. I started screaming,” Tritel tearfully told KTLA after her dog went missing. “We just have a bond. I think people with animals know that bond… and I just want to bring her home.”

Desperate to get her beloved dog back, Josie hired a team to find her. After seven weeks of following tips, handing out fliers and searching for her beloved pet, all of the efforts paid off — Tritel and Josie were finally reunited.

Josie
Josie went missing on April 18, 2014, after escaping from the Doggie Central boarding facility in Culver City. (Credit: Lori Tritel)

“I reached out, I held more chicken out for her, and she came right into my chest. It was amazing,” she said, her eyes filling with tears.

Tritel spent about $7,000 of her own money to hire the team of experts and to pay for the cost of supplies that led to Josie being found.

And while she is overjoyed at having Josie back, Tritel — who blames Doggie Central for losing Josie in the first place — said she believed the facility should reimburse her for the expenses related to locating the dog.

“What I want is compensation, I want reimbursement for the cost of the search,” she said. “I think it’s a dog facility’s responsibility to have a fence that cannot be jumped.”

However, Faith Mantooth, the owner of Doggie Central, disagreed that the facility should have to cover the full cost.

Mantooth, who is billed as the “Chief Cuddler” on the company’s website, also contended that the facility had proper precautions in place designed to prevent dogs from escaping.

“She went out the back and scaled a 12-foot fence with barbed wire on the top of it,” Mantooth said.

Mantooth told KTLA in April that no dog had ever gotten over it before Josie did. .

“We’ve never had a dog ever go over that fence, that’s the reason it’s so high and has barbed wire on it. I was in shock,” Mantooth said.

But on Saturday Mantooth said similar situations have happened four times.

“We have been a business 16 years. We have had hundreds of dogs here. To have four dogs get over or out the fence, especially in the beginning years … is to me a perfect track record,” she said.

One of those dogs was killed after running out the facilities front door in 2007 and getting hit by a vehicle.

Mantooth told KTLA on Saturday that she had added additional safeguards to the facility. She also said she has apologized.

Doggie Central has shelled out $2,000 to Tritel, and Mantooth said she did not believe the facility should have to pay her any more than it already had.

KTLA’s Ashley Soley-Cerro contributed to this report.

Source: http://ktla.com/2014/06/21/dog-found-reunited-with-owner-nearly-2-months-after-escaping-from-culver-city-boarding-facility/

Fonzie, greyhound therapy dog

Angus family finds missing dog five days after tornado
By Cheryl Browne, Barrie Examiner
Monday, June 23, 201

After nearly a week of searching for her best friend, even Master Seaman Roxanne Cronk admits she was beginning to wonder if she'd ever see him again.

Cronk's dog, Fonzie, took off running out the front door of their home on Banting Crescent when an EF2 tornado blew through Angus last Tuesday evening, taking most of the second floor of their home with it.

Roxanne Cronk, of Angus, is glad to have 'Fonzie', her nine-year-old greyhound, back home after he went missing for five days after a tornado struck their home last Tuesday.

Cronk was hustling her partner Master Cpl. James Wood's children down to the basement as the twister hopscotched down the street wreaking havoc on more than 100 homes in their neighbourhood.

“The door burst open and he ran by us out the front door,” Wood said Monday afternoon.

Resting on the back lawn of CFB Borden's emergency housing unit, which was provided to the young couple after the tornado, Cronk rubs Fonzie's ears as if to reassure herself he's still there when she talks.

Fonzie, aka Cocktail Decoeyes, was adopted by Cronk through the Greyhound Pets of Atlantic Canada five years ago as a retired racing dog when she was stationed at CFB Greenwood in Nova Scotia.

Now nine-years-old, the calm, well-mannered greyhound has a grey muzzle and the gentle disposition needed to be a St. John Ambulance therapy dog at the Riverwood Retirement Home in Alliston.

The tall, long-legged greyhound walks shakily across the lawn and sits down, tired but composed after a week on the lam as Cronk tells the tale.

“I was out driving around Sunday since about 6:30 a.m. and a few hours into it I called James blubbering. It was so late in the week and everybody was looking for him and nobody had seen him in days and I just couldn't take it anymore,” Cronks grins through her tears as she remembers the desperation she felt Sunday.

“And I said, 'it's OK, come home',” Wood said, and then they laughed.

“And just then I saw him and yelled, 'There's Fonzie',” she said.

Just ahead of her, Fonzie could be seen loping down the 25 Sideroad, near the 7th Line, as if out for a jog.

Two cars were pulled over to the side watching him, and as Cronk ran after him and called out to her dog – who kept running – one driver offered to drive her closer to the frightened pet.

“He looked like the Littlest Hobo,” Cronk said of the 1980s TV show of a dog who travelled alone from town to town.

“I yelled 'Fonzie stop!' and he finally slowed down. I said, 'Come on Fonzie', and he turned and put his head down but his tail was wagging and he came back to me,” she said. “I just hugged him crying and I think I've been blubbering with relief ever since.”

Another kind stranger drove them back to her car and her brother Rockwell Cronk – who'd arrived from CFB Trenton and had been looking for Fonzie since Friday night – arrived with Wood and his sons for the family reunion.

A quick check by a Mill Street veterinarian found that he'd lost about three pounds and had a stiff leg, but was otherwise in good condition considering he'd spent five days alone in the woods just a few kilometres from home.

As Cronk and Wood set up their temporary home at CFB Borden, they want to express their gratitude to the hundreds of people who participated in the search for their missing dog.

“So many people did such great work looking for him, it was just a fluke she found him running along that road,” Wood said.

Seniors and staff at the retirement home were passing along the information to their friends and family, another friend had set up an Facebook account, as well as a Twitter tag #helpfindFonzie, while posters were made and shared by Angus residents.

An Ontario greyhound organization was sending out updates about the missing canine, and police and hydro workers were keeping a lookout for him as well, Wood said.

“People took days off work to look for him. It was amazing,” he said.

“We had a call from a woman in Oakville this morning, asking if we'd found him yet. We told her we had and she was so thrilled. Another woman wrote an e-mail and said her daughter wants to come meet 'the dog who is a hero'.

“It's just incredible the amount of support we've had.”

Source: http://www.thebarrieexaminer.com/2014/06/23/angus-family-finds-missing-dog-five-days-after-tornado

Lily, min pin

Lily's story shared from her Mom & Dad's perspective
Posted to the Lost Dog Advocates FB Page
June 21, 2014

"I want to start off by saying I truly thank all of you for your help in getting Lily home, whether it be by prayer, sharing, looking or watching, and calling in when you spotted or thought you spotted you. You all are a big part of us getting Lily home.

This was a very long 33 days of heartache, worry, tears, high emotions, and low emotions: long and hard miles of searching, and tracking her scent.

After the first of searching we realized we could not possibly do it on our own. There was just too much wooded area to cover. Lily was scared and in hiding.

In our search we came in contact with a very special lady (Liz) who told us of a lost dog tracking service out of Geneva. We contacted Lost Dog Advocates right away and hired them for their help.

Amy came with her scent dog, Debbie, and we started at Jessica and Tim's house where Lily went missing. Debbie picked up Lily's scent in the back yard where she had of course been, but the next place she went after getting scent from the scent article was right where our grandson Timmy had told me Lily went after leaving the garage. I never told anyone that Timmy had showed me that area so I knew that Debbie had in fact had Lily's scent.

We immediately put out a lost dog amber alert in the area she was last spotted about a mile away from Jessica's. We set up equipment to track if Lily came into that area and a Catch and Release Trap.

Amy (Lost Dog Advocates) had been through this entire process on a personal level because of searching for and locating her own dog. She was always there guiding us and checking and tracking every day.

With the help of everyone calling us when they spotted or thought they spotted Lily we were able to see the path Lily had taken and try to guess where she may be headed so we could get ahead of her.

She is a very smart dog and the same thing that kept her alive in the woods is the same thing that made it very hard to locate her. She is a survivor and learned real quick what she had to survive on her own.

After Lily was spotted on Rte. 193 in Kingsville, Ohio Amy did a Track with Debbie. We had already gotten a positive scent so the next step was to track. This led Amy and Debbie down the tracks and into the woods again.

They then picked up scent in a Wheat field in the 3000 block of Creek Rd in Kingsville where we did what is called a push. When I learned Rich thought he seen Lily in the Wheat Field chasing a Turkey I believed we would catch her.

Again, thank you all who answered my plea for help and came out to that location.

We spent a few hours in that location with Debbie and Amy tracking. Lily must have slipped by all of us and went into the woods again. Our hopes of bringing Lily home were crushed yet again. We came home that night without her.

Amy had received a text from a girl on South Ridge Rd in Kingsville, Ohio that Lily was playing in the yard with her dog. Even though it was pouring down rain and looking like a tornado might hit, Amy collected the Safe Trap and moved it to the new location.

We could not get positive scent because of the severe storm and Debbie being exhausted from the push. We could do nothing but pray and wait again.

Rich and I put another Lost Dog ad in the paper, bought more posters to put up and also bought 2 more safe traps to help catch her.

We went to the location where the girl had seen Lily and talked to her sister as she was at work. It gave Rich and me joy to know that Lily was playing with her dog.

We then had to come home to tend to our 13 year old Black Lab who is blind and has diabetes. Amy called and wanted to meet us at the location of the last sighting so we headed back there when we were done tending to Jenny.

On the trip back to that location Amy called and asked that we meet her at Liz's house, it was very important. We didn't know if she had gotten Lily on camera, seen Lily in person, found her alive or dead. We were on pins and needles.

When we arrived at Liz's house Amy was not there yet. Liz acted like she did not even know Amy wanted to meet there. Liz called Amy and then asked us to have a seat. That made our hearts sink.

Liz said Amy was on her way and needed a phone number from Liz. She should get the actress of the year award by the way.

When Amy got there she came in the house with little expression on her face and said that she had told us she would never quit looking for Lily until she found her alive or dead. Then she said she quit. That hit us like a brick. We asked excitedly "Did you find her?" and " is she alive?". Amy responded with a YES!

I took off out the door for Amy's vehicle like a lightening bolt. Lily was in the safe trap in Amy's car. I did not want to open the trap until we had her safely enclosed in the garage. Lily recognized our voices and was just as excited to see us. We all hugged Lily and Thanked God for bring Lily home. I will ad pics later today. Thank you all!!!!! "

Murphy, golden retriever

Dog emerges from Tahoe forest after 2 years, is reunited with family
By Caitlin Owens
June 19, 2014

Almost two years after a golden retriever went missing on a camping trip in Tahoe National Forest, the thin, frail dog has been reunited with her family after being spotted at a campground emerging from the woods.

Nathan and Erin Braun were camping in October 2012 when they became separated from their 5-year-old golden retriever, Murphy. They posted fliers and set up a Facebook page for her, but even though they received no responses they held out hope.

Then, earlier this month, a camper at French Meadows Reservoir saw the dog five miles from where she had gone missing. Upon being notified, the Brauns immediately drove from their home in El Dorado Hills to the site.

After several days of searching proved unsuccessful, the Brauns left Murphy's old bed and some of their clothing with the campground host, hoping the dog would respond, according to a Facebook post written by the couple.

The plan worked. A week later, the Brauns received a call from the host telling them Murphy had been sleeping on the blanket and clothing they left behind, the Brauns wrote. Not only that, the host had been able to coax her into a kennel.

"The very first night I laid it out I heard some movement," Jason Smith told KXTV-TV of Sacramento. "There was Murphy, sleeping on the blanket. And right there I knew, that's Murphy. That's their dog. It was curled up with its head on the hat."

The dog -- described as thin and frail, but recovering -- was "happy to be home with her family" after a Father's Day reunion, the Brauns wrote.

"As you can imagine we are completely shocked and amazed with the miracle of her surviving this long," they said.

Source: http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-dog-missing-two-years-reunited-20140619-story.html

Athena, beagle lab mix

Microchip helps dog find owners after 2 years
Kathrine Schulze
June 18, 2014

Early one morning two years ago, a dog named Athena took advantage of an open gate. She did not return to her Lafayette backyard.

Rachel and Kevin Rotz were reunited this week with Athena “This dog could have been home two years ago,” a kennel official says, because Athena had a microchip.

Owners Rachel and Kevin Rotz were frantic. They hung up signs and posted Athena’s story on social media.

Calls from people saying they saw a dog matching Athena’s description — beagle and chocolate Labrador retriever mix — on South 26th Street gave the Rotz family some basis of where she was.

“We went out every day for the first five weeks,” Rachel Rotz said. But eventually the calls stopped, and they assumed the worst.

Last month, a call came in to the Tippecanoe County Sheriff’s Office of a stray running around Woods Edge Mobile Home Park, north of the Rotz’s home.

On June 5, an animal control officer caught up with Athena and took her to Crystal Creek Boarding Kennel. There it was discovered that she wasn’t an abandoned dog, but a lost one.

A microchip implanted under her skin and readable by electronic scanner identified her owners.

Athena stayed at Crystal Creek while she waited for Rachel and Kevin to come home from vacation.

When the Rotzes received the news that Athena was not only alive, but at a shelter, they were shocked.

After talking it over and getting approval from their landlord, Rachel and Kevin took Athena back home Monday.

Amid concern that Athena might not get along with the family’s other dog, they’ll be introduced slowly.

“We’re just glad we have her back,” Kevin said.

Nita Pollock, co-owner of Crystal Creek, said the reunion between the Rotz family and Athena went well.

Athena didn’t stay still from the moment she was let into the office where the reunion took place. She ran between Kevin and Rachel, stopping to sniff out the rest of the room, but always coming back to them.

Kevin adjusted Athena’s collar — the same collar from two years ago, now faded red but intact.

“I’ve got you a new bandana,” Rachel said, pulling out a black bandana filled with butterflies of every color.

“I’d say they were pretty enthusiastic, and the dog was really enthusiastic,” Pollock said.

After Athena ran away two years ago, Pollock said she thinks someone found her and, instead of contacting a shelter, kept her as their own.

“Just because they found it on the side of the road doesn’t mean it’s their dog,” she said.

People who find an animal, Pollock said, should notify a police department within that jurisdiction as well as shelters in that district, and take it to a shelter or a veterinary clinic to have it scanned for a microchip.

“This dog could have been home two years ago,” Pollock said.

Source: http://www.jconline.com/story/news/2014/06/18/microchip-helps-dog-find-owners-years/10809575/

Jack & Jill, beagles

Jack and Jill have been found!!!
As told to Find Toto
Lost Date : 2014-06-02
Found Date : 2014-06-10


THANKS so much for the outpouring of care and concern for us as we continued our search for Jack and Jill, our precious beagles.

We had shared the part of the story that we took the beagles to a rabbit run in another county and were in total despair that we were so foolish to take them 50 miles away from home with no micro chip or GPS collars. The dogs jumped the training pen in 20 minutes chasing a deer and were lost in the woods in an unrecognizable area.

What hope could we have of finding our precious pets? Well, after ELEVEN days of heart-wrenching searches and disappointments, I wanted to share today’s unbelievable story:

A wonderful couple called us at 5:30 Friday morning. Jack had sneaked into their garage to scrounge for cat food. He was starving, but still standing.

The couple had received a phone call from findToto.com and recognized immediately that Jack was one of the missing beagles. The alert system contacted 1275 residents in this small community, and by the week’s end, everyone in the area knew to be on the lookout for our dogs.

The couple secured Jack for us until we could get to their home.

We continued to look for Jill for 2 1/2 hours in that area with no luck. While we were out in the woods searching, the SAME couple that had found Jack went to the hardware store and on the way home saw Jill stick her head out of the woods TWO miles away and contacted us to call Jill out of the woods!! What are the odds? And on top of that, these guardian angels would not take a penny in reward.

Our vet said the window of survival for house dogs in the wild is 72 hours. The area is known for coyotes and other night predators. He could not believe they both made it.

They are certainly weak and in need of TLC, but we are over the moon to have them home.

Several lessons learned here; never doubt the power of prayer, the love of friends and family, and the simple joy of having pets you cherish. What a glorious, unbelievable day. Thank you, Lord, for watching over them and us, and to all those who helped us along the way to this incredibly happy ending, including findtoto.com!

Source: http://www.findtoto.com/success-story/jack-and-jill-have-been-found/

Mick, dachshund

Missing pet dog reunited with Vic owner
7News Melbourne
June 4, 2014

A pet dog missing for months after escaping a car accident that nearly claimed his owner's life has turned up in western Victoria.

Mick the Dachshund spent almost 155 days living rough in the wild, but quite how he managed to survive remains a mystery.

The four-year-old pooch and his owner, Neil Hallam, escaped a horror head-on smash near Lismore last December.

The driver of an oncoming car had a heart attack at the wheel. Both he and his wife were killed.

Neil was revived at the scene and airlifted to hospital with ten broken ribs.

Neil's beloved Border Collie was killed in the accident, and Mick was taken to a nearby veterinary clinic for a check-up.

"Mick apparently bit one of the vets and then took off out the door and disappeared across the Princes Highway," Neil said.

After weeks of searching, an online campaign helped track down the wandering pooch in a paddock - just two kilometres from where he had escaped.
Camperdown locals were at a loss to know where Mick had found water during his time in the wild.

In 43 degree heat, lakes had dried up and on six centimtre legs, Mick could not reach the cattle troughs.

"I suppose he was living on road kill," Neil said.



Apart from a missing claw, Mick is in great shape.

"Whether he would have survived the winter, I don't know," Neil said.

The pooch is just happy to be at home where the heart is.

Source: https://au.news.yahoo.com/vic/a/24138713/missing-pet-dog-reunited-with-vic-owner/

Bailey, pitbull

Couple Reunites With Lost Dog After Postponing Their Honeymoon
Jun 04, 2014

PENNSBURG, Pa. - One local couple almost canceled their honeymoon to Hawaii because their beloved dog went missing.

Thankfully, their story has a happy ending.

"She's the sweetest, nicest dog, and she loves us and our other dogs. And she's just become a part of our family," said Amanda Stuart.

Amanda and Nick Stuart are supposed to be honeymooning right now in Hawaii, but the couple who just tied the knot on Saturday called off the honeymoon hours before they were supposed to board the plane because their beloved dog, Bailey, went missing.

Bailey is an 11-month-old Pit Bull.

Nick says his dad was supposed to watch her while the couple headed to Hawaii, but Saturday night Bailey bolted.

Since then, they say they've spent hours combing through the grassy area off of 663 with their other dog.

They've also spent what was supposed to be their first few days on the beach, posting flyers all around town.

On Wednesday, they started their search at 5 a.m.

And just when they thought all hope is gone.

Fox 29 cameras were there for the moment they'd been waiting for: Bailey was found.

It was an emotional reunion for everyone who had spent days searching.

FOX 29 News Philadelphia | WTXF-TV

"We're not leaving her anytime soon. She's gonna stay right in our eyesight," said Amanda.

Nick and Amanda say although their story has a happy ending plans for a honeymoon will remain on hold until they can get up enough nerve to part with their pets again.

Source: http://www.myfoxphilly.com/story/25697921/emotional-reunion

Ruby, Staffordshire bull terrier

Schoolgirl reunited with stolen dog after her appeal was shared 25,000 times in just 24 hours on Facebook
By Emma Glanfield
2 June 2014

A six-year-old girl who put out a mass appeal on Facebook when her beloved puppy was stolen has been reunited with her pet thanks to a heart-warming appeal.

Schoolgirl Lola Wilson turned to Facebook when the 18-month-old Staffordshire bull terrier, called Ruby, was snatched from the family home in Pontcanna, Cardiff.

The youngster created the ‘Help Bring Ruby Home’ appeal asking for help in finding her ‘best friend’ – and it ended up being shared a staggering 25,000 times in just 24 hours.

The following day Lola’s mother Roxana received an anonymous call saying Ruby had allegedly been sold by the thief.

She drove to the house of the caller and picked up the puppy who was unharmed.

Mrs Wilson, 30, said her daughter was overjoyed to have her ‘best friend’ back in her arms and thanked those who helped share the online appeal.

She said: ‘People were fantastic and thousands on Facebook helped find Ruby.

‘Lola is now absolutely over the moon and ecstatic - she won’t leave Ruby alone at the moment.

‘She is my daughter’s best friend. They get into bed together and have cuddles, they’re inseparable.

‘We are so happy and grateful. There are some horrible people out there - but this shows there are lovely people too.’

Ruby was stolen from garden of the family home in broad daylight on Friday after thieves supposedly forced their way in with bolt cutters before making off with the dog.

A South Wales Police spokesman confirmed the force was investigating an incident in relation to a theft of a dog.

Source: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2646153/Schoolgirl-reunited-stolen-dog-appeal-shared-25-000-times-just-24-hours-Facebook.html

Shayla

Owner not notified missing dog was at animal shelter
Helen Turner: Microchipped dog disappeared, was found with help of Facebook
By Jennifer Franciotti
May 30, 2014

Woman discovers missing dog at animal shelter

BALTIMORE COUNTY, Md. —A Baltimore County woman wants to know why she wasn't notified about her lost dog after it was picked up by animal control services last week.

Helen Turner said despite her dog, Shayla, being microchipped, she was never told her dog was at the shelter.

On Friday, 2-year-old Shayla looked happy to be back home. More than a week ago, she had gotten loose from her family's backyard in Owings Mills.

"We looked for her all over the neighborhood -- everywhere -- and we couldn’t find her. We were distraught," said Turner told 11 News.

She said she called local shelters and that repeated calls to the Baltimore County Animal Services Division, which handles loose dogs, went unreturned. She posted a photo of Shayla on Facebook and asked friends to share it.

Turner said the next day, someone posted a photo taken from inside the Baltimore County facility on Manor Road, wondering if it could be the same dog.

"When we went to the Baltimore County animal shelter, we walked in and I showed them the picture that I posted on Facebook. I asked, 'Is this dog here?' They said no, and I said, 'Is it OK if we walk around just to take a look?' And they said sure," Turner said.

Within minutes, Turner and her son, Daniel, were reunited with Shayla, but they said it's a reunion that should have happened sooner. Although the tags came off Shayla's collar, the dog is microchipped and has a spay tattoo from a local shelter.

"I said, 'Shayla's here. No. 16.' And they said, 'Are you sure? It doesn't look like her.' I said, 'I'm positive that's our dog. Did you scan her? Because she's chipped.' And they were like, 'Well, I just got here. I don't know if she's been scanned,'" Turner said.

Turner said while at the shelter, she noticed on the paperwork that there was a termination date for Shayla that was dated for four days from the date they picked her up.

According to the Baltimore County Health Department, which oversees the facility, Shayla was scanned at least once. A statement from Health Department Director Dr. Gregory Branch said in part, "Our practice is for all dogs to be scanned in the field and again during the veterinary exam. Unfortunately, sometimes the chip is missed, even with multiple scans, due to location, type of chip or the behavior of the animal."

But Turner wasn't buying the explanation.

"I don't. I live right around the corner from where she was found," she said. "It's disgusting. We're told to get a microchip and all the information is loaded on it, that way any shelter or vet will scan, and that way they'll be able to find you and your pet to bring back together."

Turner credited Facebook for getting her dog back and was thankful she went to animal services to check for herself. She had a message for other pet owners.

"Be persistent and don't give up. Take any avenue. You can't just wait because apparently having a chip doesn't help," she said. "I don't want to know what would have happened. We adopted her a year ago, and she's our family pet."

Shayla was originally adopted from the Humane Society.

Source: http://www.wbaltv.com/news/owner-not-notified-missing-dog-was-at-animal-shelter/26247202#!TxZhU

Boomer, small poodle

Man who rented billboard to find dog is finally reunited with his poodle
May 29, 2014

It was a reunion seven months in the making. A man who rented a mobile billboard to find his poodle finally got his wish. Eddie Williams was reunited with his poodle, Boomer after someone stole the dog from a gas station at 25th and Sherman last  November.

“Eddie Williams was reunited with his poodle, Boomer after someone stole the dog from a gas station at 25th and Sherman last November.”

“Got my little human with 4 legs back, ” said Eddie Williams.

The reunion wasn’t the result of the mobile billboard cruising around town, but by a coincidental encounter by Eddie himself.

Eddie says he was at a truck stop in Indianapolis last Monday when he saw a woman with a dog that looked like Boomer. The woman let him hold the dog and noticed the poodle’s reaction to the man she thought was a stranger. The woman told Eddie she and her husband found the dog wandering near 38th and Keystone around the same time the dog was stolen.

“Thought this day would never come and when I saw him at the gas station I look at him she actually let me hold him,” said Williams.

The woman took the dog back with her and after she and her husband were contacted by police the dog was retrieved to run the microchip. It was Boomer.

“God orchestrated everything and its no coincidence that he ran into his own dog on the other side of town and I just praise God for that,” said IMPD Detective, Cheryl Cameron.

Detective Cameron worked with Eddie and animal control on this case.

After an exciting reunion Eddie says he’s most looking forward to taking Boomer back on the road with him as he drive his semi truck.

“Looking forward to us re-bonding and us getting used to each other. Him realizing he’s back with daddy can do anything he want to do tear up anything he wanna tear up because there’s no consequences. His name is boomer he get away with anything.”

Source: http://fox59.com/2014/05/29/man-who-rented-billboard-to-find-dog-is-finally-reunited-with-his-poodle/#axzz339owdNq9

Libby, chocolate lab

Dog rescued from river reunited with family in Farmington
by Carly Figueroa
May 27, 2014


FARMINGTON, Utah — A Farmington family was reunited with their dog Tuesday after it was rescued from a swift-moving river in Farmington Canyon.

Larae Beck and her family had been searching for their lost Labrador, Libby, since Saturday. Beck said it’s pretty common for her two dogs to wander the large piece of property where they live, but Sunday morning, only one dog returned and it was obvious something happened.

Down a dirt fire road about four miles from the Beck home, Libby ended up in high water in Farmington Canyon Saturday night.

A family had been hiking in the area when they said they heard a dog crying from the nearby river.

“One of the dogs it looked like had fallen down from the rocks and was partially submerged on the edge of the river,” said Sgt. Jason Sorensen with Davis County Sheriff’s Office.

It was cold and the lab was shivering, said Erik Borenmeier, logistics officer for Davis Search and Rescue.

“It had managed to find the small piece of real estate that was left on the small part of the river – it was moving fast,” Borenmeier said.

Rescue crews were called out to make the recovery. The video in the newscast was shot Saturday night as the Swift Water Team pulled the frightened dog to safety.

Libby was brought to the Davis County Animal Shelter in hopes that her owners would come looking for her.


“We had called Sunday — we called the sheriff’s department and they told us about her. And then we couldn’t come get her yesterday because it was Memorial Day,” Beck said.

Animal Control said the dog was not micro-chipped but had she been, the county would have been able to get her home sooner.

Source: http://fox13now.com/2014/05/27/dog-rescued-from-river-reunited-with-family-in-farmington/

Miss Lilly

Happy Jack reunited with his companion dog
By Angela Thompson
May 27, 2014


An escaped companion dog called Miss Lilly has been freed from the pound and reunited with a seven-year-old Warilla boy with special needs, after a rousing community fund-raising effort.

The little dog was returned to Jack Podesta on Tuesday afternoon, almost two weeks after she escaped and was impounded by local government authorities.

Jack Podesta is joyfully reunited with Miss Lilly, a companion dog who was rounded up by the dog pound having escaped from his family’s yard.

Jack's mum, Carol-Lee Carroll, founder of area food charity Great Illawarra Food Train, received a letter from Shellharbour City Council advising the Maltese terrier would be destroyed if she wasn't collected.

Unable to raise the $350 in required fees, the single mum took to social media seeking someone to adopt the dog so it wouldn't be destroyed.

"It was difficult enough not having her, but the guilt of her being put down would be too much to bear," Ms Carroll told the Mercury.

Jack has Down syndrome, a terminal heart condition and several other health complications; Miss Lilly is his trusted companion.

A supporter of Ms Carroll's charity efforts, Danielle Mansell, saw the appeal and instead launched a fund-raising effort so the dog would be returned to the family.

The pound fees grew bigger each day, owing to a $25 daily maintenance fee.

Carol Lee-Carroll, left, is helped by neighbours to fix fencing in her back garden in readiness for the return of the family dog Miss Lilly.

In all, the community raised more than $1000, covering the pound fees as well as the cost of desexing the dog in the hope it will curb her escape attempts.

As well, Dapto business Auzzie Home Maintenance, cleared part of the family's yard to allow for fencing to be installed, and Kenwalls agreed to provide more than $2000 worth of fencing, to be installed on Thursday. The fencing company made the offer after sales manager Michael Abreu, of Horsley, found his heavily pregnant wife Natalie Abreu in tears over Jack's situation.

"We've got animals as well - I can only imagine what Jack was going through," Mrs Abreu said.

"Being 36 weeks' pregnant doesn't help - hormones."

Ms Carroll collected the dog on Tuesday afternoon, surprising Jack when he came home from school.

In greeting, Jack clenched Miss Lilly's fur a little too tight, and placed his hand in her open mouth.

"She's the only dog that would take that without attacking him," Ms Carroll said.

Source: http://www.illawarramercury.com.au/story/2311619/happy-jack-reunited-with-his-companion-dog/?cs=298