Bella Lost from Keller

Good Samaritans Catch a Dog Missing for Two Years
Posted by ADMIN
December 5, 2013

After having been missing for nearly two years, an elusive dog named Bella was finally caught with the help of a rescue group and a couple of good Samaritans and returned home to her worried mom, who never lost hope that they’d be reunited.

Bella was reunited with her owner Melanie Barnes on December 4, 2013, two years after she ran away from Barnes' home in Keller.

Farnaz Memarzadeh first noticed the stray dog in 2012, when she was wandering around the woods by University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas.

“I couldn’t ignore the situation — especially because it was right in front of me,” said Farnaz.

She called her Nadine, and tried to catch her, but could never get close enough. Over the summer, Farnaz contacted Duck Team 6, a rescue group that specializes in catching street dogs.

“Most of the time, I set up a trap, we catch our dog that day,” said Pat Rodriguez. “It might be a couple hours, but we catch our dog.”

Duck Team 6 spent two months trying to catch Bella, but to no avail. But on Tuesday, a maintenance worker from the medical center tried something no dog could resist – some KFC.

“He had a unique strategy that we had never tried,” Farnaz said. “He took Kentucky Fried Chicken — the crispy kind — and hung it from a string at the end of the trap, kind of like mistletoe from the ceiling.”

Now, most of us know that dogs aren’t supposed to be given bone-in chicken, because the bones can splinter in their digestive tracts, but desperate times call for desperate measures. One dangling drumstick and Bella was caught.

She was taken to veterinarian, who found she had ear mites and hookworms – but also a microchip. Her home was in Keller, TX, 37 miles away. Owner Melanie Barnes was delighted to receive the phone call she had waited so long for.

“It’s been a long time, sweetheart!” Melanie said to Bella during their reunion at Farnaz’s home. “It’s been a long time.”



No one knows how she managed to get all the way to Dallas after jumping the fence in her yard, or how she scavenged enough food to stay alive so long. Hopefully now she’ll stay home where she’ll be spoiled for the rest of her life.

Source: http://www.khou.com/news/texas-news/Dangling-drumstick-catches-stray-dog-missing-for-two-years-234583391.html

Aka, American eskimo

Eagle Rock Family Reunites With Lost Dog After 2 Years
CBSLA.com
March 7, 2013

BALDWIN PARK — A family was reunited Tuesday with their missing dog after two years thanks to a microchip and the Baldwin Park Animal Care Center.

The family of the 10-year-old American Eskimo mix named Aka, which is a Hawaiian name for Shadow, received a call from the County of Los Angeles Department of Animal Care and Control after the staff received their contact information from a microchip implanted in the dog.

"As standard procedure, we scan every animal for a microchip that comes into our care for this very reason,” DACC Director Marcia Mayeda said in a statement.

Authorities recommend microchipping pets, which means implanting a tiny computer chip that has an unique identification number programmed into it.

“Microchipping your pets is one of the easiest ways to ensure you are reunited with your lost pet,” Mayeda said.


Aka’s family had given up hope she would never be found after she went missing from the backyard of their Eagle Rock home in 2011

Source: http://losangeles.cbslocal.com/2013/03/07/eagle-rock-family-reunites-with-lost-dog-after-2-years/

Leia, schnauzer

Alma Dominguez's Lost Dog, Leia, Found After 2 Years And 700 Miles; Owner And Pet Reunited
Posted: 03/19/2013

When Alma Dominguez’s beloved dog, Leia, went missing from El Paso, Texas, during a rainstorm, Alma and her husband, Alberto, were devastated. The couple searched for their lost dog for more than two years, and had almost given up hope of ever finding her. Then a phone call changed everything.

Video available

In this clip from the OWN series “Lost and Found," Annmarie Anderson -- a dog rescuer in Denver, Colorado -- recounts the amazing phone call she received from Alma. “She said, ‘You might have my dog,’” remembers Annmarie. But was it really the same Leia, two years and 700 miles away?

After looking at the Dominguez's pictures of Leia on Facebook, Annmarie put Alma on speakerphone so the dog could hear Alma's voice. “[Her] little tail was wagging and she was doing the little cry in her throat,” Annmarie says. “We realized right away that we had the right owner and dog.”

Alma was overjoyed, tears running down her face. “I wasn’t expecting it,” she says. “I’d found my Leia.”

How Leia got from El Paso to Denver is still a mystery, but the only thing that mattered was bringing her back home. Alma and Alberto traveled to Denver to reunite with their dog.

Watch the video to see the couple's emotional reunion with Leia after two long years and hear what they have to say now that they have their beloved family member back.

"Lost and Found" airs on OWN.

Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/03/19/alma-dominguez-lost-dog-leia-found-pet_n_2907339.html

A different version of this story was posted to this blog on 9/20/2011. This great 5-minute video was just posted on Huffington Post.

Foxy, foxhound mix

Whittier Family Reunited With Beloved Pooch After 2 Years
March 6, 2013 5:53 PM

WHITTIER (CBSLA.com) —   The Martinez family, who live in Whittier, are not only surprised their missing dog was found and is now back home — they’re thrilled.

Foxy was found in Riverside, dozens of miles away. And she had been missing for two long years.

The family spent the day with her Wednesday in the park. The family told CBS2/KCAL9′s Amy Johnson they had a lot of catching up to do.

“She’s the same dog. She’s really friendly. And she was very happy to see us,” said Larry Martinez.

The family got a call Tuesday from the Riverside County Animal Shelter that Foxy — part Fox Hound — had been found.

“We were so surprised. A little in shock. A little disbelief but at the same time happy,” said Martinez.

His wife Christina went to the shelter to see if they indeed had found Foxy. The meeting was captured on camera by the shelter. “I was just so happy,” said Christina Martinez. “The minute I said her name. she reacted so I knew it was her.”

Foxy disappeared in late 2010 when the family was in the process of moving. They searched, put up flyers, called animal shelters but Foxy made her way from Montebello to Riverside where she was found Tuesday.

“Maybe someone in Montebello picked her up and then moved,” said Christina. “Or someone took her for a long ride. I have no idea how she got there. I don’t know what happened to her. I wish she could tell us.”

Foxy will never be able to tell the Martinez family where she was all this time. But they are grateful that they had her microchipped.

“My family is happy, my kids are happy. My wife is really  happy. They’re happy, I’m happy. We’re all happy,” said Larry.


Source: http://losangeles.cbslocal.com/2013/03/06/whittier-family-reunited-with-beloved-pooch-after-2-years/

Buddy, shih tzu

Officers reunite dog missing for nearly 2 years with owner
by Ryan O'Donnell
Posted on March 4, 2013

PHOENIX -- A little dog missing since May 2011 was reunited with his human mom Monday morning, all thanks to two members of the Phoenix Police Department.

“My heart was racing, and I just described him and they said that it's Buddy,” Jessica Rowe said as she cuddled Buddy in her arms. “My daughter [who was 3 at the time] is like a social butterfly to humans and animals and so it was really detrimental, almost like losing a sibling, for her; she cried a lot, a lot."

What's remarkable, is that Buddy, who has only one eye, has been missing for almost two years.

“We had a monsoon in Mesa and it flew open my townhome gate while we were at work and Buddy ran away,” Rowe explained.

She did everything she could to find Buddy, but nothing came of it.

When weeks turned to months, it was hard for Rowe and her family not to fear the worst. Then, a couple of days ago, they got a surprise call from Phoenix police.

On Friday, a black and white Pekingese darted out of an apartment complex and into the side of a police car.

“That's when I heard this really horrible sound as if a large stone or some object hit the driver side of my patrol vehicle, looked out the rear view and saw the dog down on the road,” Officer Don Martin with Phoenix Police said.

Martin and another kind-hearted officer wrapped up the dog, took him to a vet and even paid the medical bill.

The vet discovered that Buddy had a microchip. That's what led officers to Rowe.

“Dirty little secret, we all like being police officers, because of moments like this make a difference; this is what you live for,” Martin said, watching Buddy and Rowe..

“They told me when I got down there that Officer Martin had paid the bill so Buddy could come home, so, in that, that is awesome. That's really cool,” Rowe said.

Martin said a citizen found Buddy about a week ago and had been caring for him until the little dog ran off and collided with his cruiser. It's not clear where Buddy had been before that.



Source: http://www.azfamily.com/news/Missing-dog-of-almost-2-years-returned-to-owner-194947711.html

Pooka from Kentucky

Dog stolen from Kentucky found in New Mexico
Military family’s dog stolen in 2011
By Tanya Mendis
Jan 28, 2013

The dog, Pooka, was stolen out of the family’s backyard in 2011. Two weeks ago, Pooka showed up at a shelter in Espanola.

“Somebody saw her wandering and took her into the shelter,” Melanie Lopez said.

Lopez wound up taking Pooka in. It was her 29th foster dog.

After Pooka’s microchip was scanned and her owners were called, Lopez learned that Pooka had been stolen from Kentucky.

“It’s a really scary feeling. They're a part of your family, so it's like losing a child,” Lopez said.

On Wednesday, Pooka’s original owners will fly from Kentucky to Albuquerque to take her home again.

“It just shows that there's always hope. Even a year later, a year and a half later, you never know when your dog might show up,” Lopez said.

Pooka’s original owner, Mandy Smith, is able to fly to Albuquerque thanks to a local pet advocate who donated frequent flier miles.

Workers at the Espanola Valley Humane Society said Smith was thrilled when she heard Pooka was safe. Smith told them losing her was the worst day of their family’s life.

Source: http://www.ksbw.com/news/Dog-stolen-from-Kentucky-found-in-New-Mexico/-/1852/18305118/-/1k601d/-/index.html

Diesel, staffy

Dog to be reunited with family after missing for two years
Dominic Geiger
21st Jan 2013

SAMANTHA McDonald's faith in humanity has been restored.

Last night, Ms McDonald received a call from Animal Emergency Services on the Gold Coast informing her the family's pet Staffy 'Diesel' had been found - two years after he disappeared.

The family’s pet Staffy ‘Diesel’ had been found – two years after he disappeared.

Ms McDonald said she had given up hope of ever seeing her beloved puppy again when she moved with her fiancé Dean and their two sons to Mackay 12 months ago.

"I was overwhelmed," Ms McDonald said.

"I began to get emotional… I had to pass my phone over to Dean to finish the conversation."

A member of the public rescued Diesel from the side of a busy Gold Coast road, and a microchip test revealed he belonged to the McDonald family.

Ms McDonald said she immediately began making preparations to travel to the Gold Coast to pick up the pet, until she received more good news this morning.

"AES has their own Facebook page and there's been lots of support from strangers and those involved to reunite Diesel with our family," she said.

This Wednesday, Diesel will board a plane with pet transfer company Jetpets and make the journey to Mackay.

AES receptionist Solange Newton said the flight had been funded through anonymous donations after Diesel's plight was published on the group's Facebook page.

"(The McDonalds) were overwhelmed, they were in tears," Ms Newton said.

"It took them a little while to believe we had found their dog and they were concerned about his health and the condition he was in as well."

But Diesel was found to be in "fabulous condition".

"The impression we get is he was taken in by another family," Ms Newton said.

Ms McDonald said it felt like her family's "missing link" was being returned to them.

"Thanks to total strangers for their support and reuniting Diesel with our family," she said.

"It just restores my faith in humanity."

Source: http://www.qt.com.au/news/dog-be-reunited-family-after-missing-two-years/1724900/
Another version of the story is at http://www.goldcoast.com.au/article/2013/01/22/445880_gold-coast-news.html

Endo, bull mastiff

Lost dog to be reunited with family after nearly 2 years and 1,800 miles apart
By James Eng, MSN News
January 14, 2013


A 115-pound mastiff named Endo is getting a ride from Wisconsin back to Florida, where he bolted from his owners in 2011.

Doggonit, Endo, what have you been up to for the past two years?

His owners aren’t quite sure where he's been, but they’re happy to be finally getting him back after practically giving him up for dead.

The 115-pound mastiff, who disappeared nearly two years ago when he bolted from the fenced yard of his Florida home, has turned up 1,800 miles away in Wisconsin, where an animal shelter was able to identify him via his microchip.

Endo will be driven back to Cape Coral, Fla., this week to be reunited with his owners, Denise and Tom Hartzog.

The Hartzogs were very excited to hear that Endo was still alive, according to the staff at Animal Allies Humane Society in Superior, Wis.

“We are so happy that Animal Allies called,” Denise Hartzog was quoted as saying in a press release issued by the animal shelter. “He’s such a cool dog. We are very excited to see him again.”

John Gustafson, director of development and communications for Animal Allies in Duluth, Minn., said shelter staff have since been sorting out details of what Endo has been up to for the past 20 months.

The Hartzogs got Endo in December 2010 after responding to an ad for a free dog.  Endo lived with the family for about five months before he and their other dog, a yellow Labrador, broke out of the fenced yard and ran off.

The Hartzogs searched in vain, and all but gave up hope after a neighbor told them he had seen the Lab get attacked by an alligator in a canal. They assumed a similar, sinister fate had befallen Endo.

“A lot of people lose their dogs to gators in the canals here,” Denise Hartzog told the Duluth News Tribune.

Gustafson said a Minnesota man who was visiting Florida saw the big brown dog dodging traffic near a Florida gas station-truck stop shortly after it had escaped from the Hartzogs’ home.

After trying without success to find the owner, the man, assuming the animal was abandoned, took the dog back with him to Minnesota in May 2011, Gustafson said.

The man had been caring for Endo until last fall, when his living situation required for him to find a new home. He gave the dog to a friend.

“That person also struggled to have the dog in their setting so they rehomed it to a farm in Superior, Wis.,” Gusfafson said. “The dog went to the farm but promptly escaped from there. Someone found him and brought him to our shelter in Superior at the end of the year.”

The Neapolitan mastiff had electronic identification in the form of a microchip, which allowed the shelter to identify him and his Florida owners.

Staff at Animal Allies will throw a farewell party for Endo on Wednesday morning before he departs for Florida.

A volunteer at Lost Dogs of Minnesota has arranged for Endo to be delivered right to the Hartzogs’ home. Someone who was already driving to the Fort Meyers-Naples, Fla., region has offered to bring the dog along.

“We’ll put together a little package for him -- some goodies, maybe some souvenirs from Duluth-Superior, to take back to Florida,” Gustafson said.

“He’s had a lot of excitement and a lot of reporters out at the shelter, so he knows something’s up.”

Endo should arrive home sometime on Saturday.

Source: http://news.msn.com/us/lost-dog-to-be-reunited-with-family-after-nearly-2-years-and-1800-miles-apart

Grizzly Bear, German shepherd

Missing Dog Returns After 2 Years
Micro Chip Helps Reunite Dog, Owner
Cris Ornelas - 23ABC South County Reporter
January 25, 2012

TAFT, Calif. -- A family in Taft is thrilled to have their dog back two years after it first went missing.

Grizzly Bear is content to be home

The German shepherd named Grizzly Bear was rescued from the Kern County animal shelter as a puppy, but just a few months after finding a home, he disappeared.

Ella Trainor adopted Grizzly from the animal shelter at 7-months-old. Then, three months later, Grizzly vanished from the family's yard.

"He disappeared out of my yard," Trainor said. "I’m sure he was stolen because none of the gates were open and he couldn't jump because he actually hurt his hip the night before."

Trainor searched everywhere for Grizzly but never found a thing.

"I put up fliers. I put ads in the paper. I kept looking for him," she said.

Even after two full years passed, Trainor said she never gave up hope she'd find Grizzly.

"The week before I got the call I had told both my daughters, ‘I know my dog is not dead. Grizzly is somewhere and I am going to find him,’ and lo and behold I get a phone call the next Sunday," Trainor said.

Thanks to a microchip under his skin, Grizzly was identified by animal control after he was found in southwest Bakersfield.

Bakersfield, Calif. is about 26 miles from Taft, Calif.

"What I was told is that Grizzly followed a little girl home from school and he kind of wandered the streets and the dad put him in the back yard and called animal control," Trainor said.

Animal control reunited Trainor and Grizzly the same day.

"I was kind of emotional. I was bawling," Trainor said.

But where Grizzly was and what he did for two full years is still a mystery.

“We wish dogs could talk and tell us what happened," Trainor said.

Trainior said she paid to have Grizzly micro chipped, but now, all dogs adopted from Kern County animal control are required to be chipped.

Source, with video: http://www.turnto23.com/south_county/30290804/detail.html

Mikayla, huskey

Dog reunited with family two years after being stolen
By Todd Dunn, Video Journalist
Nov 30, 2011

LAFAYETTE, Tenn. - A Mid-State family was reunited with their family dog two years after it was stolen from their backyard thanks to the help of a Good Samaritan and a microchip.

"She was in a cage, in a big kennel and someone cut the lock and cut off her collar and she was just gone," recalled Alison Murphy.

Charlie Murphy added, "You don't know what to think, you think, ‘Why would someone take someone else's dog?' It is like kidnapping a kid almost, you know."

The family told Nashville's News 2 they purchased their white husky, Mikayla while living in Tampa, Florida and soon had their four-legged family member microchipped.

After Mikayla was stolen the family said they searched everywhere imaginable in an effort to locate their pet.

"We drove miles [and] many, many miles. [We] had friends help us driving and every time someone would see a husky they would stop and go back," Alison said.

After six months of searching the Murphy's gave up hope on finding Mikayla, however, on Wednesday the family received a phone call from the Macon County Hospital saying that a man had found the dog.

The man who found Mikayla said she was thin and underfed when he found her.

"He had her for six weeks and said yesterday he had a dream that he thought she might have a chip in her and [he] took her to the vet," Charlie said, adding, "He finally had time and they scanned her and sure enough that's when the hunt began."

The Murphys' said despite having Mikayla microchipped they had not updated the information when they moved to Tennessee.

The Macon County Hospital was able to contact the family since they had information on their other family pet.

"I actually called them and the gentleman answered the phone and said, ‘Oh my gosh. That is our dog,'" Cassie Dyer said.

The family said they are thrilled to be reconnected with their beloved dog.

"When we first saw her she came right over and was licking on us and laid down to rub her belly," Alison Murphy said.

Veterinarian officials remind pet owners of the importance of maintaining current information with microchip companies after moving or changing contact information.

Source: http://www.wkrn.com/story/16159537/dog-reunited-with-family-two-years-after-being-stolen
Video at: http://www.wkrn.com/story/16159537/dog-reunited-with-family-two-years-after-being-stolen?autoStart=true&topVideoCatNo=default&clipId=6503582

Sam I am, golden retriever

A fetching finish for a 2-year mystery
Dog lost in Florida turns up in Illinois
By Charles Sheehan, Tribune staff reporter.
December 15, 2006

Alice Baines could not find him on the block. She could not find him near the dock. She could not find him here nor there. She could not find him anywhere.

But two years after a hurricane blew down a back-yard fence in Florida and set free a golden retriever named Sam-I-Am, the wayward pooch was found in McHenry County.

In the most unlikely of reunions Thursday night, Sam-I-Am ran across the tiled floor at O'Hare International Airport and rested his head on the arm of owner Baines, who flew to Chicago from her home in Tampa to retrieve him.

"I can't believe it," she said. "This kind of thing doesn't happen."

Veterinarians in McHenry County were stunned as well when they discovered a microchip in the scruff of the dog's neck that placed his home more than 1,200 miles to the southeast.

"I've never seen anything like it," said McHenry County animal control officer Sean Graff.

`Have you got him?'

On Thursday night, Brett Baines, 9, waited in Florida for the return of his canine pal. The boy last saw the dog in 2004 after the hurricane ripped up a fence outside the family's home.

"He is so excited, I have 10 messages on my phone," Baines said. "Each one says, `Have you got him? Have you got him? Have you got him?'"

Just how Sam-I-Am made the journey from Tampa to Johnsburg, a small town on Pistakee Lake in McHenry County, may never be known.

A resident found the 5-year-old dog wandering along Circle Court earlier this week and took him to the McHenry County animal shelter.

Though few animal owners take advantage of relatively cheap microchip technology, veterinarians in McHenry County do a routine scan of all dogs brought to the shelter, said Dr. Edin Mehanovic, the animal control administrator.

McHenry County officials called the veterinarian who had placed the chip in Sam-I-Am when he was a puppy, whose office Baines said she had been calling on and off since the hurricane.

"I just kept checking and yesterday around 5 o'clock, they called and said, `We got a call from Illinois and we have a chip match,'" Baines said. "They said, `It's him, it's got to be him.'"

Baines booked the first flight to what she called "the Land of Oprah."

For all the mileage, it appears that Sam-I-Am is no worse for the wear.

"The dog is in very good shape," Mehanovic said. "I can't see how the dog could walk that far."

Microchip costs $40

Mehanovic and Graff said Sam-I-Am is a poster pup for microchip technology. Implanting a chip costs about $40, Graff said.

"This is a perfect example of what a microchip can do," Graff said. "A dog can lose a collar or someone can take it off, but the microchip never comes off."

Source: http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2006-12-15/news/0612150156_1_microchip-technology-animal-shelter-dog
Other versions of the story at:
http://scoobyk9.blog.ca/2006/12/15/sam_i_am_home_for_christmas~1442432/
http://www.ocala.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20061217/NEWS/212170345/1002/stateRSS&source=RSS&tc=ar

Maynard, mastiff

Christmas Miracle! Dog re-united with Owner after 2 Years!
Posted on February 25, 2010 by admin

Maynard, an 8 year old Mastiff mix, was turned into the Erath County Humane Society shelter in Stephenville, Texas, 3 weeks before Christmas. He was very emaciated.

The shelter manager scanned the dog for a micochip and got a number. She tried to trace it via telephone, but didn’t have any luck for days. There just didn’t seem to be a record of the dog anywhere.



So she asked me (I’m the vice president of the Erath County Humane Society) if I can help her track down the owner online since the shelter doesn’t have a computer.

I managed to get a hit at the Austin TLAC Rescue Office. Thank you Kathryn!!! From then on the 2 Yahoo Groups (tlacrescue and centraltexasrescue) took over and before I knew it, there was more information available. What a networking! Thank you so much to everybody who got involved!

All traces ended with Charlyne’s Pound Puppies where Susan ended up finding a record of the microchip number, the date he was adopted out and to whom!

In the meantime, Maynard’s last day was nearing at the shelter. There is only so much room and funds available and Maynard was kept longer than usual already. So I decided to foster him at least over Christmas and try to find him a home. But it never came down to that.

Thanks to Susan who made a few phone calls, Maynard’s original owner called. She explained that she had gone through some hard times nearly three years back and had given the dog to her parents for a short while. Until then the dog had lived with them, slept in bed with her 2 children who grew up with him and loved him with all their hearts.

When the time came to retrieve the dog, he turned up missing. After months and months of putting out flyers and making endless phone calls, they presumed him dead. They believed that he must have eaten some of the poison the neighbor had put out for the coyotes.

So imagine when she received the phone call that her dog was found alive and well. A little bit thin, but that’s nothing that can’t be changed. What greater Christmas miracle is there?

So please, microchip your pets! Activate that chip too! Read the description that comes with the chip!

And also go to the next shelter, make a donation or adopt a pet if you happen to be planning to purchase one. Don’t buy – adopt! Too many pets are losing their homes in these hard times and the donations at the shelters are down. It’s the dogs and cats that are paying with their lives. They give us so much, it’s time to give back!

Happy Holidays!

Erath County Humane Society on petfinder: http://www.petfinder.com/shelters/TX1178.html

Source: http://adoptioniwau.org/adopt-a-pet-dog/christmas-miracle-dog-re-united-with-owner-after-2-years

Pinto, chihuahua

2.5 yrs later, 100 miles away! Shes Home!
Posted By: Marrissa Ruacho, Palmdale, CA
4/23/2011

My mom works for High Desert Animal Care Hospital in Palmdale, CA. She had my dog microchipped by HomeAgain. Someone stole her over 2 years ago. I cried day and night. I eventually gave up hope in finding her.

On April 22nd, I got a weird number on my phone. They left a message, and it was HomeAgain! Apparently, a very nice lady by the name of Jewel in Playa Del Rey found my 2.5 lb Chihuahua and did the right thing by taking her to a vet to be scanned!

We drove over a 100 miles at 7pm and got her! She didn’t remember me at first, but then she did.

I love her! Thank you HomeAgain, Jewel, & High Desert Animal Care Hospital!

She was not taken care of because she is only going to be 7yrs. old and has no teeth, her breath is rotten and she has bone loss in her jaw so she cannot keep her tongue in her mouth. Her muzzle is very gray from stress and being away from me.

Thank you everyone! I love my Pinto! This is the best day of my life ever!

 NEVER GIVE UP HOPE ON YOUR LOST PET! People please, when you find an animal, have it scanned and post flyers and ads. There are owners out there that miss their pets. ID Tags & microchips are the only VOICE your pet has to get back home.

Source: http://foundpets.homeagain.com/2.5yrs-later,-100miles-away!-shes-home!.aspx

Faith, siberian husky

Search For New Pet Leads To Long-Lost Dog
Gardner Woman Reunited With Faith, Dog She Thought She's Never See Again
DeAnn Smith, KMBC.com
October 13, 2010

KANSAS CITY, Kan. -- Dana Klint was casually perusing the online pages at Pet Connection on Saturday looking for a buddy for her playful Siberian husky.

Faith and Dana's reunion

Then she stopped. It seemed impossible. The face of her beloved dog, Faith, that she hadn't seen in more than two years because of a dispute with an ex-boyfriend was staring back at her.

"I glanced at the picture of Faith and thought, 'Wow, that looks like my dog!' I looked at it closer and my heart just stopped. I knew that was my dog," Klint said. "I had left it where I would never see her again. I just had to let it go, but it hurt so bad."

Klint's journey with the 15-year-old Faith started in 2000 when she lived in West Palm Beach, Fla. Faith followed Klint's son home from school. Faith had a tag and she called the vet's office who gave her the contact information for the owner of the Siberian husky mix.

"She was the most wonderful dog. She had manners. She was so good," Klint recalled Tuesday.

Faith's owner came and picked her up. But the dog kept following Klint's son, who is now 20 years old. After the fourth time of following her son home, Faith's owner wouldn't come get her, and Klint had a new dog.

Klint got a second dog, Maggie, an old English bulldog in 2003. She and her then-boyfriend moved to the Kansas City area. In 2006, they broke up. Klint thought it was an amicable breakup.

"I didn't have a place to keep Faith and Maggie so I asked him to keep them temporarily," she said. "Six months later, I wanted them back. He wouldn't give them back."

The dispute turned nasty enough that the police got involved. But Klint had nothing in writing to show the arrangement was temporary so she had no recourse.

She said she got to see Faith and Maggie every six months, but then two years ago her boyfriend ordered her away and never to return.

"I had no reason to believe they were in danger. He loved the dogs too. He treated the dogs better than he treated me," Klint said. "I just accepted that I didn't have my dogs anymore."

In the meantime, Klint got married and had two children now ages 2 years old and 1 years old. They settled into a home in Gardner. They got their rambunctious Siberian husky named Freyja, who they decided needed a puppy or cat to play with.

Three weeks ago, a good Samaritan came across Faith, which the Pet Connection named Medora. She was out on the streets of Kansas City, Kan., and emaciated. She was covered in sores and hip dysplasia meant she was dragging herself around by her front legs. She is partially blind and her hearing is bad. She was eating out of gutters to survive and the shelter estimates she has been living on the streets for at least six months.

Two years ago, the dog would have been likely put down because of her age and condition, said the Pet Connection's Melody Kelso. But the Ray of Hope program with the Humane Society of Greater Kansas City means the no-kill shelter can accept special animals like Faith.

And that led to the Pet Connection putting the dog's picture up on their website for adoption. They are encouraging people to consider adopting older dogs, which Klint now wholeheartedly supports.

"I was looking for a buddy for my Siberian husky. I wasn't looking for a 15-year-old dog," Klint said.

Initially, Klint hoped it wasn't Faith's picture staring back at her.

"I didn't want my dog to go through that, knowing she went through a horrible ordeal. It was heart breaking," Klint said. "I just dropped everything and ran down there."

And she knew immediately Saturday afternoon that Medora was really a dog named Faith. She said the way Faith responded to her, the spot on her tongue and the way her toenails looked were giveaways to her.

"I sat down on the floor and was hugging her. She leaned on me and I started crying. I couldn't believe it," Klint said. "I thought, 'This is a miracle.' She is really like a child to me."

She theorizes that Faith ran away from her ex-boyfriend's because his backyard was unfenced and the dog clearly likes to roam. She said it's heart breaking not knowing what has happened to Maggie.

But Klint wasn't ready to take Faith home Saturday afternoon. She said she needed to get the house ready and buy the proper supplies. Klint said it nearly broke her heart to leave Faith Saturday afternoon and the dog didn't want to return to her place in the shelter.

But Sunday, Klint returned to claim Faith permanently.

"I was so nervous that something would happen and I wouldn't get her back. I am just elated. I am so happy," Klint said.

She said Faith has quickly settled into her new home and Freyja treats Faith like she's her mother. Faith does use her back legs as a rudder and pushes herself around with her front legs.

While walking Faith outside, Klint has had to stop her from foraging the gutters for food.

"I told her, 'Honey, you aren't a gutter girl anymore,'" Klint said. "I found her as a stray twice in two different states. It's meant to be. She's my girl. I am giving her the best care possible. I am going to make sure she spends the rest of her life as the spoiled princess that she's meant to be."


Images (slide show): Old Dog Faith Returns To Old Home

Source: http://www.kmbc.com/r/25366842/detail.html

Angus, labrador retriever

Angus is reunited with his owners after two years
Thursday 18th November 2010, 11:30AM GMT.

Alice Hunt with Angus

A family from Willenhall have been reunited with its beloved pet – more than two years after thieves ransacked the home and stole it.

Carol Hunt returned home in August 2008 to discover thieves had broken in and stolen the family’s Labradors Angus and Rosie.

After 27 months without news, the family were resigned to never seeing the pair again and decided to get themselves another dog.

But just a day after picking up blonde Labrador Gem from All Seasons Kennel, Essington, they received the call they thought would never come.

Caravan Vets, from Willenhall, called to say Angus had been taken in by his new owners, who wanted a microchip installed. His original chip was found and the Hunt family traced.

Mother-of-four Mrs Hunt, aged 40, from Birch Coppice Gardens, said: “I was so shocked.

“As soon as I laid eyes on Angus I burst into tears. I had given up hope of ever seeing him again, we had kept all of their toys and bowls until eight months ago when we realised they wouldn’t be coming back.

“It was a mixed reaction because Angus’ new owners were devastated and I felt so sorry for them.

“My family is delighted, my husband John even drove all the way back from work as a site manager in London to come and see Angus.”

In 2008 when the dogs were reported stolen Carol’s daughter Alice, who was just three-years-old at the time and is now six, was pictured in an Express & Star appeal.

Only a month later Angus ended up at kennels where an unsuspecting family saw him and decided to take him in as their own.

Rachel Porter, practice manager at Cavan Vets, said: “It was great to reunite the family with their missing dog but it was upsetting because of how sad the new owners were by having to give up their dog after two years.”

Source: http://www.expressandstar.com/news/2010/11/18/angus-is-reunited-with-his-owners-after-two-years/

Barkley, silky terrier

Dog reunited with owner after two years missing
Aaron Vaughn, FOX 13 News
9:03 PM MST, November 15, 2010

HERRIMAN, Utah   After two years waiting, a Herriman woman is reunited with her lost dog.

Melissa Alexander was living in West Jordan when her beloved Silky Terrier went missing. Alexander exhausted her search efforts looking for Barkley when he went missing. She later moved to Herriman and after a few years past she decided to adopt another dog.

When Alexander logged on to the Salt Lake County Animal Services web site she spotted her long lost Barkley.

Barkley was brought to the shelter as a stray. Melissa says she knew immediately it was her dog and their reunion proved it.

"The first thing he did was he just kind of came up rolled over on his belly right by my feet and just was lickey and happy and just excited and it was neat to get him back," said Alexander. "I guess he just needed me as bad as I needed him, maybe it was meant to be."

Melissa says Barkley is now microchipped and wears three ID tags.

Animal control officers say they can't recall such a reunion that resulted from such a long span of time.



Source: http://www.fox13now.com/news/local/kstu-lost-dog-reunited-2-years,0,5620364.story
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Tootsie, dachschund

Missing Dog Turns Up 5 Years Later, 350 Miles Away
Nov 23, 2008 11:36 pm US/Eastern

PITTSBURGH (CBS) ― After going missing from New Jersey five years ago, Tootsie was located in Wilkinsburg, Pa. and is about to be reunited with his family.

He was missing for five years and his family figured they'd never see him again, but on Monday, a little, lost dog will be reunited with his owners who live more than 350 miles away. When he was only 6-months-old, Tootsie disappeared from his family's gated yard in New Jersey. His family was heartbroken, but two weeks ago the dachshund was brought to the Animal Rescue League.

"Tootsie was found running as a stray in Wilkinsburg, Pa.," said Tifanie Tiberio, of the Animal Rescue League. All animals brought to the Rescue League are scanned for an implanted microchip and when Tootsie was scanned, it turns out that she had one.

Unfortunately, the shelter didn't get a response when they called the number on file. But that didn't stop them, they sent a letter to the dog's owner a few days later and they got a response.

"They didn't even put two and two together at first that we were talking about Tootsie until they asked us, 'Does the dog have a sixth toe on his back leg?' and We said, 'Yes,' and they said, 'Yeah, that's Tootsie, that's our dog.'" said Tiberio.

How Tootsie got to Pittsburgh remains a mystery, but that doesn't matter to employees at the Animal Rescue League, but they said they are excited to be a part of a reunion five years in the making.

"We are honored as representatives of the animal world here at the Animal Rescue League to be able to reunite this lost animal with his owners," Tiberio added. The family says they're grateful to the Animal Rescue League for finding the dog they will be reunited tomorrow in Harrisburg.

Local Coverage From KDKA-TV

http://wcbstv.com/watercooler/Tootsie.found.reunited.2.872056.html

Another version of the story -

Dog Reunited with Family 5 Years Later
reporter: Cara Moore; posted by: Bryan Peach
posted 6:21 pm Mon November 24, 2008

Harrisburg, Pa. - If Tootsie could talk, what a tale he'd tell.

Stolen as a puppy from the comfort of his yard in Pleasantville, New Jersey, Tootsie's family thought they'd never see him again.

"We just kind of gave up a month and a half later," says 18-year-old Edna Marie Colon. But Tootsie's family was in for a big surprise.

Five years later, they got a message from the Animal Rescue League of Western Pennsylvania. Tootsie was found - wandering the streets of Pittsburgh.

"As is the case with all animals, we scan for a microchip," said League spokesperson Tifanie Tiberio. "A microchip number was found and the address and phone number came back to a family in New Jersey."

At first, the family couldn't believe it. Could it really be their little daschund, Tootsie, some 360 miles away?

"They said, 'Does it have an extra toe on its back foot?,' and we said 'Yeah, it does,' and they said, 'That's tootsie, that's our dog,'" recalls Tiberio.

So they decided to meet halfway in Harrisburg, about three hours away from Tootsie's home in New Jersey, for the special reunion.

"It's something that very rarely, if ever, happens," Tiberio says of a reunion like this. "All of my research I've done, and talking to the National Lost Dog Registry, this is a one-in-a-million kind of thing."

Elba Arguello calls Tootsie her baby, and couldn't believe her eyes when she finally saw him.

"I'm gonna buy a sweater for him - for Christmas and Thanksgiving," Arguello said with a smile.

No one knows where Tootsie's been, or how he ended up in Western Pennsylvania. All that matters now is where Tootsie is going - and that's finally back home.

"There's a lot of people waiting for him in Pleasantville," said Arguello.

Source: http://www.whtm.com/news/stories/1108/572599.html