Posts tagged "missing dog"

Though many household hounds have incredible noses, the tracking abilities shown by one California shih tzu can be explained only by the existence of a canine sixth sense -- or a homing device.

Five years ago, Myrna Carrillo's beloved shih tzu, Prince, went missing from her parents' home in California. After an unsuccessful search, Carillo believed that she'd never see her pup again. But when Carillo returned home from work last Wednesday, she got the surprise of a lifetime: The long-lost Prince was sitting on her doorstep -- a doorstep he'd never seen before!

Hard to Believe
During the five years the dog was missing, according to KGET-TV 17 in Bakersfield, Calif., Carrillo got married, had kids, and moved four times. Still, the shih tzu somehow tracked her down.

And Carrillo was able to set aside her disbelief. "I was a bit scared, more than anything," Carrillo tells KGET. "Because I didn't know if I was seeing something or what. I'm just hoping nobody's pulling a prank on me."

What might've been a Christmastime bah-humbug for a couple in Southland, New Zealand who had recently taken in a stray puppy has instead turned into a holiday tail with a happy ending.

On Thursday, the news site TVNZ reported that Sue and Grant Hedges were asked by an elderly neighbor to take in a stray dog they'd found. Sue Hedges diligently contacted a number of local resources -- including veterinary offices, the SPCA and the city council -- to help locate the rightful owners.

The city council reacted by sending animal-control officers to the Hedges residence on Tuesday to seize the dog. Sue Hedges, worried that the tiny pup would not fare well in a caged setting amongst larger strays, instead requested that she be able to continue caring for the dog until its owners could be found.

According to TVNZ, that request led to the Hedges being slapped with a citation for "willful obstruction of a dog-control officer," which carries with it a hefty $750 fine.

But after the Southland Times ran a story about the incident -- in which Sue Hedges told the local newspaper, "We thought we were doing a good turn" -- public outcry led to the citation being revoked. Not only that, but the article caught the attention of someone who recognized the dog as the one recently lost by her friend Sarah Cairns.

Cairns and the dog Max -- who is actually a Bichon-Papillon mix -- have since been reunited. Cairns told the Southland Times that Max would be getting a collar for Christmas.

Last year was a rough year -- pet-wise -- for former Baywatch and Melrose Place star David Charvet and fiancé Brooke Burke (winner of Dancing With the Stars, Season 7). The couple lost two of their three dogs to cancer and old age, and then their chocolate Labrador Retriever puppy Jake went missing.

"We searched for him high and low for months, hospitals, local vets, and animal rescues," writes Burke on her blog Modern Mom. "After a long while, we lost hope, and determined that he left home and must have died of a broken heart."

Charvet and Burke were heartbroken too. Their two-year old daughter Rain hadn't stopped talking about Jake since he disappeared. (You can see a picture of the entire family in their adorable "Nothing Compares to Family" ad for Skechers Footwear.) "We were just about to get a new dog, a puppy for the kids," says Burke, when fate stepped in.

On June 15th, nine months after he disappeared, the family received the phone call they'd been dreaming of. "It was a vet 20 miles away. They said they had Jake!" Burke gleefully blogged. "Someone found Jake in our town, had no idea who his owner was (Jake had no collar) and gave him to a neighbor who took him in and cared for him."

Luckily, Charvet -- currently appearing on The Superstars -- had Jake microchipped as a puppy. When Jake's new owner took him to the vet for a checkup, the man relayed the story of the dog's adoption. The vet decided to scan Jake and "Immediately, David's info and phone number showed up and the vet was obligated to contact us," explains Burke.

As overjoyed as they were to have Jake back, Burke describes the experience as "bittersweet." The man who had taken Jake in and cared for him for nine months (he apologized for not thinking to have Jake scanned) was losing a friend.

"Thank God for honest people who are selfless enough to do the right thing," Burke writes. "I hope something wonderful happens to Audy in the Valley, for caring for Jake and letting him go..."

Today, Charvet remains grateful to "Audy in the Valley" for keeping Jake safe and bringing him back home. "Getting Jake back is almost a miracle," Charvet says. "After ten months of being missing, he's back where he belongs. I feel like our family is complete again."

Source