MISSING PET RECOVERY STORIES

(AND OTHER SUPPORT FOR PEOPLE WITH MISSING PETS)

One of the most important things you can do while your pet is missing is keep your spirits up and your faith going.  Don't give up hope, ever.  There have been many, many pets that were found long after it began to seem impossible that they would be recovered.  Yours could be another one.  This page is a collection of links to stories of recoveries of pets that were missing, sometimes stolen.  I hope it helps give you the hope that your missing pet needs for you to have to keep up the search until you are reunited.

What Type of Stories Do You Want to Read Today?

• Quiet Whisper

• Kaleb, a german shepherd

• Norman, a kitty whose recovery has spawned more missing pet recoveries by Melody!

• AJ, a bloodhound whose recovery changed the life direction of his owner

• Reggie, a west highland terrier - lost in a sewer and found 4 days later by children who heard him barking

• Frosty, a "white tornado"

• Kookie Monster, a yorkie

• Speedy, an irish wolfhound - by way of a very agressive advertising campaign

• Domino, a cat

• a police dog

• a little dog - found in his favorite spot - the clothes drier - after a tornado

• Murphy, a terrier mix and a celebrity - was scared off by an unexpected loud noise

• Roxanne, a shepherd/pekingese mix - after almost 10 months, she was caught with a humane dog trap

• Tess, Phany & Apache, 3 boxers - all found in different ways and different places, from 1-38 days after their disappearance.

• Peppa, a schnauzer - she made her way to the gravesite of her owner's grandmother, though she'd never been taken there. She was found, 5 days after her disappearance, sitting there in a graveside vigil

• Jordan, a female mutt - missing for 3 days after a twister, found by a state worker who notified the National Guard Armory. 

• Honey - the proprieter of a pet shop noticed a woman acting strangely with "her dog" as she came in to purchase a lead; this prompted her check with local veterinarians to see if a dog fitting her description was currently missing

• Bud, a dalmation - coincidentally spotted by his owner's brother and parents, while they were waiting at an intersection, about 40 miles from home.

• Freckles, a jack russell terrier puppy

• Bud, a beagle - found by a neighbor's dog, who was persistent in barking at something she saw

• Tahoe, a golden retriever - found a week after being thrown from an overturned vehicle

• Nellie, a golden retriever - trapped on her owner's property for 48 hours and never made a peep 

• Velvet, a weimaraner - after 2 days, she wandered back to where she was lost from

• Libby, a chocolate lab

• Coco, a chow mix - lost at sea!  He drifted about a boat for 3 days before his rescue

• Stinky Dog - lost at sea, found 4 hours later

• Kita, found 20 miles from home

• Annie, a german shepherd - well, we don't know how this story ended, but it sounds promising!

• Corky - a clairvoyant tell sthe story of the vision she had of where her brother's missing dog turned up

• Candy, a poodle - missing for 4 days after her owner's car had been stolen

• Bailey, a golden retriever - missing for almost 3 days

• Nigel, a husky

• Shondra, a siberian huskey - missing for 2 days

• Little Nipper look-alike - both the owner and the finder thought to notify/check with the local veterinarian

• Ditto

• Sami, a mixed breed - http://www.star-telegram.com/news/doc/1047/1:STATE74/1:STATE74122098.html

LOST PET POSTERS/SIGNS/FLYERS REALLY WORK

• Prescious, a sheltie - her owner spent six days and five nights in a curbside vigil in an attempt to find her

• Molly B, a lhasa apso/schipperke cross puppy - during a stop in a car ride, she'd apparently jumped from the car to retrieve a toy that dropped out. She managed to travel 27 miles in three hours, with the toy in her mouth, and past at least 2 bears.

• Jasmine, a soft-coated wheaten terrier - after 8 days and 6 miles away

• Tiffany, a silky terrier - from a poster in a veterinarian's office, after 11 months

• Reuben, a golden retriever - ran off at the sound of fireworks, spotted 4 days later

• Harley, a siberian huskey - turned up 2 months and 2 miles from her disappearance

• Shasta, a maltese - for 5 days, she circled the area within 1/2 miles from home, and came out of hiding a block away

• Freckles - when signs were posted outside of the immediate neighborhood, Freckles was found

• Emma, an English bulldog puppy * Jaz, a hungarian vizsla * Black Dog - after 5 months

• Chandon, a pomeranian * an aussie/border collie mix (in a vet's office) * a lab & a golden retriever (on a telephone pole)

PROMOTING LOST PETS VIA THE MEDIA (NEWSPAPER & TV) - WORTH A TRY

• Paxon, a golden retriever guide dog  *  Tess, a shih tzu  *  Tyler, a golden retriever

• Mika & Bubba, 2 pugs  *  Brandy, a shih tzu - after 2 weeks *  Astro, a weiner dog - within 4 days  * Toby

• Hoss, a black labrador retriever - 3 months after his disappearance, his owner happened to notice an "Adopt A New Best Friend" advertisement in a local paper, and there was his best friend, staring at him from a photo

THESE PETS WERE LUCKY TO HAVE HUNG ONTO THEIR TAGS!

• Abbott, a beagle - lost in Alabama, found in Texas 9 months later - by the rabies tag  (Mobile, Alabama story here;  Brownsville, Texas story here)

• Jenny, a dachsund - by her license, even accross several states.

• Mitzi - found swimming in the gulf of Mexico

• Peanut - told from the point of view of the finder

• Martha, a golden guide dog - shortly after a move, her ID tag was out of date, but her veterinarian and her guide dog organization ID was current

• From the PMIA bulletin board:  Haly, an australian shepherd - her finder called the vet number on her tag * Candy, a pug - found after 9 days and 7 miles * Fang, a collie - found after 3+ weeks and 10 miles

ALWAYS CHECK LOCAL ANIMAL SERVICE ORGANIZATIONS

"The pound" or its counterpart

• Tina, a borzoi puppy - go to the shelter in person, and look everywhere; descriptions may be better to provide than breed names!

• Miss Piggy, a shar pei - she & her companion, Alf, slipped out when lawn service workers left the gate open after cutting the grass one day.

• Doogie, a bedlington - thanks to an alert shelter worker, suspicious of the "finder's" repeated inquiries

• Bruno, a bull terrier - found at the bottom of a canyon

• Mandy, a beagle

• Coco, a chocolate labrador

• Cody, a newfoundland mix - don't just call the shelter; go there in person!

• Hobo

• Jasper, a border collie/blue heeler and Pato, a huskey - luckily, the owners checked animal control departments outside their immediate area; more from the PMIA bulletin board:  Millionaire, a poodle * a maltese * a keeshond * 2 shepherd mixes

Animal Welfare Organizations (SPCA, humane society, animal welfare league)

• Lucky  

• Mr Bear, a siberian husky

• Sugarbear  

Other Pet Finder Organizations

• By the Lost Pet Rescue Institue:  Marmalade, an orange indoor cat * Kitty, a white calico feline; Bubba, a jack russell terrier; George, an Airedale

• By Luca the bloodhound: Mandy, a brittany spaniel * Jack and Debbie's 2 paint horses  

• By Pet Line:  Grizzle, an Orange Wing Amazon parrot - almost 4 weeks after he escaped his burning home

THESE PETS' OWNERS JUST KEPT LOOKING, LOOKING, LOOKING
Amorak, a husky/shepherd mix  *   Cricket, a beagle

PEOPLE WHO FIND MISSING PETS TELL THEIR STORIES
PetFBI  *  PetWork   *  PetzNJam   *  Help 4 Pets  *  Sherlock Bones  *  Doggone Locate  * Pet-Detective *  Lost Pets International  *  Hugs For Homeless Animals  *  DogInfomat / MN-WI MPN * Missing Pet Network Canada * Find-a Pet (Dallas area)

MISSING PETS THAT NEEDED TO BE LURED OUT OF HIDING
Houston, a Basenji - by the sight of his crate  *   Fluffy, a chihuahua and also  Wylie, a cocker spaniel / lhasa apso cross - with offers of food   *   Toy, a mixed breed - by finally calling her name SOFTLY  *  Duke, a beagle-mix - "She wouldn't come to the neighbor that found him, wouldn't even come to me, but she came to my son."

PERMANENT IDENTIFICATION: MICROCHIPS & TATTOOS

• Mandy, a lab-collie mix - after 3 weeks & 679 miles  *  A shih-tzu - after 2 months  *  Charley, a standard schnauzer - after 16 hours  *  Another Charley  *  Moka, a samoyed  *  Casper, a house cat - from the time of a midsummer move until the following spring  *  a puppy  * Mollie - found before her owner knew she was missing

• Tia, a siberian huskey - recovered after a month using her microchip for identification, when a suspicious neighbor called the microchip registry service (http://www.anitech.com/files/may271998.htm); and also achampion show kerry blue terrier - a year after his disappearance, the owners were contacted via the microchip, and consented to letting the finding family keep the dog

• Wilbur, a black labrador - found after a year on the run

• Major's Mission's collection of stories

• Registry service stories:  AKC Companion Animal Recovery (microchips)  *  National Dog Registry (tattoos)

EVEN STOLEN PETS CAN FIND THEIR WAY HOME

• Bear , a chocolate lab, turned up in a Michigan animal shelter and returned to its owner FOUR YEARS after it was believed to be stolen. (Another article here)

• Ruby, a French Bulldog puppy - 17 months after being stolen from her owners' home, Ruby was found an hour's drive from the home, and identified by her microchip

• Clancy, a west highland white terrier - stolen, and recoved a year later when new owners took him for his initial veterinary checkup and he was routinely scanned for a microchip

• Max, a springer spaniel - stolen by someone who'd inquired about purchasing the not-for-sale dog several days earlier

• Mack, a german shepherd/rottweiler cross - believed stolen from a truck stop, spotted by a trucker who tracked down the address of the trucker he saw the dog with, and went to his house

• Molly, a yellow labrador retriever - this is a very unusual occurrence

• Daisy, a pit bull - thank goodness the owner notified the police

• Lucky, an American Staffordshire terrier - also found by the police

• a golden retriever puppy - a heroic high school boy took some risks to save this puppy from its kidnappers

• Gabby, a boxer - found by Detective Dan

• Nikita, a cross breed puppy - stolen from under her owner's nose, reunited thanks to a lost dog poster

• Shane, a cockapoo, stolen and miraculously made its way home after 14 days

• Bernie & Trouble, a beagle and a black lab

• Teddy, a bulldog puppy - stolen on Friday, and back by Tuesday

• Boxer puppies - stolen from an exhibitor, recovered by police several days later

• Idaho, a horse - read more about Idaho's story HERE

• Draco, a pit bull - had been used for fighting

• Tank, an english bulldog - apparently stolen by an Airborne Express trucker  (see bottom of page)

• 4 yorkshire terriers - found during a police raid, 3 months after being stolen

• 3 beagles - brought back just as secretly as they were first stolen

• a dog stolen from Chicago turned up in Boston

NO STORIES AVAIALABLE...

... but these dogs were reunited with their owners: Casper, a maltese * Charley, a miniature collie * Chelsea, a white terrier * Cinnamon, a golden retriever * Maggie, a golden retriever * Miss Piggy, a chihuahua * Mollie, a miniature dachsund * Reba, a chihuahua * Reyna, a rottweiler * Riley, a german shepherd * Sarah, a whippet * Shasta, a border collie * Sherlock, a west highland terrier * Wolfgang, a pomeranian * Zeke, a border collie mix * a basset hound * a basset hound * 2 bassett hounds * a boxer/lab/pitbull mix * a german shorthair pointer * a golden retriever * a black lab mix * a poodle *a sheltie * a terrier mix * a yorkshire terrier * a stolen collie * a sheltie *  Sammi * a San Francisco JRT * Speckles * Max, a Rottweiler puppy * a dog

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Read a whole book of great stories!

IF YOU'VE FOUND YOUR MISSING PET...

Please share your story with others by either emailing Nancy Despeaux or by adding it directly to the

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If you've JUST found your pet and need help transporting it from far away, try:  
Rolling Rescue  and/or  Pet Rescue Transport