Wesley, yellow lab

Lost dog returned to owners after 17 months
By Jennifer Kohlhepp, Princeton Packet Staff Writer
Wednesday, April 2, 2014

 WEST WINDSOR — The Cruz family thought it was an April Fool’s joke.

The Hillsborough residents received a phone call that their family’s dog, which was missing for 17 months, had been found on Tuesday.

”We were thinking what a cruel April Fool’s joke but they actually found Wesley and because of his microchip he was returned to us after 17 months,” Miguel Cruz said.Earlier that morning, at 7:20 a.m. on April 1, West Windsor police officer Lee Brodowski was dispatched to attend to a loose dog in the area of Manor Ridge and Stonelea in West Windsor.

”He retrieved a very friendly and very large Labrador,” Lt. Robert Garofalo said. “The dog jumped right into the back of his patrol car and was more than happy to go for a ride.”

The dog, later identified as Wesley, was transported to Weber’s Boarding Training facility where staff could read his microchip.

”Dispatcher (Austin) Fountain utilized this information to obtain his owner information,” Lt. Garofalo said.

“Dispatcher Fountain contacted Myra Cruz and inquired about her lost dog. Mrs. Cruz believed the phone call may have been an April Fool’s prank as her dog had been missing since November 2012. Dispatcher Fountain assured her it was not a prank.”

The entire Cruz family, Myra and Miguel and their 12-year-old son Sebastian, immediately made the approximately 18-mile trek from Hillsborough, where the dog disappeared, to West Windsor police headquarters.

”I’ve never seen a kid throw down his supper as fast as he did,” Mr. Cruz said of how his son reacted to the news. “He was thrilled. He couldn’t believe it. He was jumping up and down.”

The Cruzes met Wesley in the lobby of police headquarters.

”Wesley was clearly happy to be back with his family,” Lt. Garofalo said.

Lt. Garofalo and the family both said the dog appeared to have been cared for as he was overweight and was not showing signs of being outside for a long time.

”Whoever took care of him did a pretty good job,” Mr. Cruz said. “He looks pretty fat. We’ll get him back into shape again.”

Wesley went missing from the yard two days before Hurricane Sandy. Mr. Cruz thought the pooch ran off following the scent of an animal but got very upset when the dog didn’t return home.

”We thought maybe he got run over by a car or a deer killed him in the field,” Mr. Cruz said. “We’re so happy he survived and was picked up and returned to us because of his chip. We were so sad; so distraught for 17 months. We talked about him until the very end and never gave up hope.” When Wesley returned home all of the scents, sights and sounds familiar to him set in and “this morning he was all smiles like he was saying, ‘Hey, I’m back,’” Mr. Cruz said on Wednesday.

Officer Brodowski as well as others in the police department were very happy about this great reunion.



”It is positive stories like this that makes everyone’s day,” Lt. Garofalo said.

Source: http://www.centraljersey.com/articles/2014/04/02/the_princeton_packet/news/doc533c75b088f1c111748382.txt

Video from http://abclocal.go.com/wabc/story?section=news%2Flocal%2Fnew_jersey&id=9488931

Sassy, beagle

Beagle missing for 17 months ends up 400 miles away in Brentwood
Sassy the beagle microchipped, but no one ever checked
Mar 28, 2014

BRENTWOOD, Pa. —A 7-year-old beagle that left home 17 months ago and ended up nearly 400 miles away was finally reunited with her owner Friday evening.

Sassy the beagle was staying with foster parents April Smith and Hope Wilson in Brentwood. They had been fostering the dog they called "Jenny" for two months before she needed to see a veterinarian for a cough

Last Saturday, Smith took the dog to a vet on McKnight Road. When they asked for paperwork on the dog, she explained she's fostering the animal that was picked up from a shelter in Kentucky.

The vet decided to check if the dog had a microchip, which stunned Smith.

"I said, 'I'm not thinking that she's microchipped because otherwise I would think she would have been found by her owner by now and wouldn't have ever been in the shelter. But they scanned her and sure enough, microchipped," said Smith.

"I was in total disbelief. They said, 'Yeah, she is, and her name is Sassy.' And as soon as they said 'Sassy' her head turned. And I said, 'Are you Sassy?' And her tail started wagging right away."

VIDEO: Watch Kelly Brennan's original report

Sassy's rightful owner was immediately contacted in Louisville, Ky., and that's when the pieces of the story started falling into place.

Cindy Romans said she left her dog with a family member while she went on vacation in October 2012. While she was gone, Sassy left the house for a routine trip to the backyard and was never seen again. Romans assumed the worst, especially since so much time had passed.

"(The veterinarian) said, 'You're never going to believe what I'm going to tell you.' And I said, 'What's that?' And he said, 'I just got a call from a woman in Pennsylvania and she's got Sassy.' And I said, 'No way! In Pennsylvania?'" said Romans.

VIDEO: Kentucky dog owner grateful for those who cared for Sassy

Somehow, Sassy ended up in the Boyd County Animal Shelter in Kentucky, according to Romans, which she said is a kill shelter.

That's where Sassy was saved by members of Forever Home Beagle Rescue, Inc., based in Pittsburgh. The rescue group was started by Rich and Julie Stoops. They have members in Ohio, West Virginia and Kentucky who save animals before they're euthanized in hopes to place them with a forever home.

Sassy was saved and partnered with Smith in Brentwood. Their main question now: Why was Sassy never checked before for the microchip? WTAE contacted the animal shelter in Kentucky and is waiting for a response.

Now, Sassy's next stop is back to her home in Kentucky.

"Everyone has been such an angel with her, and I will never, ever, ever, ever be able to thank them enough for the wonderful care they're giving her," said Romans. "I would love for every pet owner who has ever lost a pet to be able to feel this moment right now. I'm just over the moon excited."

Source: http://www.wtae.com/news/beagle-missing-for-17-months-end-up-400-miles-away/25144882

Koby, malamute/husky

OLIVER ALERT FANS HELP GET DOG BACK AFTER SEVENTEEN MONTHS!!!
Dawn H Wilson, Oliver Alert

On July 28 at 11:29pm, Denise Wirth Stover uploaded a picture onto Facebook’s Oliver Alert page of a dog that had been lingering around their neighborhood. Denise posted, “This Malamute/Husky has been wandering around the south Paulding County area of Ridge Road/Seals Road area for a couple of weeks. He finally just came up to us tonight and asked us for some food and water. We let him in and obliged. Let me know if you have any idea where he belongs.”

Less than 24 hours later, an official Oliver Alert notice was published onto Facebook. Oliver Alert has almost 2,000 fans that help share postings of lost and found animals. On that day, Tracy Lee Yates reposted the Oliver Alert information of the found Husky onto her personal Facebook page.

On July 30 at 5:55am, Royce Underwood noticed the Oliver Alert posting on his Facebook News Feed made by a former high school friend of his, Tracy Yates. The dog looked like his son’s lost Husky who had been missing for over a year. Royce commented on the Oliver Alert posting, “Does this guy have a bad back leg? My son’s husky “Koby” disappeared out of our yard. We put up posters and put up signs all over. We truly think someone took him out of there.”

On July 31, I logged onto Oliver Alert and noticed an urgent plea from Kristie Brown-Underwood stating, “To Denise Wirth Stover… I have been desperately trying to contact you. My sons Husky Koby has been missing for a year. The picture you posted looks just like him. He has a tuft of white hair on his neck, and when he was a puppy he broke his leg so he limps a little. please contact me. – Kristie”

By the time, Denise and Kristie connected, the Husky had gotten away again. However, the Underwood’s had a renewed sense of hope and a specific geographic location of where to go.

Kristie Underwood’s son raced to Paulding County, Georgia, which is 2 hours away to find this dog and see if he was Koby or not. Kristie’s son found the dog and the “gentleman” who had been keeping the Husky for two weeks would not give him back. Certain that this was their Koby, the Underwood family would take whatever action was needed to bring their beloved dog back home.

After several heated conversations as well as calls to authorities and Koby’s former vet…the man keeping the husky called and said, “come get him.”

On August 2nd at 12:23am, Royce Underwood joyfully updated the Oliver Alert page with the message, “FOUND!!!!! after 17 months. Original posting from Denise Wirth Stover.”

Through veterinary records, the Underwood’s were able to verify that this husky was in fact their lost dog, Koby.

The sweet words of seeing, “He’s Home” makes this a great Success Story not only for the Stover, Yates and Underwood families but, for me as well, the girl who started Oliver Alert.

Thank you Oliver Alert fans…You might “like” Oliver Alert, but we love you!!

Source: http://www.oliveralert.com/success-stories/

Sadie, pomeranian

Pomeranian stolen from Onset yard reunited with owner
By Ashleigh Bennett , Wicked Local Wareham
Posted Dec 22, 2010 @ 11:10 AM

Sadie, a purebred Pomeranian, was stolen out of an Onset yard last year.

ONSET — Kathleen Stetson received one of the greatest Christmas presents this year. In July 2009, her Pomeranian, Sadie, was stolen from her fenced-in backyard. So she was beside herself when, over a year later, she got a phone call saying, “We found your dog.”

Sadie was stolen from Stetson’s summer home in Onset, where she’s spent her summers for the past 35 years.

“I was out on the porch with a friend,” she said, “and I went inside to answer the phone. When I came back a minute later, Sadie was gone.”

“I knocked on doors, I put up fliers and I called every shelter,” she continued, “but because it was a long weekend, I couldn’t get in touch with everyone.”

Stetson also found out that the microchip Sadie had doesn’t act as a GPS locator; it only works when scanned by a vet or shelter.

Stetson, who has to undergo surgery for severe leg, joint and arthritic problems, was sitting with a neighbor the day before she had to go in for another surgery when her phone rang.

“I was just telling a neighbor about Sadie,” she said, “and two hours later, the Dartmouth Humane Society called telling me that they found her.”

She rushed from her Attleboro home to Dartmouth to be reunited with her dog.

“Sadie remembered me. She definitely recognized my voice,” she said.

Sadie, in true dog fashion, walked through the front door and went right to where her food bowl was.

Stetson said that receiving that phone call was like a dream come true. She never gave up hope on being reunited with Sadie, but she said that after she didn’t get a call about Sadie during the first two weeks, she began to worry that something horrible had happened to the dog.

“Your mind goes crazy,” she said, “For months, I dreamed she was crying for me and I couldn’t get to her. It was very disheartening.”

The woman who dropped Sadie off at the shelter said she found the dog wandering the streets in the rain. Stetson, though, feels the scenario doesn’t add up. Sadie was dry and well groomed despite the weather, and the woman also dropped off a toy with the dog, which she had renamed as “Sugar.”

As someone who regularly donates to the MSPCA to prevent animal abuse, delivers food to people who can’t leave their home and who works at the Attleboro Food Pantry, Stetson was deeply bothered by whoever could be callous enough to steal her dog.

“It’s really wrong and needs to be stopped,” she said. “There needs to be some type of repercussion for people who do this. It’s very inhumane, and it nearly destroyed me.”

Stetson isn’t sure who stole her dog, but she thinks Sadie was stolen to be bred, and she will find out this week if Sadie had a littler of puppies. Purebred Pomeranian puppies can go for $1,000.

“The day Sadie was stolen, I changed. I went into a deep depression, and everything went downhill from there,” she said. “I lost my job, had gotten injured and had gone through a second surgery for my legs.”

Stetson couldn’t bring herself to return to Onset without Sadie.

Meanwhile, she bought another Pomeranian named Sunny Boy. Sunny Boy and Sadie get along perfectly.

“They’re like brother and sister,” she said. “they play and play-fight all day. If you have one dog, you need two.”

“I couldn’t go back last year because it conjured up so many bad memories,” she added. “But now, this year, I get to go back with two beautiful Pomeranians.”

Source: http://www.wickedlocal.com/wareham/news/x1682030015/Pomeranian-stolen-from-Onset-yard-reunited-with-owner

Delta Dawn, Boston Terrier

Dog back home after 17 months away

By Tom Hartwell, The Vicksburg Post
Tuesday, July 17, 2007

Amanda Williams holds her 7-year-old Boston terrier, Delta Dawn, at her home Monday morning. Delta was returned to Williams after being missing since February 2006.

Seventeen months after Delta Dawn's disappearance, Amanda Williams admits she had lost hope.“I had a gut feeling I would never see her again,” Williams said of the Boston terrier that turns 7 today at the Rhodes Drive home where she lived until she was 5 and scooted out an open gate.

Described by Williams as “a little bit hyper,” Delta was welcomed home last week by Williams, husband Johnny, daughter Alex, 4, and Labrador mix Dixie, also 4. Her son Tanner, 9, is away at summer camp. Williams said she called to tell him the news, and he could hardly believe it.

When Delta went missing in February 2006, her family posted fliers, advertised in the newspaper and even called a radio station. Her two children mourned, but Amanda Williams said she took the loss hardest.“For me, it was like losing one of them,” she said.

On Thursday, Delta came home. Williams picked her up from a woman who told her the dog had been rescued from abuse. The woman, Donna Johnson, had placed an ad in The Vicksburg Post, saying she found a Boston terrier. Williams' mother, Carmen Rouse, saw the ad, called Johnson, and was convinced the dog was Delta Dawn.

Williams, a nurse at Vicksburg Convalescent Home, was leaving work Wednesday when she got the call from her mother.“I think I've found Delta,” she said. Williams started crying.

Johnson, 52, of Dudley Road, had taken the dog last Sunday from Redbone Road after a fellow member of Wayside Baptist Church contacted her about a dog she had seen being mistreated.“She called and told me she was afraid for the dog,” said Johnson, who owns two Boston terriers.

Johnson said that when she found the dog, she could tell it was in poor health.“It was thin and its stomach was tucked in and its back was hunched up,” she said. “Wherever she had been for a year, she had not been loved and cared for like she should have.” The people she found the dog with said it had wandered up a few days earlier, and allowed Johnson to take it home with her.

“That dog nearly broke its neck running to the van,” Johnson said. “It didn't even know who I was.” Johnson took the dog home and placed the ad.

“That's one special lady,” Amanda Williams said. “I don't know what I'm going to do to thank her.”

When Williams and her mother arrived at Johnson's house on Thursday to look at the dog, Delta Dawn had become so thin that Williams did not even recognize her. “She told her mother, ‘Oh, look how bad she looks! How can that be Delta?'” Johnson said. Delta had dropped from 19 pounds to 9. Williams could be sure it was Delta, though, because of discoloration in her left eye from surgery.

“When she got back to the house, when she got to the backyard she sniffed every corner of the fence,” Johnson said. “Her first night home she curled up in the bed with me.”

Williams said she doesn't know where Delta has been, and doesn't want to know. She's just glad she's home. The dog has been eating well and resting since being home. For her seventh birthday today, Delta will get a steak, Williams said.


Source: http://www.vicksburgpost.com/articles/2007/07/17/news/news02.txt