Luke, rat terrier

Stolen dog, owner, reunited in time for Christmas
By Samantha Allen
12/23/2013

LOWELL - Norma Von Fricken said she was praying to St. Anthony all day Monday for the safe return of her dog, missing for nine days since her car was stolen in Lowell with the little pet inside.

She said that although she had a few dark days, losing her faith after the incident, this past weekend she knew it would only be a matter of time before her 6-year-old rat terrier Luke showed up again.

Norma Von Fricken snuggles with her returned Luke, who was stolen, along with her Honda Civic, last week. Luke was found in Boston.

Only hours after Von Fricken prayed for her dog, Monday morning she said she received a call from Boston police they had found Luke, and he had been in their pound since last Saturday, Dec. 14, the day Von Fricken's car was stolen.

"I tell you, Jesus is alive and well," Von Fricken said inside her kitchen Monday night, with Luke prancing around her feet.

Meanwhile, a missing pitbull reportedly stolen this past weekend in Tewksbury was also returned according to officials Monday. Von Fricken's drama began when she left the engine running to keep the dog warm when she parked outside Eliot Presbyterian Church in Lowell to drop off some Christmas decorations at that time. She said she ran inside the Summer Street church to make the donation around 11 a.m. and was not gone for longer than 10 minutes.

Von Fricken said she borrowed a friend's car as soon as she got the call Monday and zipped down to the city to claim her friend. A microchip scan confirmed this dog was hers, and she brought him home. Monday night, she said she was preparing a turkey for both of them to enjoy.

A spokesman for the Boston Police Department confirmed Luke was found just outside the police station in Back Bay. Von Fricken's car was still missing as of Monday night.

Von Fricken found Luke three years ago at the Lowell Humane Society. Humane Society Executive Director Jill O'Connell said she was elated when she heard the good news of his safe return. The local shelter had put out a call to help Von Fricken last week, asking residents to be on the lookout for Luke. They coordinated with missing-dog groups in New Hampshire and beyond to keep a sharp eye out for him.

Von Fricken said though she questioned her faith previously, the kindness and support of her community brought her back. She said her mailman took Luke's photo and showed it around the neighborhood to try to help locate him. Then an 8-year-old son of a parishioner called to make sure Von Fricken was doing all right. Monday evening, the Rev. Thysan Sam of Eliot Presbyterian stopped by to check in, too. She told him Luke was completely unharmed and the car thief must have stolen her Honda, and then taken Luke to Boston to drop him off.

"The Lord is in everybody. He's in the mailman, he's in that little child," she said. "... I'm so happy to have Luke back."



Meanwhile, in the Tewksbury case, the dog's owner, Samantha Halley, 24, claimed her ex-boyfriend took her dog, named Lucc, without permission Saturday night when her parents let the dog out into their fenced-in backyard area on Emily Drive. Halley said she saw footprints indicating the dog left the area with another person.

Lucc, a 2-year-old pitbull with golden brown hair and a bright red nose, was returned by an anonymous person according to Tewksbury police on Sunday. Tewksbury police Lt. Robert Stephens said officials continue to investigate whether a person stole Lucc or if the dog was lost on its own.

Lowell Deputy Police Superintendent Deborah Friedl confirmed police will continue to investigate the theft of Von Fricken's vehicle in her case. For now, Von Fricken said she is planning to purchase a new car, and to enjoy Christmas with her family and her beloved dog.


Source: http://www.lowellsun.com/breakingnews/ci_24783521/stolen-dog-owner-reunited-time-christmas

Dexter, pitbull

Dog found under rubble 9 days after Ill. tornado
Associated Press
November 29, 2013


WASHINGTON, Ill. (AP) — A six-month-old pit bull that was buried under a pile of rubble for more than a week after a tornado ripped through a central Illinois city has been coaxed to freedom with hot dogs and reunited with his owner.

Jacob Montgomery, a member of the Illinois National Guard, was separated from the dog, Dexter, when the Nov. 17 tornado destroyed his third-floor apartment in Washington. Montgomery combed through the wreckage multiple times but turned up no sign of Dexter.

Nine days after the storm, a neighbor who was looking for his cat, also missing, with the help of a group called Rescuing Animals in Need sent Montgomery a Facebook message to tell him Dexter had been found partially buried in debris where the apartment building used to stand.

"He said, 'I've got your dog right here,'" Montgomery recalled in a statement released by the Illinois National Guard. "As soon as Dexter saw me, his tail started going."

The pooch was in relatively good shape.

"The vet said he has no real injuries — just a few scrapes and cuts," said Montgomery, who got Dexter as a puppy to keep him company when he moved from Champaign. "He was malnourished, but he's going to be fine."

The Washington tornado was part of a band of heavy storms that brought rain, high winds and a rash of twisters to Illinois, and left seven people dead in its wake.

Montgomery has been a military police officer with the Illinois Army National Guard for more than five years and is trained to respond to emergencies. But he says he's never been the victim of such a disaster.

"All I had in my apartment is gone, but my dog was all I really had to worry about," he said.

Montgomery is staying with a friend in nearby Peoria until he can find a new home.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/dog-found-under-rubble-9-days-ill-tornado-191006023.html