Meko, Brussels Griffon

YHS reunites lost dog with owners after a year and a half
Patrick Whitehurst, The Daily Courier
12/9/2013

PRESCOTT - Meko, a four-year-old Brussels Griffon, is destined to be a part of the O'Brien family.

In 2012, Meko went missing during the night while on an O'Brien family camping trip to Parker for the Fourth of July weekend. After searching for their missing pet, James and Dana O'Brien, with their children Mady and Jayden, returned to California empty-handed.

Mady & Meko play dress-up prior to the dog’s disappearance in Parker over the 4th of July 2012 weekend


A year and a half later, Meko returned.

Last month, the young dog was found on Highway 89 in the company of another dog. Both were brought to the Yavapai Humane Society in Prescott on Nov. 12 as lost pets, according to Lisa Snyder, lost-and-found associate for the Yavapai Humane Society.

Snyder worked diligently to reunite the dog with his family. That reunion was made all the more special for Mady O'Brien, 7, who was diagnosed with a brain tumor in May. Meko's return has ignited a glimmer of hope for the family.

"We just kind of feel like this is the first good news we've gotten since she was diagnosed," Dana O'Brien said. "We're very hopeful that this is the beginning of good news and that hopefully next year will be a little better than this one."

Mady and her brother Jayden gathered some of Meko's belongings, which the family saved, including his collar and leash.

"They went out and got him new toys and got him a new bed," Dana said.

Dana learned the news while taking Mady to one of her many doctor's appointments.

"I told Mady and she had the biggest smile on her face. The first thing she said was 'This has got to be the best day ever.' He really was more her dog. We could tell that right off the bat. When he was little he followed her around and would sleep with her. They really had a special bond and it really meant a lot to her that he was able to make it home."

After learning the news Meko had been found, James O'Brien wasted no time returning to Prescott for the family pet.

According to Snyder, Meko never barked or uttered a sound while in the humane society's kennels. That changed when O'Brien showed up.

"All of sudden a switch just went on and the dog went crazy. It was pretty amazing," Snyder said.

Stacy Hawthorne, marketing and development director for the humane society, kept in contact with the family during the reunion process.

The family told her Meko disappeared sometime during the camping trip after going to sleep with Mady.

"Meko slept next to Mady mostly. But when they woke up, he wasn't there," Hawthorne said. "They immediately went looking for him at the campground and talked to a park ranger. The park ranger said they saw him wondering around and said the dog jumped into a van in the middle of the night with a guy who was camping. That guy went to the park ranger and asked who owned the dog. The ranger told him to leave it there. I guess the guy just decided he wanted him."

Meko now lives with another dog, Joey, which the family adopted when they'd given up hope of seeing Meko again.

Yavapai Humane Society employees use a scanner that checks incoming animals for microchip implants, Snyder said. Both Meko and his traveling companion were scanned when they got to the humane society.

"We scanned both of the dogs. The other dog didn't have any chip. We don't know where that one came from, but it seemed to be hanging out with Meko. Meko was in a lot better shape. We scanned him and brought up a microchip," Snyder said.

The company informed Snyder that the O'Brien family had reported Meko stolen in 2012. The family, she learned, lived in San Juan Capistrano in California. She immediately began calling phone number in an attempt to reach them.

At first, the O'Briens were reluctant to believe the lost dog in question was actually Meko.

"They asked to see pictures, because mom didn't really believe it was their dog at this point," Snyder said. "I emailed her a picture and she called me back within three minutes of getting the picture and was almost in tears."

Hawthorne said not all humane societies are able to afford the high tech tracking equipment.

"The scanner we use is a universal scanner. A lot of humane societies don't have them, because they're really expensive, but PetCo actually funded this," Hawthorne said.

A video of the reunion, produced by the Yavapai Humane Society, has since gone viral and has even appeared on the Martha Stewart website. The Yavapai Humane Society currently has about 30 dogs in their lost and found kennel and a 30 percent reunion rate.

Source: http://www.dcourier.com/main.asp?SectionID=1&SubSectionID=1086&ArticleID=126209

Zorro, great dane

Zorro returns! Family's joy as Great Dane who was stolen by burglars shows up on their doorstep A YEAR laterZorro vanished from owner Marcie Trogdon's home in November 2011
By Matt Blake
11 February 2013

A Great Dane has returned to his owner a year after he was snatched by burglars during an opportunistic raid on her home..

The heart-warming tale began when Zorro, who weighs 170lbs, vanished from owner Marcie Trogdon's house, in Jamestown, Virginia, in November 2011 after she popped out, leaving the door on the latch.

When she returned minutes later, she realised thieves had struck and Zorro was nowhere to be seen.
'A laptop or a TV can be replaced. Zorro is like a family member. All my kids are grown, so he’s my baby,' she told Fox News at the time.

Nice to see you again: Zorro, who weighs 170lbs, vanished from owner Marcie Trogdon's home, in Jamestown, Virginia, after she popped out of her house, leaving the door on the latch

Despite a far-reaching 'missing dog campaign' and extensive police search, he was never found and Marcie was forced to move on with her life, even buying a new dog in a bid to fill the void left by Zorro.

Then on Wednesday night, a flea-bitten and mangy-looking stray who looked remarkably like Zorro appeared in her back yard.

'[My neighbour] was like "Do you know who’s dog this is?" And I said, "what dog?" and about that time Zorro comes running around the corner and I said "Oh my God! That’s Zorro",' she told the station.

'He immediately came up to the fence and as soon as I let him in he knew he was home.'

Exactly what happened to Zorro in the 16 months he was missing remains a mystery.

A trip to the vet revealed he had contracted ringworm and was overweight, but suffered no serious illness.

'My emotion was "I'm so glad", then "oh my God what's wrong with his skin?"' said Dr Joe Kinarney.

'We don't know what's happened in that time, we don't know the exposure to parasite or to diseases,' the vet added.

Trogdon thinks someone stole her dog and brought him back when his care became too expensive.

But she says she doesn't care what happened to him. She is just glad to have her dog at home again.

'I just can't believe that my boy is back,' she said, tears of joy filling her eyes.

His story is remarkably similar to the 1993 movie Homeward Bound: An Incredible Journey, that follows an American bulldog, a golden retriever and a Himalayan cat as they trek across America on a quest to return to their human family.

The film, which is a remake of the 1963 Disney classic The Incedible Journey, starred Michael J. Fox, Don Ameche and Sally Field as the voices of Chance, Shadow and Sassy and was so popular it spawned sequel Homeward Bound II: Lost in San Francisco.

The trio encounter a string of dangers including falling into a torrid river, facing a hungry grizzly bear, surviving a chance encounter with an angry porcupine and escaping from an animal pound.

After learning to overcome adversity by working together they become friends and finally return home to their owners.

Source: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2276945/Homeward-hound-Incredible-return-Great-Dane-showed-owners-doorstep-A-YEAR-stolen-burglars.html

Marshall, shetland sheepdog

Lost dog reunited with owner in a 'Christmas miracle'
By COURTNEY POTTS, Observer-Dispatch
Posted Dec 12, 2012

NEW HARTFORD — Christine Johnson never gave up hope.

A little more than a year ago, she let her Shetland sheepdog Marshall out into her yard in Utica one day and came back to find him missing.

"It was, I'm going to say, maybe 5 minutes max ... he just vanished," she said.

For months, Johnson and her family searched for Marshall without success, even sending his photo to local animal shelters and police departments. She eventually bought another dog, but she kept Marshall's photo on display in her home.

Then, while out of town on a business trip Tuesday, she got a call from the New Hartford Animal Hospital -- Marshall had been found.

Dog and owner were reunited at the Animal Hospital on Wednesday morning amid tears, kisses and one eagerly wagging tail.

Johnson said she always felt as if Marshall was coming home, but was still "speechless" to actually see him.

"This is the type of joy you could never replace with a gift, money, anything," Johnson said.

It was a moving moment for staff members at the New Hartford Animal Hospital too, some of whom had been seeing the 6-year-old Sheltie since he was 6 weeks old.

"It's our Christmas miracle," said Sandi Gentile, the office's supervisor for client service representatives.

Witnessing the reunion was also moving for Jennifer Major-Denicola, the Utica resident who found Marshall while driving home from Christmas shopping with her mother. While many other cars swerved or slowed down to avoid hitting the dog walking in the road that day, Major-Denicola made her mom stop the car.

"I got out of the car and the cars coming behind stopped ... and I'm out in the middle of Oriskany Boulevard and was just like, 'Come here, baby,'" she said.

Marshall's fur was matted, he was dirty and he had a sore under his eye, but he seemed happy to see someone, she said. And he still had his collar with a rabies tag on it from the Animal Hospital.

Staff members at the vet's office said the dog's condition suggests he wasn't fending for himself for the entire year he was gone. It's possible, as Johnson suspects, that someone took him, and then either let him go or lost him themselves more recently.

Major-Denicola said she would have kept Marshall too if she couldn't find the owner, but since she could, she was happy to be able to return him. And Johnson was grateful to have her "momma's boy" back in her arms.

"I love her," she said of Major-Denicola. "I thank her for not taking him and keeping him away from me the way somebody else did."



So what's next for Marshall after his big adventure? Johnson said her kids and grandkids are anxious to see him again. And there may be a few special Christmas treats coming his way, too.

Source: http://www.uticaod.com/news/x1107421218/Lost-dog-reunited-with-owner-in-a-Christmas-miracle