Lexi, German shepherd

Dog lost near Payson returned to Tucson owners
By Veronica M. Cruz
January 27, 2014

After being lost in Northern Arizona for two weeks, Lexi, a German Shepherd mix was returned to her Tucson owners after she was found by two Arizona Department of Transportation workers wandering along a highway near Payson.

On Jan. 9, Steve Maynard and AJ Gonzalez, who work in ADOT's Materials section, were on duty traveling west on State Route 260 toward Payson when they saw Lexi almost get hit by a truck while wandering on an overpass, according to a news release from ADOT.

The pair stopped and were able to get the dog in the truck and over to an ADOT maintenance yard in Payson where they gave her treats.

They checked Lexi's collar and tags and found she was registered in Pima County and tracked down her owners with help from the Pima Animal Care Center, the release said.

They learned Lexi had escaped from her owner's vacation rental near the Mogollon Rim on Christmas Day. She had been wandering in the Woods Canyon Lake forest before Maynard and Gonzalez found her two weeks later about 10 miles away from where she was last seen.

Maynard took Lexi to his home in Phoenix where family members of the owners picked her up, the release said.

“Words cannot express how glad we were to receive that call,” Michael Bauschka, Lexi’s owner, said in a news release. “We are so appreciative that they went out of their way to rescue our dog.”

Source: http://azstarnet.com/news/local/dog-lost-near-payson-returned-to-tucson-owners/article_e4e0949c-8788-11e3-93e0-001a4bcf887a.html

Abby, beagle

Boy, 8, reunited with lost dog after two months
By Trishna Begam
Mar 07, 2013

GRANVILLE, N.Y. -- After almost two months of searching for their lost dog, a local family got their happy ending when they were reunited with their pet.

Abby the Beagle is now back safe at home with his owner 8-year-old Scott Wittman, but for two months she was out in the elements of the outdoors.

It is clear the bond that Scott has with his dog Abby. "She's like my side kick," he said.

About two months ago Scott lost his side kick when Abby jumped a fence in their back yard.

"It broke my heart because there was nothing I could do," said Scott's mother, Angela Sakowich.

Scott says all he wanted for his birthday in January was to have Abbey back home, so his mother created a Facebook page, put up pictures of Abby, even asked to post her information on NEWS10's Facebook page.

"It was day by day, week by week... Nothing," said Sakowich.

Then about a month ago, three miles away on his hunting camp ground, Ken Whitney noticed paw prints. The two-year-old Beagle had been staying underneath this porch for weeks.

Whitney calls her a survivor since she endured two snow storms and fended for herself.

"I noticed this dog is so skinny I realized this dog is living here, we have to feed it," said Whitney.

As Scott's birthday came and went, the family still had no sign of Abby.

"I could never get close enough to it to see what the tag numbers were," said Whitney.

After a month of taking care of Abby, Ken was finally able to get near her to look at her collar, and that's when he discovered Abby's owner information.

"It ended up being a little boy... That made my day," said Whitney.

Abby was reunited with Scott and his mom last Friday, a belated birthday reunion for Scott and his sidekick.

"Words cannot express how happy we are," said Sakowich.

NEWS10 ABC: Albany, New York News, Weather, Sports

Source: http://www.news10.com/story/21550885/8-year-old-reunited-with-lost-dog-after-two-months

Another version of the story is at http://poststar.com/news/local/granville-family-reunites-with-lost-dog-after-two-months/article_475d4a2a-86b3-11e2-bb62-001a4bcf887a.html

Orli, black lab

Fate helps find dog lost in desert crash
Diane Bell, San Diego Union Tribune
April 9, 2005

Their fourth day on a desolate, rain-soaked trail through the Mojave Desert between Needles and Barstow, John and Denise Vissat veered their Jeep off their intended route. In retrospect, John thinks the unplanned detour to find drier terrain was fate. For suddenly, after not seeing anyone for hours, they came across a lost dog trailing a leather leash.

The black Lab, caked in dirt, was several miles from the nearest highway. She wolfed down water and about four days of their dog's food supply. Then John, general manager of Hornblower Cruises in downtown San Diego, chipped the mud away from her collar and uncovered tags identifying the Labrador as a guide dog. There was a phone number and a microchip ID.

Back home

Meanwhile, Ronnie Phillips, at the Woodland Hills home of her son, was recuperating from an auto accident that had broken her pelvis and left her imprisoned in her collapsed Saturn SUV. Accompanied by her golden retriever, Remington, and black Lab, Orli, she had been driving northeast on I-15 to her home in Las Vegas on March 16 when she felt a bump, swerved, overcorrected and lost control of the SUV. It careened through a guardrail and rolled over. Phillips later was pried out of the wreckage and taken by helicopter to a hospital in Colton. A Highway Patrol officer dropped off the uninjured golden retriever at the Barstow Humane Society for family members. But the Lab that Phillips initially trained as a guide dog was nowhere to be found.

The Highway Patrol searched for Orli. The tow truck driver searched for her. Phillips' daughter returned the next day and scoured the area, leaving word with local vets. They had no idea how badly injured the dog had been in the crash, or if she was even still alive.

For days, Phillips called her home answering machine. "After about a week, I gave up hope," she said. "I figured if Orli had survived the accident, the coyotes had gotten to her."

Last Sunday evening, however, nearly three weeks after the crash, the good-news message was there. The Vissats had found Orli. Phillips called them sobbing. Was her dog dead? she asked. "No, she's doing great," came the reply. "I was hysterical. It was unbelievable. A miracle," Phillips says. Her son drove to San Diego the next day, and Orli now is back at home with her pal, Remington. She's 12 pounds thinner, but otherwise a very lucky pooch.

"It's like you lose a child, and your child comes home . . . She was a part of the family," Phillips says. "Now she has godparents."

Source: http://www.signonsandiego.com/uniontrib/20050409/news_7m9bell.html
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Leia, schnauzer

Dog found in Denver 700 miles from home
Sep 19, 2011


DENVER - If your dog went missing for more than two years, you might give up hope, thinking the dog would never be found. You probably wouldn't expect it to show up in a neighborhood more than 700 miles from home.

Leia disappeared from her home during a monsoon rain in El Paso, Texas in June 2009.

This weekend, more than two years later, she showed up in Denver neighborhood.

Annmarie Anderson found Leia tied up near her home. She looked at her rabies tags and noticed it had an El Paso phone number on it.

Within 10 minutes, she had made contact with the owner who said she's still been putting up posters through this past June.

Anderson says Leia was hungry and needed a bath, but is otherwise doing just fine.

"We can only guess what this dog has been through. But the fact she has the original collar and it's tattered and torn, I have to guess that she walked all this way," Anderson said.



The owners were ecstatic to hear Leia had been found. They're coming from El Paso this Friday to bring her home.

"A lot of emotions running through the family. We're just excited and happy that she's safe and that we're going get her back. She's coming home. We're thrilled. It's overwhelming. It's kind of hard to put into words," Leia's owner, Alma Saldana, said.

Source: http://www.9news.com/rss/story.aspx?storyid=219992

Jump to March 20, 2013 for an updated and longer video of this story.

Misty Si, black lab

Snoqualmie couple reunited with ‘walking miracle’
Beloved dog is returned after being lost for 54 days
By Dan Catchpole
July 14, 2011

Cheryl Hanson hugs her 13-year-old black Lab, Misty Si. Misty survived 54 days in the forest near Snoqualmie after getting lost on a walk.

Misty Si is a walking miracle as far as her owners, Cheryl and Steve Hanson, are concerned. They thought their 13-year-old black Lab had died after going missing near Snoqualmie Point Park on May 11.

It was a terrible thing for the Hansons to try to accept. With no children, their dogs are their offspring, and Misty’s disappearance had left a gaping hole in their lives.

Cheryl was hiking on Winery Road with friends and their dogs when Misty vanished. She and Misty had walked the road countless times, but the older dog lagged behind the group.

Cheryl kept an eye on her, but when she checked the last time, Misty was gone. Cheryl and her friends scoured the area, but couldn’t find her.

The Hansons and friends launched an all-out effort to find Misty. They made posters and repeatedly searched the area from sunrise to sunset.

But May dragged on and turned into June.

The Hansons realized there was no way Misty could still be alive with her bad hearing and bad hips.

“We figured she was gone for sure,” Cheryl said.

They began taking down the posters.

“It was terrible. That was our one connection to that area — continuing to put up signs,” she said.

Chance encounter

Allan Landdeck was running late as he and his black Lab, Leo, hiked along Rattlesnake Ridge the morning of July 4. He figured he might be able to save some time by cutting down the steep slope down to his daughter’s house.

He quickly regretted his decision.

“There was no trail. It was in deep woods,” the North Bend resident said.

Landdeck and Leo cut through undergrowth so thick he could only see a few feet away. He could barely see his feet as he stepped through the salmonberry, ferns, small alder and devil’s club.

About halfway down, Landdeck saw a maple tree with a well-worn path about 3 feet wide around its trunk. Had he been just a few further away from the tree, he would have missed it.

Despite running late, his curiosity prompted him to check it out. He approached cautiously, thinking there might be a nearby bear den.

Curled up on the other side of the tree was Misty Si. Her red collar grabbed Landdeck’s eye. Without his reading glasses he couldn’t make out the information, but he knew she belonged to someone.

Misty didn’t respond to him or Leo when they came near. She was fur and bones, and covered with mosquitoes.

“I thought for sure I had a dead dog. I was taking her down to be buried by her loved ones,” he said.

Misty couldn’t walk down, so Landdeck picked her up. Even though she had dropped from 70 to about 30 pounds, walking with her was difficult given the terrain.

“I thought, ‘How the heck am I going to get her out? I can’t even get myself out,’” he said.

The slope eased off, and he managed to make it to a woman’s house with Misty. The woman called the number on the tag.

Cheryl Hanson was mowing her lawn when her cell phone started vibrating in her pocket.

“The woman said we have Misty Si, but she is dying,” Cheryl said.

She and her husband jumped in the car feeling a mix of excitement and worry. They still had in their car the rescue box they had assembled when Misty disappeared.

The Hansons raced over to the woman’s house, where Landdeck was waiting with Misty along with his wife and his daughter. As they approached, he set the dog down.

“When Allan put her on the ground, and she started to wobble toward us, it was the best feeling in the world,” Cheryl said.

Slow but sure recovery

After being reunited with Misty, the Hansons rushed her to VCA Alpine Animal Hospital in Issaquah, the closest one that was open on July 4.

Despite her ordeal and her gaunt appearance, Misty Si was in good shape, the veterinarian told them. She wasn’t even dehydrated.

But bringing a dog back from the brink of starvation is not an easy task. The body’s organs have begun shutting down, and reviving them has to be done slowly and carefully. Rushing the process can trigger harmful, even fatal side effects, such as heart failure, said Dr. Teri Weronko, a veterinarian at Snoqualmie Valley Animal Hospital in Fall City. Weronko is overseeing Misty’s recovery.

With careful steps, Misty is getting back to her old self. When Cheryl takes their other dog, KC, a 2-year-old black Lab, for a walk in the morning, Misty tries to get in the car with them.

“She thinks she’s ready to go, but not yet,” Cheryl said.

Misty’s recovery has amazed Weronko.

After 54 days in the woods, “her body had started eating itself,” she said. “Despite her critical condition, her will to go on was still strong.”

She credits the Hansons with keeping Misty in good health to begin with, but even so, the odds were against her.

“I don’t know how she survived that long. She really shouldn’t have,” Weronko said.

Cheryl knows why.

“It’s a miracle. She’s a miracle,” she said while rubbing Misty’s neck. “Something was watching over her.”

Source: http://snovalleystar.com/2011/07/14/couple-reunited-with-%e2%80%98walking-miracle%e2%80%99#more-15310

Chuck, black lab

Rancho Palos Verdes family reunites with dog after 4 years lost
Rob Hayes
Tuesday, May 03, 2011

RANCHO PALOS VERDES, Calif. (KABC) -- Four years ago, a black Labrador retriever mix did what most Labs do: bust out of his fenced backyard.



But on that day in 2007, Chuck didn't come back to his Palos Verdes Estates home.

"He was gone. We looked everywhere. We drove up and down the streets," said Chuck's owner, Lisa Nakkim.

The Nakkim family was desperate. They began posting flyers around their neighborhood, but to no avail.

Years went by and the Nakkims and their four children began to talk about replacing Chuck.

Not too far away, Torrance city worker Linda Sheldon recently spotted Chuck wandering the streets as she was walking to work. Only the pooch didn't look like he did on the flyers. The once 100-pound dog had lost 40 pounds. You could count his ribs.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YE5T0KkgRaU

"He was, I'm sorry to say, the smelliest dog ever," Sheldon said. "I could see the potential in the dog. He just has a wonderful, big heart."

She brought the emaciated dog to her office, where a coworker noticed the badly worn I.D. tag on Chuck's collar and Sheldon dialed the number.

"Every word that she kept saying I'm thinking, 'Oh my gosh. Is this really happening? Is this really Chuck?'" Nakkim said.

They reunited at Torrance City Hall. After a trip to the veterinarian, they brought Chuck to their new home.



"My daughter said, 'Oh, we got a dog,' and I said, 'No, Lexa. That's Chuck.' She started crying. She just lost it," Nakkim said.

"He's back 100 percent," said Nakkim's husband, Eric. "It's like a lost member of the family coming home."

Source: http://abclocal.go.com/kabc/story?section=news/bizarre&id=8110715
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Ooops, didn't realize this story was already in this blog! The video here made it so much more memorable a story than the earlier version, which is at: http://lostdogsfound.blogspot.com/2011/05/chuck-black-lab.html#comments

Joey, Australian shepherd

Sun Lakes woman gets stolen dog, car back
Posted: 06/18/2011
By: Mike Pelton

SUN LAKES, AZ - A Sun Lakes woman said she’s still in shock after thieves stole both her car and dog this week.

Carol Denmead spent Saturday with her 12-year-old dog, Joey, after going more than a day without him.

“It’s just [a] shock,” she said. “I’ve been kind of in shock for two days.”

Denmead said she left her car running with Joey inside on Thursday, as she ran into a nearby Walgreens to buy some ice cream. When she came out of the store, her car was gone.

“At first I thought I must have forgotten where I parked or something,” she said.

Authorities arrested three people in connection with the crime. Police were able to find the car Thursday, but the dog was nowhere to be found.

“He’s been all I have,” Denmead said. “He’s my only reason for getting up in the morning.”

Denmead said she received a call Friday, with a woman informing her they found Joey. The dog was reportedly wandering around in the far east Valley.

“They could have taken my car,” Denmead said of the suspects. “I want my puppy. I want my Joey.”

Denmead told ABC15 Joey is in good health, but has needed a lot of rest.



Source: http://www.abc15.com/dpp/news/region_southeast_valley/chandler/sun-lakes-woman-gets-stolen-dog,-car-back
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Roxie, boxer

Piedmont Family Reunited With Lost Dog After Tornado
LeAnne Taylor, News On 6
May 25, 2011

PIEDMONT, Oklahoma -- There are so many things that make up a home, but number one is family.


Can you imagine having only a few minutes to gather your family together and get into a place of safety as a tornado barrels towards your door? A Piedmont family found out just what that is like during the May 24 tornado.

The family boxer was in pretty good shape - just a cut on her paw - when she was found a mile and a half away.

Frank Wood and his two children rode out the storm in a safe room. Their family dog, Roxie, wouldn't come when they called.

"The last thing I remember is looking at her and having to shut that door. Just had to get in, and bless her heart, she just wouldn't come to me," Frank said.

Wood told his children they might never see Roxie again. But then they got a call from the local vet.

Oil field worker David Franco found Roxie and got the phone number off her tag.

Franco said when he got to work at about 7:30 Wednesday morning, he saw a dog cowering in the grass. She wouldn't come to him for a while.

Roxie was found a mile and a half from her home. She's in pretty good shape – just a cut on her paw.

The family says they hope the next time they call, she'll listen.

The Woods have a lot to do to get their lives back in order, but at least they are all together now.



Source: http://www.newson6.com/story/14716235/piedmont-family-reunited-with-lost-dog-after-tornado
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Video at: http://www.newson6.com/category/121535/video-page?autoStart=true&topVideoCatNo=default&clipId=5887045

Matilda, rottweiler / shepherd mix

Woman reunited with dog who was stolen along with car
Fells Point woman's car was taken Monday with, Matilda the dog was inside
By Don Markus, The Baltimore Sun
May 19, 2011

A Fells Point woman whose 9-year-old dog was in her car when it was stolen Monday night was reunited with her pet after it was found in the yard of a Baltimore home.

Kelly Belk rarely travels beyond Fells Point, where she lives, and Hampden, where she works. But on Monday night, Belk decided to meet friends at a Pikesville crab house for an all-you-can-eat special. Belk took Matilda, a 9-year-old Rottweiler and German shepherd mix.

"When I was leaving for dinner, she gave me the stink eye. It was like, 'You better take me with you,'" Belk said Thursday. "She's happier being in the car than being home alone."

It's a decision that Belk regretted after her sport utility vehicle, with Matilda inside, was stolen from the parking lot of an adjacent bank on Reisterstown Road. Belk said she later realized that she had left the keys to the SUV inside the vehicle after earlier checking on Matilda, who had been injured that day while out for a walk with Belk.

But that regret turned into relief late Thursday afternoon when Matilda wandered into the yard of a Park Heights home about 10 minutes' drive from where Belk's car was stolen, allowed Gia Davis to check out her tags and was able to reconnect with Belk a few hours later.

Belk was overjoyed. Belk, a waitress, has owned Matilda since she was a 8-week old stray. Belk's late sister was on her way back from a Willie Nelson concert when she found the dog wandering on a Delaware highway. Belk named the dog after one of Nelson's songs.

"My car is still missing, but I'd rather have my dog back," Belk said Thursday night, after having a friend drive her to Davis' home.

Belk said that she will give Davis a $50 reward. She said the owner of the crabhouse also promised to send Davis another $200.

Baltimore County police are still searching for Belk's white 1991 Ford Explorer, but according to spokesman Lt. Robert McCullough, the fact that Matilda was found in the neighborhood between Pimlico Race Course and Druid Hill Park "will give us an area to focus on."

Police spokesman Sean Vinson said before Matilda was found that whoever stole the vehicle could also potentially be charged with the theft of Matilda.

After searching with her boyfriend and others for a few hours Monday night and nine hours on Tuesday, Belk hired Sherry B. True of Damascus, who bills herself as an "animal communicator," to assist in the hunt for Matilda.

Belk said she was skeptical about using a psychic, but she was desperate.

"It sounds crazy," Belk said. "But I don't know what to do. I'm just beside myself. I can't eat, I can't sleep."
True wrote Belk an email Thursday saying that Matilda was safe but feeling a little confused as to why she wasn't with Belk.



She also wrote that the dog was in "an area where there are pine trees and water," near a housing development and a drainage ditch.

Davis first contacted Animal Control, but after reading Matilda's tags, called the Milford Animal Hospital in Delaware, which put her in touch with Belk. Davis, who was able to feed Matilda and give her some water, said Matilda stretched out on her porch in front of the door and looked "kind of sad" until Belk arrived.

"When Kelly called her name, she jumped right up," Davis said. "It was definitely a great sight to see."

Source: http://articles.baltimoresun.com/2011-05-19/news/bs-md-co-missing-dog-20110519-30_1_matilda-dog-car

Chuck, black lab

PVE: Dog gone - no more
By Art Marroquin Staff Writer
Posted: 03/07/2011

Alexa, Kai, Lisa and Koa Nakkim get reacquainted with Chuck, their dog who was missing for four years.

Every night for four years, Eric and Lisa Nakkim prayed that their missing dog, Chuck, was safe and might even come home someday.

Their prayers, spanning more than 1,500 days, were answered Friday when a woman called their home to report that she found the long-lost black Labrador/pit bull mix.

"Every night, especially when it was cold, we would think about that dog and wonder where he was," said Eric Nakkim, an emergency room doctor at Torrance Memorial Medical Center.

"It's just like seeing a long-lost friend," he said. "I'm ecstatic and overwhelmed with emotion."

The Palos Verdes Estates family adopted Chuck in April 2002, when he was just a 2-month-old puppy.

But as he grew, Chuck made a habit of sneaking out of a fenced backyard, usually through a gate that was left ajar by one of the family's four children. The mischievous mutt always found his way home and sat by the gate, patiently waiting to get back to the safety of his family's yard.

Chuck performed one of his infamous escape acts on Jan. 7, 2007, but this time, he didn't come home.

"We don't know if he got lost or got picked up by someone," Eric Nakkim said.

The family hoped someone would find Chuck and call the phone number etched into a round, silver tag that hung from a black collar bearing metal spikes.

The Nakkims distributed fliers plastered with Chuck's mug. Ads were placed in the newspaper. A year had passed and the Nakkims feared the worst.

It's still unknown what happened to Chuck in the ensuing years.

Eric Nakkim thought Chuck could have become lost after wandering off. Lisa Nakkim said she hoped the friendly dog was keeping company with a lonely homeless person.

"We just gave up hope on ever getting him back," Eric Nakkim said.

The family's despair quickly turned to elation when they received a phone call from Linda Sheldon.

Sheldon had just got off a bus about 6:30 a.m. and was walking to her job with the environmental division at Torrance City Hall when she spotted a dog near the intersection of Maple Avenue and El Dorado Street.

Sheldon, who has helped strays before, called to the dog.

"He was a little shy, but he came to me," Sheldon said. "I could see he was very nice and very homeless from his condition."

The thin, friendly animal was wearing a black collar with metal spikes that were worn to the nubs.

Attached was a silver tag with lettering that was worn smooth, but still legible, except for the last digit of a phone number.

The dirty, smelly dog trotted alongside Sheldon to her office. After she gave the dog some food and water, Sheldon began calling numbers in hopes of finding the owners.

Her first attempt led to a disconnected line.

She dialed again, changing the last digit of the phone number. This time, Sheldon reached Lisa Nakkim.

"She described Chuck exactly: big, black and friendly," Lisa Nakkim recalled.

The Nakkims picked up the dog from Sheldon on Friday afternoon and thanked her for contacting them.

"I'm just happy that he's gone from rags to riches," Sheldon said.

After a daylong visit to the vet on Friday, Chuck finally went home with his family. A checkup found that the 100-pound pooch had withered down to 60 pounds, likely from malnutrition and dehydration. He was sent home with a prescription to clear up a urinary tract infection.

Additionally, all the gates to the Nakkim home are now secured. But Chuck has taken to sleeping indoors since he arrived home.

"We can't have this happen again," Lisa Nakkim said. "We're just so thankful that this good Samaritan took the time to check on a missing dog, and that he's finally home with us."

Source: http://www.dailybreeze.com/ci_17561701?source=rss_viewed




Another, printer-friendly version of the story is here

Ooops, I repeated this story later when I found a video that makes the story far more memorable than this version. Oh well . . . http://lostdogsfound.blogspot.com/2011/06/chuck-black-lab.html

Sarge, Husky

Siberian Husky lost during vacation is reunited with Norton family
By Kathy Antoniotti, Beacon Journal staff writer
posted by jim on January 7, 2011

Sarge could be a poster dog for the merits of licensing the family pet. In this case, a license was his ticket home.

The year-old stray Siberian Husky was picked up and taken to Summit County Animal Control in October. Without identification to locate his owner, the dog was placed up for adoption and the Decker family of Norton eagerly adopted him.

Two weeks later, on a vacation to a Guernsey County cabin, Sarge ran away.

"We were in the middle of nowhere — no cell phones, no nothing," said Deb Decker.

On their last day at the cabin, Sarge picked-up the scent of another animal during a family outing in the woods. Decker's son, Gabe, 9, let go of the leash when he was dragged through a field of nettles, Decker said.

But when Sarge went AWOL this time, he was wearing a dog license that identified where he came from and to whom he belonged.

The husky was found a short time later about two miles from where he made his escape by a woman who contacted Animal Control after reading his Summit County tag, Decker said.

"That license saved Sarge's life," she said. "It's renewal time and, I can guarantee, I will be licensing him again."

By state law, all dogs over three months of age must be licensed. New Summit County dog owners have 30 days to buy a $14 license that assigns a distinctive identification number to each dog. Licenses must be renewed annually between Dec. 1 and Jan. 31.

Source: http://pets.ohio.com/2011/01/siberian-husky-lost-during-vacation-is-reunited-with-norton-family/

Buck, pug mix

Oceanside Family Reunites With Missing Dog
The Rawlings Family Says Buck Was In Desert For 6 Weeks
March 21, 2011

OCEANSIDE, Calif. -- One North County family has been reunited with their dog after he was missing in the desert for six weeks.

The Rawlings family was on an off-roading weekend in January when their beloved pet pug-mix Buck was spooked in the desert.

Steve Rawlings was off-roading with two of his daughters and their dog in Johnson Valley, Calif., when their jeep crashed. Buck then jumped out of the jeep and ran away.
"He didn't dart off, but little by little, he got further and further away," said Steve.

As day turned to night, there was still no sign of Buck. Steve said he began to wonder if Buck would ever return.

"I would go out every hour or so and call for him, thinking he would come my way, but it didn't happen," said Steve.

The family posted fliers near the camp site, searched the Internet and even called San Bernardino radio stations for help.

The Rawlings received about six leads. None were promising, so the family began to lose hope.

"I thought coyotes… I figured the weather couldn't be good for him," said Steve.

But last Saturday night, which was six weeks since Buck had disappeared, family received the phone call they were waiting for.

"[The caller said,] 'It's a boy, red collar, blue tags' and that's when I knew it was him," said Michelle. "I was screaming."

A woman who runs a dog rescue in Twentynine Palms, which is more than 50 miles away from Johnson Valley, called the family to say she spotted a stray dog on her property. It took her two weeks to gain the dog's trust until she could get close enough to see the number on his collar.

"When we saw him – actually saw him – it sunk in," said Steve.

The family said their reunion last Saturday night was special, even for 7-year-old Sabrina, who was afraid Buck had forgotten her.

"It was exciting because he remembered us," she said.

The Rawlings family is extremely thankful to the San Bernardino family who reunited them with Buck and said it is a miracle that he is home.

Source (with video): http://www.10news.com/news/27272048/detail.html
Video HERE
Another (longer) version of the story is at: http://www.nctimes.com/news/local/oceanside/article_62683fa4-a511-576f-929a-96ba5a05a3e6.html
Printer-friendly version HERE

Darry, collie/golden retriever

Dog, owner reunited after 1 week
By Amy Schweitzer, WORLD-HEARLD NEWS SERVICE
Published Tuesday November 30, 2010


ALDA, NEB. — “Darry,” a collie/golden retriever, is safe at home in Colorado after wandering around Hall County for a week.

On Nov. 22, Monica Shields of Golden, Colo. was on her way to her hometown in Michigan when her vehicle rolled on black ice on Interstate 80 near the Wood River exit.

Shields, her friends and two other dogs had just bumps and bruises, but Darry escaped through a broken window.

“She was gone before we had even gotten out,” Shields said of the dog she had rescued from a shelter about eight months earlier.

For a week Shields and her friends looked for the dog.

“We went out for six hours (walking the fields near the crash site) before we were forced to go home,” she said.

Back in Colorado, Shields posted a plea with pictures on Facebook, ran ads in the Grand Island Independent and called to around to shelters.

Fred Schritt of Grand Island called here and said he would do everything in his power to find Darry.

“At first I thought, ‘Oh that’s nice, another well-wisher. Thank you.’ But then he called back to say he spent eight hours out walking, looking for her and hadn’t found her but he was going to keep looking.

“He was a total stranger but was willing to help,” she said.

Carol Matthews, who lives near Grand Island, also called to offer help. Matthews put up posters in Grand Island and Hastings.

Schritt said he saw the ad in Saturday’s paper.

“I just got a lump in my throat knowing how sad she had to be,” he said Monday. “I couldn’t sit here and not do anything.”

Schritt searched for two full days driving more than 100 miles each day and passing out cards to farmers offering a $1,000 reward for the recovery of the dog.

Towards the end of Sunday night, he saw a collie mix dog along the edge of I-80.

“My eyes were so tired, but I happened to look right and I saw a dog,” Schritt said.

He pulled over and tried to get the dog to come closer but he couldn’t get closer than 40 feet, Schritt said. Suddenly the dog bolted straight across the Interstate, thick with Thanksgiving traffic.

“My heart about stopped,” Schritt said, but Darry made it across without harm.

Even though the dog had escaped, Schritt called Shields to tell her that he had seen Darry and that he was going to try again Monday.

Early Monday morning Shields and a friend were on their way to Grand Island to help search when she received a call on her cell phone about 8 a.m. saying Darry had been found near Alda.

Zach Kramer was getting out of his Jeep at his parents’ farm about three miles northeast of Alda when a friendly dog came up and wanted to jump in his vehicle.

“She just started whining and wanted in my truck real bad,” he said with a laugh.

Kramer notice the dog’s pink collar and tags with an owner’s phone number and called Shields.

“We were all screaming in the car, going crazy,” Shields said with a laugh.

“If I lost my dog, I’d want someone to help,” Kramer said. “Everybody knew more than I did. I didn’t see any of the flyers or anything.”

Shields later thought maybe Darry went to Kramer because his vehicle is similar to hers.

After calling Shields, Kramer took the dog to Grand Island Veterinary Hospital where Dr. Jay Stewart cleaned up Darry for free.

“She was covered in stickers and muddy,” Kramer said.

The reunion between dog and owner at the Alda Interchange was what Schritt called “a storybook finish.”

He gave Kramer the $1,000 reward even though Kramer tried to refuse it.

Shields said she couldn’t believe so many people were willing to help find Darry.

“Living in Colorado, I have never met so many nice Nebraskans before,” Shields said. “I was blown away.”

Source: http://www.omaha.com/article/20101130/NEWS01/712019954/0

Tucker, German wire-haired pointer

Owner reunites with lost dog
Bill Grimes, Effingham (IL) Daily News
January 19, 2011

GREENUP — Stew Rowles wasn’t sure if he’d ever see his dog again.

Stew Rowles, left, reunites with Tucker, a German wire-haired pointer, in Greenup recently. Kathy and Bob Sponsel of rural Greenup found Tucker had taken refuge in their garage.

Rowles, a Washington, DC, resident who grew up in Sullivan, had lost Tucker — a German wire-haired pointer — while pheasant hunting near Martinsville two days before Christmas.

The retired US Bureau of Prisons employee extended his holiday visit for more than a week in a vain search for the 2-year-old pooch.

“We did everything we could think of,” Rowles said. “We put up signs, offered a reward and called radio stations.

“We also put out food in various locations, as well as clothing that he would associate with us. But none of that worked.”

What did work was Tucker’s apparent instinct for survival that led him to the garage of a rural Greenup couple.

“We saw him Wednesday (Jan. 12),” said Bob Sponsel, who lives with wife Kathy about two miles east of Greenup on the York road. “He had moved into our garage. By Friday, he’d gotten close enough for Kathy to pet him and look at his tags. Once we called him by name, he was a different dog.”

The tags included a number to call in case Tucker was lost, which he most assuredly was. The Sponsels called that number and the company contacted Rowles, who didn’t waste much time making the 12-hour drive from Washington, D.C., to be reunited with a haggard-looking Tucker.

“January 14 is a day I’m going to always remember,” Rowles said. “He’d lost a huge amount of weight and he had some cuts and cockleburrs. But right now, he doesn’t seem to have any ill effects from being out in the woods.”

Rowles said he and wife Alexandra are glad to have Tucker back home.

“We have three other dogs, but they’re all elderly,” he said. “We got Tucker because we figured our other dogs would not be with us much longer.

“He’s my wife’s favorite dog,” Rowles added. “She was pretty torn up about the whole thing, but she was sure glad to see him.”

Rowles said he was grateful Tucker found a dog-friendly home. The Sponsels’ black lab has been in the house this winter because she is expecting puppies soon.

“He picked a great couple,” Rowles said. “They kept food out for him all the time, and they had a nice place for him to stay out of the weather.”

Sponsel said the reunion was a joyous one.

“It was a real heart-jerker when the dog saw his owner,” he said. “It was an awesome scene.”

The Sponsels declined the $1,000 reward.

“We’re dog people, and besides, Tucker found us.”

Source: http://effinghamdailynews.com/local/x233964678/Owner-reunites-with-lost-dog
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Huck, Viszla

Twin Cities man asking for help locating his hunting dog
By: Kevin Wallevand, WDAY
October 19 2010

(WDAY TV) - A Twin Cities man on his way to hunt pheasants in Western North Dakota has a plea out tonight, hoping you can help locate his dog "Huck." Mark Michaels, along with his friends and family today, combed the ditches and fields near the Downer exit.

On Sunday night, Mark rolled his S-U-V end over end when he swerved to miss three deer crossing Interstate 94. He suffered cuts on his head, but his hunting dog Huck, a Vishla, got scared and left the accident scene.

“A great companion, good house dog, hunted a little bit. He was not the greatest hunting dog in the world, but great family pet.”

If you see Huck, look for the owner's number on the dog's collar. Otherwise contact the Clay County Sheriff's office or the Minnesota State Patrol.

Source: http://www.wday.com/event/article/id/39676/
Follow-up story:


Pheasant hunter is reunited with his dog
By: Kevin Wallevand, WDAY
Published October 21 2010

Downer, Minn. (WDAY TV) - A remarkable, happy ending to a story we've been following all this week. The pheasant hunter who lost his prized dog following an accident near the Downer Exit is back together with him. Huck has been found!

“There he was, sitting by the door.”

When Huck strolled into Sherri Anderson's yard today, he found a friendly family willing to help.

“This is just crazy, we didn't do anything. He found us.”

At the farm, just two miles from the rollover accident, Huck hung out most of the day waiting for his owner, who along with others had combed the fields and back roads near Sabin and Downer.

“And the owner called us back in ten minutes. I am on my way. This will be a good day for somebody.”

This afternoon, after hours on the road, almost to the point of giving up, Huck's owner Mark Michaels rolled up.

“How we doing.”

What a reunion. Four days apart.

“Oh baby. God hello.”

A hunter welcomed home his best friend.

“How are you. I love you.”

In tears, Mark thanked the Andersons for taking in his dog and on this perfect autumn day, an awesome ending to the story.

“Ready to go Huckster?”

This journey on his own, finally over. He is a special dog that is for sure. Huck's owner says he can't get over how helpful people in the Red River Valley have been. Complete strangers putting on hundreds of miles in search of Huck since Sunday.

Source: http://www.wday.com/event/article/id/39808/

Fred, Beagle

Truck driver and his dog reunited
Sarah Weber
10:01 AM Nov 08 2010

Port Clinton (THE REST OF THE STORY)

Fred the beagle bounced happily off the chest of his master, Fred Sanicky, during a most unlikely reunion Sunday morning in Port Clinton.

Little more than a week ago, Sanicky thought he would never see his little pal again. The long-haul truck driver stopped to get a cup of coffee at a rest stop in Eaton, Ohio, west of Dayton, when Fred went missing. He had tied Fred outside the truck so the pup could get a little fresh air while he went into the store.

Sanicky got his coffee and returned to the truck within 10 minutes, but found Fred and his leash missing.

“I stood out there for four hours waiting,” Sanicky said. He hoped if Fred managed to get loose he’d tire and come back to the truck.

Fred escaped at a New Jersey stop one time, but that was different. The dog ran around the parking lot for about an hour before he came back to Sanicky for a drink.

This time Sanicky had tethered him with a good steel line, leaving little likelihood the dog disappeared on his own. Someone must have taken him.

Sanicky phoned his cousin, Mary Priddy, in Port Clinton to tell her she could cancel Fred’s upcoming vet appointment.

“We thought he was a goner,” Priddy said.

But Wednesday, Sanicky got a call from a retired couple in Anna, Ohio, about 70 miles away from where Fred went missing.

They told him they’d found Fred wandering around in their backyard. Luckily, Fred still had his collar and ID tags.

The couple wanted to know if Sanicky wanted the dog back.

“Of course I wanted him back,” Sanicky said.

But he was on a job and couldn’t reroute to get Fred right away.

So Priddy volunteered to go get the dog and take care of him until Sanicky came home.

“I don’t have any heat in my car, and I was freezing the whole way down there,” she said. “But the closer we got the more I got excited. I pulled in the driveway and I started crying.”

She shared grateful hugs with the couple and took Fred back to Port Clinton. He played with Priddy’s small pack of Chihuahuas last week while waiting to be returned to his master.

In Priddy’s kitchen Sunday morning, Sanicky scooped up Fred and held the wriggling pup to his chest.

“Yup, things are back to normal,” he said.

Sanicky got Fred late this spring from a friend who bought the pup for his children. The children named the dog Fred, and Sanicky didn’t want to change his name.

He likes having the dog to keep him company on his routes, and Fred loves to watch out the window.

When they stop Sanicky takes Fred for a walk and fixes him a good meal.

Priddy kept Fred’s vet appointment after all, and the doctor declared the 3-year-old Beagle in excellent condition despite his ordeal.

“Tomorrow morning we’re leaving for Springfield, Ohio,” Sanicky said.

Fred will be riding shotgun once again.

Source: http://www.sanduskyregister.com/2010/nov/07/homewardboundsw110810xml

Jazzy, golden retriever

Dog reunited with owners in 'Christmas miracle'
Kate Ryan, wtop.com
December 28, 2010

Andi Vanko found this Golden Retriever dashing in and out of traffic on Route 140.

WASHINGTON - Andi Vanko starts her mornings with a prayer: "I say, 'Please don't let me see a little stray on the side of the road.'" Because if Vanko sees one, she'll stop for it. And that's exactly what happened on Christmas Day.

She, her boyfriend and her mom were in the car driving along Route 140 in Carroll County when she saw it - a little Golden Retriever dashing in and out of traffic. Vanko and her boyfriend were chatting and laughing while her mom slept in the back seat.

"I started screaming and he says the next thing he knows, we're flying across the turn lane and two lanes of traffic." Vanko got out of the car and called to the little dog.

"And she came bounding to me and jumped on me like, 'Please! Help me!'" Vanko says. Vanko hustled the dog into her already-full car, and drove on to her sister's house for Christmas dinner. When she got there, she explained the situation. Soft hearts seem to run in the family.

Her sister had one question: "Does she bite?" When Vanko told her no, she added "Okay, let's get a leash. Bring her in, we'll feed her."

They checked her collar and found three tags, one with the word "GRREAT" on it. Vanko thought that was odd.

"I looked at her and I said "GRREAT! What a funny name for you!'"

GRREAT wasn't the dog's name. It was an acronym for Golden Retriever Rescue Education And Training.

A call to the organization was returned quickly: The dog had been microchipped, the GRREAT volunteer was able to crosscheck a database and within hours, the dog's owners were on the way to pick up their wayward pup "Jazzy."

Vanko says a couple from Silver Spring had been in the area for a hike when Jazzy bolted and took off. They had no luck trying to catch her.

Vanko says she could see why. When she stopped to get the dog, two men approached the dog and she initially thought they were the owners. Like, her, they stopped to try to catch the dog, who had been dodging traffic on Route 140 for about 15 minutes when Vanko stopped.

Vanko says that's one reason she says that little prayer each morning.

"For some reason, stray animals have always been drawn to me."

When the dog's owners showed up, Vanko was thrilled for them, but admits she was a bit sad. She lost her own dog about a year and a half ago and had already given the dog a new name, "Holly."

"She spent the day with us and she was the perfect little creature! And I thought, I hope no one calls me back about this little dog!" But being able to reunite the dog with her owners was its own reward.

"When she saw her daddy, she was over the moon. And they were so thankful. They gave me a big, big hug. It was like a little Christmas miracle."

GRREAT is a local rescue group that offers all kinds of help and advice to those looking for a dog, and those who feel they have to surrender their dogs.

Source: http://www.wtop.com/?sid=2214992&nid=25
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Kenai, black lab

Alaska dog missing for more than a month finds home
by Joseph Robertia / Kenai Peninsula Clarion Fairbanks Daily News Miner
Apr 04, 2010

KENAI, Alaska - The bond between humans and their pets is a strong one.

Kenai, the dog, is proof.

Gone missing more than a month, he'd lost a third of his body weight and part of one paw during his lonely attempt to hobble home.

"He was skin and bones, and very, very dehydrated," said his owner, Colin Lowe of Cooper Landing, when he first got his dog back late last month.

The dog first went missing on Feb. 20, while hiking with Lowe and his family in the Russian River area, near Cooper Landing.

"We were walking around the ferry area when Kenai took off," Lowe said, referring to his 6-year old black Labrador - a hefty 110-pound male.

"It wasn't that unusual at first," Lowe added. "He usually explores a little, then comes back, but this day he didn't come back."

Lowe and his family became worried, as minutes turned into hours, and eventually hours turned into days and weeks.

"We went back daily," he said. "We would call and search for him. We even made a search grid of the old camping area. We were very broken up about the whole thing."

Lowe and his family pursued all the usual channels for attempting to find a lost dog. He posted the dog on several Web sites and radio programs for lost pets, and regularly called animal shelters in Kenai, Soldotna, Anchorage and Wasilla.

"We even called the UPS driver in this area to keep an eye out for him," Lowe said.

Finally, after 35 days missing, the Lowe's phone rang. On the other end was Anchorage resident Robert Heavlin, who was calling to say he had picked up a skinny dog along the Sterling Highway on his drive home from Soldotna.

"He called the number on Kenai's tag," Lowe said. "He had picked him up about 3/4 of a mile from the ferry, after seeing him limping down the road."

Lowe and his family immediately drove to meet Heavlin and reunite with Kenai.

"We were ecstatic. My wife was in tears," he said.

But when the family got there, they barely recognized Kenai as the same animal they knew a month earlier.

"I'm not sure how much longer he would have made it," Lowe said.

They quickly rushed Kenai to a veterinarian, where it was determined the dog had lost 45 pounds. But more critically, the dog had lost several toes and roughly half of his left paw.

As an experienced woodsman and the owner of the Kenai Cache Outfitters in Cooper Landing, he recognized the telltale signs of the dog's injury.

"The type of wound that it is, the chop is so lean - like his foot was in a paper cutter - I think it had to be a caused by a trap," he said.

While many trappers would consider leaving a trap unchecked for more than 30 days unethical, the State of Alaska does not require trappers to check their traps regularly. However, in this area of the Kenai National Wildlife Refuge, all leghold traps must be checked at least every four days.

Lowe said once reunited with Kenai, he tried to track the bloody paw prints back to a trap, to alert authorities if it was set illegally, but a fresh snowfall complicated his efforts.

Since returning home, Kenai is slowly putting on weight and veterinarians are trying to save the rest of his paw.

"He's on antibiotics and bed rest," Lowe said. "We want to keep him immobilized so that it can heal. He wears a bandage and plastic bag over it when he walks around."

For years, Kenai has accompanied Lowe to work at the outfitting business. As a result the dog has made many friends.

"Everyone's happy he's back, he's happy he's back and we're happy to have him back," Lowe said.


Read more: Fairbanks Daily News-Miner - Alaska dog missing for more than a month finds home

Darry, golden collie mix

Dog reunited with owner
By Amy Schweitzer, theindependent.com
Tuesday, November 30, 2010
ALDA — Darry, a collie/golden retriever, is safe at home back in Colorado after wandering Hall County for a week.

On Nov. 22, Monica Shields of Golden, Colo. was on her way to her hometown in Michigan when black ice on Interstate 80 near the Wood River exit caused the vehicle to roll.

Shields, her human friends and two other dogs had just bumps and bruises, but Darry escaped through a broken window.

“She was gone before we had even gotten out,” Shields said of the dog she had rescued from a pound about eight months earlier.

For a week Shields and her friends looked for the dog.

“We went out for six hours (walking the fields near the crash site) before we were forced to go home,” she said.

Back in Colorado, Shields posted a plea with pictures on Facebook, ran ads in the Independent and called to around to shelters.

“The outpouring on Facebook was amazing,” she said, adding that she had hundreds of well-wishers call and e-mail saying they were praying and reposting the plea to look for the dog.

“It totally renewed my faith in mankind,” she said.

One of those who called was Fred Schritt of Grand Island, who said he would do everything in his power to find Darry.

“At first I thought ‘Oh that’s nice, another well-wisher. Thank You.’ But then he called back to say he spent eight hours out walking looking for her and hadn’t found her but he was going to keep looking.”

“He was a total stranger but was willing to help,” she said.

Carol Matthews, who lives near Grand Island, also called to offer help. Shields said Matthews put up posters all over Grand Island and Hastings.

Schritt said he saw the ad in Saturday morning’s paper.

“I just got a lump in my throat knowing how sad she had to be,” he said Monday. “I couldn’t sit here and not do anything.”

Schritt searched for two full days driving more than 100 miles each day and passing out cards to farmers offering a $1,000 reward for the recovery of the dog.

Towards the end of Sunday night, he saw a collie mix dog along the edge of I-80.

“My eyes were so tired, but I happened to look right and I saw a dog,” Schritt said.

He pulled over and tried to get the dog to come closer but he couldn’t get closer than 40 feet to the dog, Schritt said. Suddenly the dog bolted straight across the Interstate, thick with Thanksgiving traffic.

“My heart about stopped,” Schritt said, but Darry made it across without harm.

Even though the dog escaped him, Schritt called Shields to tell her that he had seen Darry and that he was going to try again Monday.

Early Monday morning Shields and a friend were on their way to Grand Island to help search when she received a call on her cell phone about 8 a.m. saying Darry had been found near Alda.

Zach Kramer was getting out of his Jeep at his parents’ farm about three miles northeast of Alda when a friendly dog came up and wanted to jump in his vehicle.

“She just started whining and wanted in my truck real bad,” he said with a laugh.

Kramer notice the dog’s pink collar and tags with an owner’s phone number and called Shields.

“We were all screaming in the car, going crazy,” Shields said with a laugh.

But with all of the posters, newspaper ads and postings on Facebook, Kramer hadn’t seen any of them. He just figured it was a lost dog that needed help to find its way home.

“If I lost my dog, I’d want someone to help,” he said. “Everybody knew more than I did. I didn’t see any of the flyers or anything.”

Shields later thought maybe Darry went to Kramer because he had a similar vehicle as her and the dog may have thought it was her Jeep.

After calling Shields, Kramer took the dog to Grand Island Veterinary Hospital where Dr. Jay Stewart cleaned up Darry for free.

“She was covered in stickers and muddy,” Kramer said.

The reunion between dog and owner at the Alda Interchange was what Schritt called “a storybook finish.”

He gave Kramer the $1,000 reward even though Kramer tried to refuse it.

Shields said she couldn’t believe so many people were willing to help find Darry.

“Living in Colorado, I have never met so many nice Nebraskans before,” Shields said. “I was blown away.”

Source: http://theindependent.com/articles/2010/11/30/news/local/12678016.txt
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Brutus, rottweiler-chow mix

Tennessee man reunites with lost dog in Fremont
By Beverly J. Lydick/Tribune Staff

Brutus, the roving Rottweiler, is back in Tennessee, thanks to the efforts of a truck driver, a veterinarian and the Dodge County Humane Society.

DCHS director Clem Rohde wrote in a recent newsletter of the reunion of the 9-year-old dog and his owner, Chris Jennings of Hartford, Tenn.

Rohde said Brutus arrived this spring at the humane society in the cab of an 18-wheeler. The truck driver said he’d seen the dog along a road side and picked him up, but didn’t mention what road or how long he’d kept the animal.

The dog wore a collar with a Tennessee rabies tag.

“We called the vet in Knoxville with the tag number,” Rohde said. “After a short search of the records, a nice lady on the other end of the line said, ‘Why, that’s Brutus.’”

Brutus, who also has a bit of Chow heritage, had been missing for three weeks, the woman said.

“We left our phone number,” Rohde said, “and about two hours later, Chris Jennings, the owner, called us in disbelief.”

Within days, the Tennessee man arrived in Fremont to pick up his pet. Jennings told Rohde he lived near an interstate truck stop that Brutus liked to visit “because everyone fed him.”

“However, on his last food run,” Rohde reported, “Brutus never came back.”

Having been together more than seven years and through “some hard times,” Jennings had no qualms about driving more than 2,000 miles to retrieve his canine companion, Rohde said.

“Their reunion showed us they were best of buddies,” the director said. “While Chris had almost given up hope of ever finding Brutus again, Brutus obviously had never forgotten his owner.”

The dog’s rabies tags were key to the happy reunion, Rohde said.

He advised all pet owners to tag their pets, “just in case.”

Now, you don't suppose his owner will stop allowing him to visit the truck stop where "everyone feeds him?"

Source: http://www.rottweiler.net/forums/rottweiler-news-forum/59759-tennessee-man-reunites-lost-dog-fremont.html