May 3, 2014
EATONTOWN — Chuck and Elicia James were all smiles Friday afternoon as they walked their dog on a leash, preparing for a warm weekend of camping.
That’s because walking their dog was something they haven’t done for over a year and a half, ever since they thought they lost Reckless, their friendly brown and white terrier-pit bull mix, who was missing since superstorm Sandy.
But on Thursday, they received an unexpected surprise when they went to the Monmouth County SPCA to adopt a new dog; they found their old friend.
“Literally when we opened the double doors, the first cage we walk up to I thought ‘that looks like Reckless,’ ” Chuck James said. “He was a little heavier and it’s been a little while, but then my wife saw the scar on his head and immediately we start tearing up and we found our dog.”
The James family — Chuck and Elicia and their children, Alexandra, Kelsey and Liam — were living in Keansburg when superstorm Sandy damaged their home during the night of Oct. 29-30, 2012. Chuck James said the fence in the yard was mangled during the storm and the dog got out.
“We had a collar on the dog, but it got caught on the fence and came off before he got out,” James said.
The family searched for months for Reckless, but eventually gave up when no sign of Reckless was found.
“We chalked it up to that someone probably found it, or it was dead,” Chuck James said. “You keep searching, but eventually you have to move on.”
Seeking a new dog
A couple of weeks ago, Alexandra James turned 10, and the family decided it was time to get a new dog. On Thursday, they headed to the Monmouth Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals shelter in Eatontown and met with an adoption specialist to look at different dogs.
Once they were inside, they recognized Reckless and showed the adoption specialist pictures of the family with the dog to prove it really was their dog. In the end, they were able to take Reckless back home
“We were all ecstatic, and he made it clear that he was home and we were home,” Chuck James said.
“I’m just glad that he’s home,” Elicia James said. “The kids are happy, and this whole thing has been an amazing experience.”
The family ended up paying a $180 adoption fee, which Chuck James had no problem paying.
“They took care of the dog, microchipped him, he saw a vet regularly, and (they) sheltered him,” James said. “It was like bailing my dog out of jail.”
Since this winter, the family has been staying at the Staybridge Suites in Eatontown, as their rented Keansburg home is going to get some repairs from Sandy damage. But the hotel will allow them to keep Reckless.
Liz Wise, development and marketing director at the Monmouth County SPCA, said something like this happening is very rare.
“It’s not very often we’re able to reunite them with their owners in the way that this happened. It does happened sometimes, but this was a very rare story,” Wise said. “It also shows the importance of microchipping your pets because had he been microchipped, we would’ve been able to reunite him with his family sooner.”
Wise said the dog was found as a stray in October 2013 by the Monmouth County SPCA. She said they assumed someone had taken him in for a period of time before he got loose again.
“It’s a wonderful story and a very happy ending for the family,” Wise said. “It’s something that really warmed our hearts and when we put it on Facebook for our followers, and we had no idea so many people would feel the same way.”
Source: http://www.app.com/article/20140502/NJNEWS0301/305020067/Sandy-lost-dog?nclick_check=1
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