After two years missing, a dog named Bear has found his way home to his family at last. His guardian, Brandy Ross, was overjoyed to receive the news.
“I opened the back of the trunk, and his tail was wagging,” Ross told CBC News, describing the moment when she was reunited with Bear in New York. “He’s doing really, really good. He’s very loving. He’s just really adjusting pretty well. I literally felt like I was in a dream, but it was very real.”
The story began more than 1,000 miles away in Colorado Springs, Colo., where the dog’s family was stationed with the military at the time, according to Pet Helpful. Bear, who is mixed with Saint Bernard, disappeared from his home while his family was away. Ross told CBC News that his temporary caregiver said Bear had pushed the door open and wandered off.
His family searched for weeks and spread the word through social media, but they were devastated when they did not receive any leads, Pet Helpful reported.
About two years after Bear went missing, Ross and her family had to move across the country to New York — without Bear or any sense of closure, according to CBC News.
Then, the unimaginable happened. The missing dog was spotted in Colorado, so volunteers organized a rescue mission, People Magazine reported. They left food out for him, set up cameras to track his whereabouts, and created a “messy trap” — an enclosure with a door that automatically closes when an animal enters.
The trap worked and, thanks to his microchip, volunteers were able to confirm that the dog they had trapped was Bear. After connecting with Ross and raising funds from the community for the dog’s safe return, Bear was transported from Colorado to New York and reunited with his family.
Remarkably, even after spending almost two years on his own, Bear returned home in relatively good health.
“He was pretty matted, very dirty, all that different stuff,” volunteer Danielle Neiner, who first spotted Bear, told KRDO. “He’s definitely underweight. But health-wise, he’s had no health problems.”
Lady Freethinker is thrilled to share this happy ending, with thanks to the many volunteers who made the reunion possible. It also serves as a reminder about the importance of microchips for companion animals.
