Family Who Lost Dog In Superstorm Sandy Gets Huge Surprise At Adoption Shelter

[Omaha Steve]

This story is 3 weeks old. I just learned about this on a rerun of the Bill Press Show this morning.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/05/05/family-dog-hurricane-sandy_n_5263965.html

The Huffington Post | By Cavan Sieczkowski
Posted: 05/05/2014 8:20 am EDT Updated: 05/05/2014 8:59 am EDT

New Jersey couple Chuck and Elicia James were devastated when they lost their terrier-pit bull mix, Reckless, during Hurricane Sandy. A year and a half after the storm, they decided to adopt another dog. When they went to a local animal shelter to find a new addition for their family, they got the surprise of a lifetime.

The first dog they were introduced to at the Monmouth County SPCA bore a striking resemblance to Reckless.

"Literally when we opened the double doors, the first cage we walk up to I thought 'that looks like Reckless,'" Chuck James told the Asbury Park Press. "He was a little heavier and it’s been a little while, but then my wife saw the scar on his head and immediately we start tearing up and we found our dog."

The dog escaped through a hole in the fence at their Keansburg, N.J., home in October 2012, according to the APP. He had an identification collar on and the family searched for months, but to no avail. Finally, they found him on Thursday, May 1.

FULL story at link.

[Erich Bloodaxe BSN]

1. This is the sort of reason we microchip our pets.

They might lose their collars, but with a microchip and the 'Home and Away' program, they can be scanned at most vets and reunited with us.

Good for them of getting back together with him.

[Major Nikon]

6. Our last 5 dogs have been microchipped

We haven't ever had to use it, but it definitely provides piece of mind.

[HockeyMom]

9. They microchip cats also

We adopted sibling kittens from a cat shelter. All their adoptees are microchipped.

[LWolf]

18. The microchip on my dog

paid off in a big way last January. There was no happy ending, but there was closure.

When I'm ready for another dog, the microchip will be a given.

[alphafemale]

19. You can actually put a GPS locator on their collar now. nt

[TBF]

20. They can get out of collars though, and less scrupulous folks cut them off -

so still do the microchip as a back-up

My labs both have collars with id, but also they are micro-chipped. I like the GPS thing though - as long as their collar is still on & maybe they are just wandering in the neighborhood after getting out somehow. The next step will to embed gps in that micro-chip.

[alphafemale]

21. Are you with Home Again or another company.

I love the customer service people with Home Again.

[TBF]

22. Nope - one of my labs is a rescue

and the other from a breeder (but I'm not the first owner). I don't know who manufactured the chips. The pure-bred is registered through the AKC & the other chip is from the rescue so THEY (the rescue group) will actually be called if she gets lost. ETA - the rescue may well use "home alone" but they never mentioned it.

[brer cat]

2. I love these stories, Omaha Steve.

Our fur babies are family; losing one is devastating. I am so glad Reckless was reunited with his family.

[Chemisse]

3. What a wonderful story.

I can only imagine how happy that dog was to finally see his people again.

[Scarsdale]

11. Wonderful

Look at the "smile" on his face! Happy they finally found him. Lucky another family did not adopt him sooner.

[NaturalHigh]

4. Glad they found their little guy.

This is why our little terrier has a microchip.

[hlthe2b]

5. sniff, sniff, sniff

I so love his face!

Get that sweetie microchipped (and don't forget folks to update your linked addresses, phone numbers associated with the chip)!

[zentrum]

7. They all look alike! n/t

[newfie11]

8. I love the smile on his face

Fantastic ending for this lost puppy.
All my 4 Newfies and 1 Pom are microchipped.

[whathehell]

10. Great story, great smile on the face of Reckless!

Love dogs, love these stories.

[secondwind]

12. LOOK AT THAT BEAUTIFUL SMILE ON RECKLESS! priceless

[etherealtruth]

13. Happy for them all

I would be devastated if I lost my Serenity

[DawgHouse]

14. How wonderful!

Poor pup, was he in the shelter all this time?

This is a good reminder to have your pets micro chipped. You can often find low cost clinics who provide the service.

[shenmue]

15. Oh, boy!

Yay!

[NJCher]

16. ESP, I say

ESP is sometimes subconscious, and the adoption counselor sensed the link between the dog and his humans.

I know how it feels to sense that connection, and I think we all do to some extent. Note how you can tell if people are married, or if you have a brother and a sister that you don't know. Somehow you just know.

The other day I was in a store and I saw this woman toward the back of the store. I recall this because she had an odd hat on. Later I saw a man in another part of the store. Something just told me the two were connected.

When I went to my car, I saw them walking in the parking lot to their car together.


Cher

[LiberalElite]

17. I had a couple of those experiences -

several people were sitting dispersed on a NYC bus - somehow I figured they were together. They got off at the same stop and formed a group.

I also suspected that my dentist and his receptionist were married to each other, although they always acted totally professionally detached. Years later working at a street fair I saw them walking with a young woman and they introduced her to me as their daughter.