A video published by a dog rescue center shows the moment a lost pet dog was reunited with his owners after traveling almost 80 miles from Pennsylvania to New York.
Buddha Dog Rescue and Recovery, based in Blairstown, New Jersey, posted the video and accompanying photos to Facebook on Sunday and described how they had cared for Teddy, a severely injured dog thought to be 4 years old, after he went missing for over seven months. They found him at a farm in New York state.
The footage showed rescuers gently placing Teddy on a blanket. His owners then walk over and embrace him. The Facebook post garnered over a thousand likes and many positive comments on the social media site.
Teddy's story goes back even further than his remarkable reunion with his family, who are based in Washington D.C. and have launched a fundraiser to help pay for his care.
The appeal described how Teddy was adopted by the family in May 2021. They noticed pictures of him on social media, and flew to pick him up from a dog shelter in California that had scheduled him to be put down. He was brought in by previous owners suffering severe injuries from an attack by other dogs.
Both his shoulders were badly bitten in the attack and he needed surgery that entailed a hard recovery process. Afterwards, the Los Angeles shelter placed him on the adoption list but there were no immediate responses.
Salvatore Della Monica, who adopted Teddy, said in the appeal that he was fearful of both dogs and people before they picked him up, shaking with fear in the corner of the shelter and refusing interaction with others.
After the family adopted him and took him back to D.C. Teddy during a family trip to Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania, in June last year. That was the last time they saw him until they were finally reunited thanks to Buddha Dog Rescue and Recovery.
After his journey from Pennsylvania to New York, and his latest bout of medical treatment with the center, vets said that bullet fragments were found in Teddy's leg. Salvatore said he also suffered from various other ailments including Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and lyme disease.
Buddha Dog Rescue and Recovery founder Nicole Asher told Newsweek via email:"I hope that Teddy's story will give hope to all who still have lost dogs out there to NEVER GIVE UP!!! They can and will survive.
"His story is a true testament to the importance of microchipping your pets and keeping the information up to date. Without a microchip this reunion may not have been possible."
After they were reunited with him, Teddy's owners started a fundraiser in the hopes of raising money for his care that has raised over $8,000 and is ongoing.
The latest post on the fundraising page said that Teddy was now at home resting while pain medication helped him manage his recovery from treatment in New Jersey.
