Tuesday, Siberian husky

Stolen Siberian Husky reunited with owner
by KGW staff
Posted on December 9, 2012 at 9:16 AM

PORTLAND -- "Tuesday" the Siberian Husky that was stolen outside a bar in North Portland was found Saturday and returned to her owner.

Joel Sprenger had been searching non-stop since his treasured dog was stolen Friday afternoon outside a Kenton neighborhood bar and restaurant.

Siberian Husky stolen outside bar in North Portland

PORTLAND --  Joel Sprenger has been searching non-stop since his treasured dog named Tuesday was stolen Friday afternoon. Security cameras outside a Kenton neighborhood bar and restaurant, which requested to stay anonymous, caught the crime on camera. "You're watching video of someone stealing your loved one and it's brutal," said a very upset Sprenger. The video shows the beautiful Siberian Husky tied to a picnic table in an outdoor eating area in back of the restaurant.   A man pushing a shopping cart unclips her leash, feeds her something that looks like leftover Chinese food, then walks her around to the entrance.  After making sure the coast is clear, he takes off with Tuesday.  A second video camera shows them both quickly walking down the street.  Sprenger says he only left his dog alone for a few minutes while he went inside to order a sandwich. "Someone stole my my dog and someone that's probably mentally unstable and how is this person going to take care of her?," said Sprenger.  Tuesday has a pet watch microchip, so if she's scanned, it will show she's stolen.  She also had tags on her collar with Sprenger's name and phone number on them. "If someone saw this character walking with her, she would stick out because she is so beautiful," said Sprenger.

Security cameras captured the crime on camera, and due to extensive media coverage in the case, a person recognized the dog and returned it to Sprenger.

Police received a call from Vancouver late Friday from a person who had "Tuesday." The caller said a family member brought the dog over and left it. After watching the news, the person realized the dog was stolen and called police.



 Source: http://www.kgw.com/news/Stolen-dog-reunited-with-owner-182734141.html

Happy, Havanese

Happy Ending For Dog Owner, Lost Pet Dog Ran Off After Break-In
July 30, 2011

STOUGHTON, Mass. -- Filthy, thirsty and totally exhausted, Happy the Havenese was resting comfortably at home on Friday night after being lost for more than 40 hours, our news partner WickedLocal/Stoughton reported.

The story is also available on video at:
http://boston.cbslocal.com/2011/07/29/one-dog-killed-one-missing-after-stoughton-kennel-break-in/

“It’s great, great,” said Happy’s owner, Jim Bannister. “There’s just no feeling.”

Two boys out playing at 3 p.m. Friday found Happy under a bush, Bannister said. They chased him into the yard of a neighbor, who recognized Happy as the dog missing from Stoughton Groomers since Wednesday.

“She called my daughter in Maine, and my daughter called my wife, and my wife shot right over there,” said Bannister.

Happy, a 3-year-old black-and-white Havanese, disappeared at 9 p.m. Wednesday after, police say, a woman broke a lock on the play yard of the Park Street dog-grooming business where Happy was being boarded while his family vacationed in Maine.

The woman, who police said was drunk, walked off with a white Shih Tzu in her arms. Meanwhile, eight other dogs ran into traffic on Route 27, and one, a terrier mix named Snoopy, was struck by a car and fatally injured.

Police rounded up most of the animals, but Happy remained elusive. Bannister and his wife Vivian returned home from Maine to search for him and posted 125 fliers with his photograph around town.

The woman who allegedly broke into the business, Pamela Dowd, 44, of 1247 Park St., Stoughton, was ordered in court Thursday to undergo treatment for alcohol addiction. She was arraigned on seven charges, including breaking and entering, larceny and animal cruelty.

Five of the dogs belonged to Scott Holyoke, 32, the owner of Stoughton Groomers at 883 Park St., the former site of Missy’s Puppy Land.

Holyoke, who opened the business in March 2010, spent four years in prison on federal drug-dealing charges and will finish his federal probation next month. He was a government informant in the trial of Lawrence P. Novak, a Brockton lawyer convicted of money laundering and obstruction of justice.

“My life is not the same as it was,” Holyoke said Thursday. “I’m not a different person, I just don’t do the same things. Obviously, I know how to manage my previous demons.”

Police Executive Officer Robert Devine said police have no reason to believe the break into Holyoke’s business had anything to do with his past. It appears to be a random act, Devine said.

“We had problems with the previous owner,” Devine said, referring to Missy’s Puppy Land, whose owner was charged with animal cruelty. “He hasn’t been there very long. We really haven’t had too many dealings with him.”

Meanwhile, Bannister said Happy was “all wiped out” and in his own room resting after the ordeal.

The veterinarian said to give Happy water and a little food and time to recover from the stress, Bannister said.

Vivian Bannister said the family will find a way to reward the boys who brought Happy home.

Source: http://www.thebostonchannel.com/print/28714638/detail.html
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Odin, German shepherd

Dog missing after Fairbanks fire found
by Sam Friedman, Fairbanks Daily News Miner
Jun 23, 2011

After a stressful couple of days Aron Lace is thankful to be reunited with with his beloved Odin, shown together here Wednesday June 22, 2011.

FAIRBANKS — A dog that fled a burning downtown duplex was found safe a few miles away this week.

Odin, a 3-year old German shepherd, reportedly snarled at and then ran away from firefighters putting out a fire in an arctic entrance at a Wickersham Street building early Monday morning.

A tip from an animal control officer who saw Odin at a transfer station led the dog’s owner, Aron Lace, to find him about a mile up the Old Steese Highway later Monday.

The reunion was joyous, and it took no time for Odin to go back to his usual spot, Lace said.

“After about five seconds, he bolted into the back seat of my car,” he said.

Lace said he had received about 15 phone calls from people who had seen Odin or who wanted to offer their support.

Odin is named after the Norse god of war, magic and prophecy. Lace said he plans to breed Odin and name one of the male puppies Thor.

Source: http://newsminer.com/view/full_story/14441926/article-Dog-missing-after-Fairbanks-fire-found?instance=local_news

Annie, weimeraner

Lucky Dog Survives Train Hit, Two Days In The Wild
McKay Allen | KXLY4 Reporter
June 2, 2011

CHENEY, Wash. -- Is it a miracle? Or just one lucky dog?

Two Fridays ago Scott Jensen's dogs Annie and Buddy went out to play on the family's property near the Cheney-Spokane road.

"They run together a lot," Jensen says.

A few hours passed and Buddy returned. Annie didn't.

Immediately that concerned Jensen. "The fact that he came back without the female obviously something had happened to her."

He called all the neighbors, then got on his ATV and looked all day Saturday, Sunday and Monday morning.

"There was no sign," he says.

Was she hit by a car? Attacked by a predator? Or, perhaps, hit by one of the trains that pass about a half mile from the Jensen home?

"Two different times with binoculars I scanned the tracks, no sign, no sign of her."

The weekend came and went, over 48 passed, and by Monday hope that Annie would ever come home was gone.

"It got me down, the [other dog] was depressed, my wife was stressed out. I actually went to the office and starting looking for a new dog for us," Jensen recalls.

But then, perhaps, a miracle. On a whim Scott Jensen's wife called a vet in Cheney. That vet had an injured dog matching Annie's description. The dog had been brought in the day before.

It was Annie.

Turns out she had been hit by a train Friday afternoon. Her pelvis was crushed. Her leg was cut. Her ear was nearly chewed off by scavengers.

Annie laid on the ground near the tracks for nearly 48 hours until Sunday evening when a man fishing on a nearby lake saw Annie and rescued her.

"She was in and out of consciousness," Jensen says. "Half of her ear was chewed off, she was covered in blood. Most people probably would have given her up for dead."

But now Annie is back at home and she's running and playing again. And for the Jensen family she is a walking miracle.

"Something was meant to be, there was some high power looking out," Jensen said.



Source: http://www.kxly.com/news/28114634/detail.html

Polly, chow

Dog reunited with owner after water rescue
by NewsChannel 36 Staff, WCNC.com
Posted on January 5, 2010 at 3:30 PM

Dog rescued from icy water in Fort Mill

FORT MILL, SC -- A dog that was rescued from a freezing cold creek on Sunday night has been reunited with her owner.

Officials at York County Animal Control said the chow's owner came forward on Tuesday.

"The dog was just as glad to see her owner as her owner was to see the dog," supervisor Chris Peninger told the Rock Hill Herald.

Peninger said the dog, named Polly, apparently wandered off during fireworks on New Year's. On Sunday night, the dog was found stuck in a freezing creek in Fort Mill.

Fort Mill Rescue and York County Animal Control officials worked for more than an hour Sunday night to get Polly out of the creek. The dog was not seriously injured.

Peninger said Polly is between 13 and 14 years old and has hearing and seeing disabilities.

Photos here

Source: http://www.wcnc.com/news/local/Dog-reunited-with-owner-after-water-rescue-80728877.html#

Dawson, beagle

Lost dog happily reunited with owners
.CBC News
Friday, February 11, 2011 | 2:46 PM

Dawson the beagle was rescued Friday by HRM Animal Services officers after a neighbour alerted them to the lost dog, who was trapped in a Nova Scotia Power compound on Windmill Road.

A six-month old beagle had a happy reunion with his owners Friday after going missing for two days.

"Dawson" ended up trapped inside a Nova Scotia Power compound on Windmill Road in Dartmouth.

His owners had been frantically searching for him since Wednesday, putting up flyers, contacting local radio stations, and even posting his photo on Kijiji.

They were contacted by HRM Animal Services this morning after a woman who lives across the street from the compound contacted the city, concerned about the dog.

Dawson's owner Don Ellis said the dog was lost nearly two and a half kilometres from where was found. The family had been frantically searching for him since Wednesday.

She had first noticed him Thursday, and when she heard the dog barking again Friday morning, called the city.

Don Ellis said the dog managed to get off his leash Wednesday, in the snow on Victoria Road, while his son was babysitting relatives near Dartmouth Highschool. In an unfamiliar area, Ellis said Dawson just kept running.

Ellis was surprised the dog made his way nearly two and half kilometres from where he was lost.

"We concentrated our search there," said Ellis. I thought he was too timid to get this far. I thought he'd just find a place to hide, but I guess ... wherever there was food."

Animal Services officers had difficulty getting Dawson to come out of the compound, and had to call Ellis and his wife, to come coax the dog out.

There was a tearful moment as the owners thanked the neighbour who alerted animal protection officers to their pet.

"Sometimes you get lucky," said Ellis.

Source: http://www.cbc.ca/canada/nova-scotia/story/2011/02/11/ns-beagle-rescue.html

Zeb, Australian Shepherd

Zeb, come home: Dog crosses 520 bridge in rush hour
A dog is home safe after a harrowing trip on foot across the 520 bridge.
By Susan Gilmore, Seattle Times staff reporter
Originally published Thursday, February 3, 2011 at 11:38 AM

Zeb is home safe after a trip on foot across the 520 bridge

Good thing he didn't make his break this spring. He might have faced a hefty toll.

It was rush hour, after all, when Zeb made his escape across the Highway 520 bridge.

Zeb, an Australian shepherd, was back home Thursday in his Madrona home after his owners found him across the lake in Hunts Point, two days after he fled the Eastlake home where he was being cared for while his owners were out of town.

Owner Megan Ferestien said she thinks Zeb, who's 6 years old, was trying to get home. "He should have taken the Arboretum exit, but missed it," she said.

Friends who had been caring for him posted notices on Craigslist and received reports of him crossing the 520 bridge on Tuesday afternoon, weaving across the eastbound and westbound lanes. Drivers reported that cars on the bridge were driving defensively on Zeb's behalf, slowing down to protect the wayward pooch as he made his way east.

The Washington State Patrol tried to capture the dog, but he eluded troopers by jumping over a jersey barrier. Reports kept coming in to Craigslist. The State Department of Transportation tweeted that a dog "walked entire length of 520 bridge!"

The dog was spotted in Medina. Friends searched for him Tuesday night through Wednesday, before Ferestien and her husband, Dana, found Zeb about 8:30 a.m. Thursday hiding in Hunts Point.

He was starving, said Ferestien. He smells bad and has a torn paw, but otherwise seems healthy.

"Both my husband and I are now firm believers in the power of social media," Ferestien said. "Without friends spreading the news through various networks and strangers responding to Craigslist postings, I don't know if we would have been able to narrow our search and bring him home.

"This is a feel-good story," she said. "He's a special little guy. It's a miracle he made it across 520."

She later joked about it all.

"It's a good thing we won't get a ticket in the mail because he crossed without his transponder."

Source: http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2014119359_dogescape04m.html

Gannon, german shepherd dog

Owner reunited with his lost guide dog
By Jeanne Starmack
Wednesday, September 1, 2010

Sam Vona of Struthers and Gannon, his seeing-eye dog, are reunited. The dog disappeared Saturday evening, and Vona got him back Tuesday morning.

STRUTHERS   It’s a tale with a tail- wagging ending.

Gannon, a seeing-eye dog who’d been missing since Saturday evening, was brought home to his ecstatic owner, Sam Vona.

The 8-year-old German shepherd was found wandering Tuesday morning by a Struthers resident who knew he’d been missing, Vona said.

He was found on Clingan Road near Poland Seminary High School, about three miles from Vona’s home at 414 Creed St, Vona said.

The man who found the dog, Sam Detoro, lives on Sixth Street in Struthers, Vona said. He had left his father’s house in Poland and saw a German shepherd walking on the side of the road. Because of extensive news coverage after Gannon’s disappearance, he suspected he’d found the missing guide dog, Vona said.

“He stopped his car and said, ‘C’mon, Gannon,’ and he got right in his car,” Vona said.

Detoro was unable to be reached Tuesday.

Vona said he got a call about 11:30 am from Struthers police — Detoro took the dog there.

He was missing his collars and ID tags, Vona said. But The Seeing Eye, the guide-dog school in New Jersey where Vona got Gannon, had tattooed a number in the dog’s ear. The police checked it and verified the dog’s identity.

Detoro drove Gannon home.

“I was crying, tears of joy,” Vona said. “He was barking. He jumped out of the car and came right to me.”

Gannon’s disappearance Saturday, after he bolted out of his yard to chase something, set off a search in which the police and about 100 people participated.

Police searched nearby woods and found no trace of him, leading the family to believe he likely was stolen.

Vona said Tuesday it’s possible that whoever took Gannon was nervous about the publicity surrounding his disappearance and set him free without his collars.

Vona said he’s sure the collars couldn’t have fallen off. “They’d have to be taken off,” he said.

Gannon seems fine after his ordeal, though he’s lost some weight, Vona said.

“He’s here, playing with his ball,” he said.

Source: http://www.vindy.com/news/2010/sep/01/owner-reunited-with-his-lost-guide-dog/
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Bruno, German shepherd

Couple finds dog reported missing
By Diana M. Alba / -news.com
Posted: 12/27/2010 11:30:29 PM MST

LAS CRUCES - Atop Alex Estrada's wish list this year was something that didn't belong there in the first place: Bruno, his family's 2-year-old German Shepherd dog, which was snatched from a fenced yard on Christmas Eve.

It may have come a day late, but his Christmas wish became a reality.

Following the theft Thursday, Estrada, 30, of Las Cruces posted a stolen-dog notice on Craigslist, along with an old photo of Bruno. That captured the attention of interested Las Crucens, some of whom began e-mailing the notice out to their contacts. It reached the Sun-News and was published as a brief article online Saturday, along with a noteworthy fact in the case: footage of the theft had been captured on the family's security surveillance system.

A man who took the dog from Estrada's parents' home was driving a two-tone, black-and-silver pickup, possibly an '80s model Chevy or GMC. Estrada, who frequently visits his parents' home, said his family had noticed the vehicle cruising the neighborhood several times over the past week.

Estrada said the family had reported the incident to authorities on Thursday upon discovering that Bruno's had disappeared. The police didn't take a copy of the video footage, but did take down an incident report, he said.

Estrada said Bruno was a gift to his father around April 2009. The friendly canine had endeared itself to the family, Estrada said, and his young son was heartbroken when Bruno went missing.

Sunday afternoon, Estrada said he received a phone call from a Mesquite man, who had discovered a German Shepherd munching from a bin near a pizza shop on Avenida de Mesilla a couple of days earlier. The man called the dog over to his vehicle, and it hopped in. Then, the man's wife happened across the article about the dog theft online, and the couple decided to contact Estrada. A few questions later, the couple confirmed the dog was indeed Bruno. And Estrada zipped down to Mesquite to pick up the missing pet.

The dog was in good health and didn't have any injuries.

Las Cruces police department spokesman Dan Trujillo said it wasn't possible to comment Monday about any trends in dog thefts. But he offered some tips to dog owners.

We recommend "to make sure that, if they're going to have their pets outdoors, have them behind closed and locked gates. Also, pets can be microchipped, that way if they're either lost or stolen, it would be easier to identify the owners."

Estrada said he's grateful not only to the man who found Bruno but also to the community. He said he believes the thief likely dumped Bruno when he realized that the theft had been captured on video.

Bruno was returned just in the nick of time. Estrada said he attempted to retrieve the video footage again from the security camera on Monday, but the system had already disposed of the file through an automated process. The family didn't have another copy.

Source: http://www.lcsun-news.com/dona_ana_news/ci_16955682?source=rss
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Spalding, golden retriever

Missing St. Paul guide dog found by neighbor, reunited with owner
By Rhoda Fukushima and Tad Vezner, Pioneer Press
Updated: 12/13/2010 11:53:13 PM CST

A blind St. Paul man who lost his guide dog in the freezing cold Sunday — and spent that day and the next wrought with worry — was relieved to discover late Monday that the dog had spent the night in a warm kitchen across the street.

Service dog Spalding, a 22-month-old male golden retriever, disappeared Sunday in St. Paul s Merriam Park neighborhood.

About 1:30 p.m. Sunday, Justin McDevitt went to shovel snow in back of his house in the 1700 block of Marshall Avenue in the Merriam Park neighborhood. He believes Spalding, a 22-month-old male golden retriever, followed him outside: When McDevitt went inside an hour later, Spalding was not there.

McDevitt called for him, but the dog did not respond.

McDevitt immediately contacted the St. Paul location of the Animal Humane Society and the St. Paul Animal Control Center. His wife went outside to scour the neighborhood and alert neighbors.

Numerous media outlets picked up the story about the dog, who is McDevitt's fourth and had only been with him and his family a matter of weeks.

A resident about a block down saw one of those news reports Monday evening, and noticed the dog looked suspiciously like the one that a next-door neighbor had found at 2:30 p.m. Sunday, running around outside.

"He was just all by himself, and there were people at the other end of the block, so I thought he was with them," said neighbor Connie Murphy. "First I told him to go home, and he just looked at me. Then I called and he came running and just sat down. He was just the most awesome dog in the whole world."

Murphy, who has two dogs herself, walked the dog around the neighborhood on a leash, asking those shoveling their walks if they knew who his owner might be. Everyone shook their head.

"It was cold and getting colder. I took him in to get warmed up," Murphy said. First she kept the dog in a kennel, but let him out when she saw how well behaved he was. Spalding slept the night on her kitchen floor.

He was wearing a black and red nylon collar but no tags. Spalding normally wears tags, but they broke off last week when McDevitt mistakenly hooked the leash into the tag ring.

On Monday evening, Murphy heard from a neighbor that the dog might be McDevitt's, who lives across the street and two doors down. She turned on the television, saw a news report and called McDevitt's wife.

"I think I have your dog," she said.

"I'll be right over," the woman replied.

"She was — zoom — right there!" Murphy said.

Within minutes Spalding and McDevitt were reunited.

Source: http://www.twincities.com/ci_16850323?nclick_check=1
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Cookie, chihuahua/yorkie mix

Friday, December 10, 2010
Chorkie reunited with owner after two-day search along freeway
Small dog wandered off after traffic accident near Castlewood

1-year-old "Chorkie,' missing since he wandered away from his owner after a traffic accident on I-680 Saturday night, has been found. A good samaritan found the dog in a Foothill Road neighborhood and took him to Murphy's Paw, a downtown Pleasanton pet store, where store owner Melanie Sadek recognized Chorkie' picture that was posted on Pleasanton Weekly's daily Express edition.

The little 1-year-old Chorkie dog that wandered away from its owner after her car was in an accident on I-680 on Saturday, has been found.

Juliana Pribela, 11, found the 7-1/2-pound dog in her back yard off Foothill Road around 3 p.m. Sunday afternoon after she spotted it out the window.

The dog had been missing since the 7 p.m. Saturday traffic accident and its owner, medical student Melina Masihi who lives in Pleasanton, has been searching the freeway area near the Castlewood Drive/Sunol Boulevard exit for her cherished pet.

Juliana and her mom Terri bathed the little dog, a Chorkie, which is a mix of a Yorkie dog and a Chihuahua, and removed the many burrs from his fur.

"I thought probably someone has taken this kind of a dog to the darling little pet store downtown," said Terri Pribela, and she brought the dog into Murphy's Paw on Main Street on Monday.

She also wanted to buy him a coat, she added.

Meanwhile the Pleasanton Weekly had posted a news story about the missing dog on its daily Express edition Monday at www.pleasantonweekly.com.

"Monday, a lady brought the dog into our store and told me that she found him Sunday evening in a neighborhood off of Foothill," said Melanie Sadek, owner of Murphy's Paw. "I recommended that she go to a local vet and have his back scanned."

"When she left the store, I had kept her contact info," Sadek said. "Chorkie also had a new fleece jacket to help keep him warm. Then this morning I read the Pleasanton Weekly Express edition and called everyone ASAP. Melina was so grateful, and Terri was happy to reunite Chorkie with his mommy."

No one was badly injured in the Saturday evening accident, including the Chorkie, who apparently walked down an embankment and disappeared. Masihi is bruised and received stitches on her forehead.

Terri Pribela said when Masihi called her, she asked if she would wait until 5 p.m. to pick up the dog, whose name is Cookie, because she knew Juliana would want to say goodbye to her new little friend. When Masihi arrived, she'd brought several friends, a giant cake and a dozen roses, said Pribela.

"They said, 'Let me pay you,' but I said, 'Absolutely not, it's a gift,'" she recalled.

When they left, they gave Juliana an envelope, which turned out to contain the $300 reward they'd been offering for Cookie's return.

That was wonderful for Juliana, noted her mother, but they were happy to take care of little Cookie and were glad for the happy ending since they already have a house full of pets.

"We have dogs and we would want someone to take care of our dog," Pribela said.

"It's a miracle," Masihi said Wednesday morning, that Cookie survived after her night alone wandering through the city. "I'm crazy about this little guy."

Source: http://www.pleasantonweekly.com/story.php?story_id=7652
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Leah, service dog

Family Dismayed At Treatment After Returning Lost Dog
June 25, 2008

ELIZABETHTOWN, Ky. -- An autistic teenager has been reunited with his lost service dog after the dog went missing for more than 48 hours.

Newschannel 32 has learned that the dog wound up in the arms of another family.

The 16-year-old teenager went inside a Wal-Mart with his mother Saturday night, leaving the dog, Leah, inside their van.

A few minutes later, the dog jumped out of the van and into the store, family members said.

Janice Mclain said that her teenage daughter found the dog and noticed that something was wrong.

“I said, ‘you bring her on home and we'll take care of her and put an ad in the paper,'” Mclain said.

The newspaper ad for a "found" Australian cattle dog caught the eye of family friends who saw the story on Newschannel 32.

Mclain said that when the family arrived, her daughter didn’t get the response they expected.

“We were treated like criminals,” Mclain said. “She started hollering at us, ‘you need to leave what's not yours alone,’ and I said, ‘look, we did you a favor.'”

Mclain said her family is distraught by their treatment because they only tried to do right by the animal.

The autistic teenager’s family has admitted that their reaction was harsh, but that it was due to the stress from losing the dog.

The boy had trouble functioning without his service dog.

The teenager’s mother said that she plans to write a letter expressing her gratitude to the family that found their service dog.

Source: http://www.wlky.com/family/16702260/detail.html

Lil Man & JD & Tik

Stranger's kindness reunites stolen dogs with grieving owner
Bob Ross, timespicayune.com
Posted March 19, 2009 08:29AM

Shoshana Rothschild was finally reunited with J.D., top right, Lil' Man, bottom left, and Tik, bottom right, after her car was stolen during Mardi Gras with the three dogs inside.

The last thing Shoshana Rothschild worried about, as she stopped by her Uptown warehouse Monday morning, was the safety of her three dogs outside in her Chevy truck. Maybe no one would be scared by Little Man or Tik, both under 25 pounds, but J.D. was an impressive specimen -- a Doberman/St. Bernard mix, about 180 pounds. Yet in the few minutes Shoshana was inside the warehouse with sister Jamin, the pair heard the truck start up and drive off.

"My heart just dropped the second I heard my engine starting," Shoshana said. "I couldn't hear or think of anything else."

Since Hurricane Katrina, when her father moved out of town, it's just been Shoshana, 33, her sister and now her three dogs. "That's her family," said Jamin, 30, who works for a downtown hotel.

After first trying to chase down the thief, the sisters bumped into officials with Mutt Shack, an animal rescue group that came to town after Katrina. Officials with the group got the news out Monday to local TV stations, put together a $1,500 reward with the help of the Louisiana Humane Society, and Shoshana and Jamin waited and hoped. That's when Kermit Rhea of Shrewsbury came to the rescue.

Later Monday, Rhea went into his yard in the Jefferson community to get something from his truck. From there, he saw two dogs being attacked in the backyard of the empty home behind his. He recognized the strays doing the attacking as local dogs. But he had never before seen the other two dogs, which soon found their way to his front porch.

Both were wearing green parade beads and one -- nearly 200 pounds -- was bleeding from the side and appeared to have a type of collar that sends a shock if a dog gets out of its yard.

"I knew they had to (belong to) somebody," said Rhea, who works for a pest control company. "I am always working in people's yards and I know about those collars and invisible fences."

He called Jefferson Parish shelter officials and even helped workers get the third dog, which was hiding in nearby bushes, into the truck.

Then as he watched the TV news Tuesday, Rhea realized the dogs missing from New Orleans were the ones taken to the Eastbank Animal Shelter. The news report asked anyone with information on the case to call 911, which he did. He also called the television station to tell them where the dogs had been taken. He didn't learn of a reward until Wednesday.

"I really feel great," he said Wednesday evening. "But I didn't do it for the reward. I didn't even know there was one. I just didn't want to see those dogs hurt."

Jen Huber, assistant director of the animal shelter, said Rhea took the time to do the right thing.

"He saw the beads and obviously knew they are owned dogs," she said. "He was just a good Samaritan."

A reunion took place late Wednesday afternoon after Shoshana and her sister got a call from a television reporter who said their dogs apparently had been found. The recovery process was slowed because Shoshana no longer had her driver's license or other identification -- it was in the stolen truck.

"They were very, very, very happy, though Little Man let me know he was also upset," Shoshana said. "I feel great and this is all I ever wanted," she said of getting her family back.

The dogs all got a bath and new collars. On tap for Wednesday evening was a pajama party at Jamin's house and a special meal.

"We're going to order steak or pizza," Shoshana said. "Whatever they want. It's going to be a celebration."

Source:  http://www.nola.com/news/index.ssf/2009/03/strangers_kindness_reunites_st.html
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