This video and story is a personal inspiration. Via LiveLeak, Winnebago County Animal Services tells us the story — and shows us video — of what happens when a dog separated when a pup from an owner is finally found and reunited with the original owner after two years:
Roughly 2 years ago, Jose of Columbus, Wisconsin fell on hard times. He was going through a divorce, lost his house, became homeless and had no choice but to live in his vehicle.
Jose had his dog, “Chaos”, since he was as a puppy and according to Jose, “Chaos helped me through so much in my life, I took him everywhere with me!” He is a very large dog with a lot of energy who had earned the name Chaos.
Jose knew that he needed to find a better temporary living situation for his furry best friend. A friend of a friend took Chaos and three months later Jose was back on his feet. Sadly, the friend refused to give the dog back, leaving Jose heartbroken. “I didn’t think I would ever see my dog again,” said Jose.
Just recently, a Winnebago County Services staff member was at home in South Beloit and found a dog in her driveway. An Animal Services Officer came out and brought the dog back to the shelter. The dog was wearing a collar with a 2014 National Identification Number.
A shelter staff member called the phone number that was associated with the ID number. Thankfully, Jose had the same contact information. The staff member informed Jose that his dog is at Winnebago County Animal Services. Jose excitedly said, “Choas?!”
And so, there was this:
This is a personal inspiration. On January 9, I returned home from four days in Texas to discover that the night before my 5 1/2 year old cat Boxer had gotten out. He never came back. He also has an ID. Was he picked up by someone. Eaten by one of the coyotes or other animals that are here in Rancho Penasquitos, outside of San Diego, CA? A few times each week I go online and check shelters. Once I drove out to one. There are stories (including from a neighbor) of people who got their cats back after a year. Still, I’ve resigned myself and still do have Clawdette, 21.
But a video such as this has special meaning to me, and to many others who’ve lost four-legged friends or had to have been separated from them due to various reasons.
Joe Gandelman is a former fulltime journalist who freelanced in India, Spain, Bangladesh and Cypress writing for publications such as the Christian Science Monitor and Newsweek. He also did radio reports from Madrid for NPR’s All Things Considered. He has worked on two U.S. newspapers and quit the news biz in 1990 to go into entertainment. He also has written for The Week and several online publications, did a column for Cagle Cartoons Syndicate and has appeared on CNN.