Miracles.
It was about 10:30 when we first smelled smoke from the approaching Tubbs fire that has ravaged Northern California. I ran up and down our roads on the ATV, but saw nothing. At 10:55 I could see the sky turning orange. I woke Ariel and told her to get ready to leave and went to wake Scott on the east end of the property. Stephen had already awoken from the smell of the smoke and the brightening sky.
By 11:10 we could see the first of the flames across the valley. By 11:15 they were growing larger and the winds went mad. We had loaded up the dogs and cats, but Odin, our stubborn and fearless Great Pyrenees would not leave the goats.
Even under the best of circumstances it is nearly impossible to separate Odin from the goats after nightfall when he takes over the close watch from his sister Tessa. I made a decision to leave him, and I doubt I could have made him come with us if I tried. We got out with our lives and what was in our pockets.
Cars behind us on Mark West Springs Road were pouring flames out of the windows as they roared down the road. Later that morning when we had outrun the fires I cried, sure that I had sentenced Odie to death, along with our precious family of bottle-raised goats.
Today, we were able to make it back to the smoldering wasteland of our forest. Every structure is in ruins. Trees are still burning.
Yet, eight goats came running to see us and get cuddles and kisses. Dixon has a burn on his back the size of a nickel. Other than that they are perfectly fine. Odin’s fur is burned and his whiskers melted. He is limping on his right leg. And he has adopted several baby deer who huddle around him for safety and water from their trough, which is miraculously intact and full of relatively clean water.
We dropped off several bails of orchard grass and gave them fresh water. Tomorrow we hope to reunite them all with his sister Tessa. I’m sure Odin believes she is perished. I can’t wait to see their faces when they see each other.
Odin has lived up to his namesake. Pray for him and his charges. He is our inspiration. If he can be so fearless in this maelstrom, surely so can we.

On November 18, we let our pug, Piper, out to go potty, and she didn’t come back when we called her. It had been a long two and a half weeks for my oldest two children, Carter and Natalie, thinking they would never see their puppy again. Piper was a very special gift for Carter’s 12th birthday: he had always wanted a black pug since he spent his baby years with another pug he loved very much (Oliver) who had to go live with another family while his baby brother was sick. We posted and shared and talked to neighbors, news venues, and community groups but as the days passed, our hope waned.
But then, amazingly we got a message this Monday night that a dog that looked like Piper had been picked up and taken to the animal shelter. I was truly shocked. We had all resigned ourselves to the reality that she probably wouldn’t come back. Lo and behold, it was her! Seeing her little tail wag as she came out from the back of the Genesee County Animal Shelter where she had been so well taken can of, I lost it!! Carter and Natalie were out of town for a few days with their dad's family, and so I hoped to make their reunions special. This video is no doubt the embodiment of that! It’s so amazing to see the love, and honestly, the video says more than any words I could write. My son loves his dog so much, was sick while she was gone, and tonight she’s sleeping next to him again. What a Christmas miracle for our family and thank you to everyone who helped bring Piper home.

Just over 6 months ago, Blue went missing. His owner Pat searched and searched but couldn't find him. And then he had to move to Texas for his work. He thought he'd never see Blue again.
Imagine his joy when a friend sent him a video of his dog playing ball at our shelter! He contacted us right away..."That's my dog!" And then imagine this...
HE DROVE 1,200 MILES FROM TEXAS TO GET HIS BOY!!
We don't many happy endings like this one. There were some tears, tons of doggie kisses and lots of smiles. What a great story! We are so happy that the dog we named Bones is back with his dad and ready to catch up on some lovins.
This is why WE NEVER GIVE UP!

The dog was lost for 4 or 5 weeks. I think he was driving far away from home yesterday and he saw his dog on the street, she was skinny so he said her name and BAM! It was Grettel (I think is the name of the dog)

To say that I wasn’t starting to lose hope in ever finding her again would be a lie. Me and my wife would pray daily that god was keeping her safe out there until he brought her home to us. Well today those prayers came true, at around 6 pm this evening we were able to catch Bella over off of willow in the save-A-Lot area in between a little alley way, there’s a few pictures of where she was at in the photos. This would never have been possible without the help of so many people. Thank you so much for never losing hope on our dog Bella. We are forever thankful for your help. At the moment our miracle dog has a full belly of food and is currently sleeping in a warm bed where she belongs. Once again thanks to everyone that either participated in searching for Bella or simply saying a prayer for her. We love all of y’all. What an amazing god we serve!!!

So I got the greatest phone call I've ever gotten yesterday at work around 2:40 pm... An animal shelter from Winnipeg called me and ask my name and if I had a dog named Jack!? So I said I lost him 4 years ago in Ontario. And then they said well we got your info from his microchip and he's here in Winnipeg. So, after the phone call, I ended up going home. Waiting for Kenzi to come home and we left that evening and stayed in Ignace. The next day we finished the drive to Winnipeg, and me, Kenzi, my sister and husband went to the shelter and told them who I was, showed them a picture of me and jack and they brought him out and instantly felt like my life was back to normal. Life without him has never been the same and the feeling of having Jacko back is unexplainable. Never EVER lose hope... I didn't and after 4 years apart in different provinces, we are together again.
Thank you for the work you guys did to find me. Can't express the amount of joy you have given back to me. Jeremy Browne, and Centennial Animal Hospital in Winnipeg, Manitoba.

We responded to a call from a couple who spotted a dog matching her description in an area within 5 miles of where we lost her. After multiple days looking for her without success, we left her bed and our clothing behind with the campground host, in the hopes that she would respond. A week went by and we got a call from the campground host who was able to coax her into a kennel after she had been sleeping every night on the blanket and clothing that was left behind. We were reunited with Murphy, on Sunday afternoon - Father's Day! She is on the road to recovery, very thin and frail but happy to be home with her family.

Was brought to the shelter and scanned for microchip - info was up to date and dad came right away.

We were told that she had been struck by a car and passed away. The dog described matched her description and location. However, after receiving a call last night and seeing some pictures, we found out our Zoe is still alive.This is definitely a miracle!

In 2013, 2-month-old Chihuahua pup, Alex, found his forever home with the Stone family in Naples, Florida. Life was great with his very own two boys and a big dog brother Thunder until his dog bro moved away with Grandma. Alex was distraught and dug out of his fenced yard likely in search of Thunder. Alex’s heartbroken family searched and searched on their own too, but the weeks turned into months, which led to years, and they heard nothing. They never forgot Alex as he remained in their hearts.

Just this past Valentine’s holiday, 6 years later, a Good Samaritan in Sumter County, Florida (225+ miles away) found this little bedraggled dog and brought him to YOUR Humane Society SPCA, Sumter’s oldest and largest no-kill shelter serving their community for 38 years.

The shelter’s team scanned the dog for a microchip, and suddenly this lost pup had a name – Alex – and Alex had a family! The reunion took place on Valentine’s weekend and what a reunion it was! The anxious family was concerned that their then puppy would not remember them now but Alex could not contain his sheer joy of seeing them again. They all stood hugging a giddy pup who regained his identity and his long lost family. The family cried, the shelter staff and volunteers cried, this story-writer cried, all while Alex wriggled in sheer delight. Later, Alex had more good fortune as he was also reunited with his best bud Thunder! There is nothing more touching than finding your long-lost love. YOUR Humane Society SPCA was so pleased to make another wonderful reunion happen!

We thought we lost him only to return home and find him sitting at the front door. I love this dog.

Awesome Reunion Story: Three years later, Roscoe sees his dad.
About three years ago, Roscoe, a.k.a. Runt, wandered off the farm, and didn't come home. Somehow, he made it more than ten miles away. He ended up in a neighborhood where he hung out for a couple of years. Nice people kept him fed, he mostly stayed out of trouble. Eventually he came to the shelter.
After we posted his story on Facebook something wonderful happened: his family found him! After all this time! At first, Runt wasn't sure about it at all. He kept circling around his dad, nose up, sniffing. We were all holding our breath. And then, he knew. Runt knew it was his dad! What an unexpected but so very awesome ending!
If your pet is missing, Never Give Up Hope!

My lab was with us searching every step of the way. This is the two of them once I got them back in the truck. Clearly, they missed each other.

Joshua Edwards lost his Rottweiler, Duke, eight years ago and had given up on finding him. Five days ago he received a call from a pet chip company saying they had a dog named Duke registered to him. Given that eight years had gone by, Josh was very nervous about the reunion. He had no idea how things were going to play out. But the moment that these two long-lost besties saw one another it was nothing but pure love and happiness. This reunion certainly sparked a tear or two.

The man who found him is the angel we all prayed for and I can’t even describe what he did to make this happen. A complete stranger who owed me nothing gave me my entire world back and jumped through hoops to get him off the streets and back to me. I will update more later — at the vet now making sure he’s ok. Thank you to every single person who searched/shared/commented/hung flyers/and dropped everything to help me. I have no words.

This past Saturday, two stray dogs named Corky and Captain were brought to HSNT by a Good Samaritan. Our receiving staff scanned both pups for a microchip and found that Corky had been adopted from HSNT back in 2009. The owners were called and turns out Corky had been missing for 6 years! The owners came in to reclaim Corky, only to find he was pair-bonded with his best friend Captain. Not only did they take home Corky but they adopted Captain, his one-eyed buddy.

10 years ago, Debra Suierveld, the owner of Abby, together with her children were playing with the one-year-old pup in the backyard of their home in Apollo, Pennsylvania. At some point, the dog ran off, and even though the family searched everywhere for her, she was nowhere to be found. After some time searching with no luck, the heartbroken family declared Abby dead.

But this wasn’t the end of this story. 10 years later, Abby showed up on a porch of a house 8 miles away from her owner’s house. She was brought to a shelter, where the dog was identified based on the information in her microchip that the Suiervelds had implanted back when she was a pup.

Debra was taken by surprise when she got a call that her dog was found and called it a miracle.

It’s unknown where the dog was for all these years, but it’s so amazing to know, that Abby back at her loving home.

Annabel went "missing" March 26 this year. She was just in the yard playing with the neighborhood strays but would always come when I whistled. That very week I was planning to use my taxes to fix my back fence and get her microchipped and new tags. When I went to get her back inside she was gone. I walked the neighborhood, put up flyers, posted to every local animal group I could think of, put an ad in the paper, everything to look for her. No dice. All these months my son and I mourned thinking someone either stole her or killed her, neither is uncommon around here.

Then a couple days before Halloween my ex-husband found me on Snapchat. I blocked him but a mutual friend asked me to hear him out. So I did, thinking I was getting tired of holding a grudge and if he was truly apologetic for all the crap he pulled we could maybe be friends. That lasted into the next day until I ask if he'd seen the dog. I'd been told I was crazy for thinking he could have taken her, but she was the only thing we butted heads on "custody" of. March 26 was the day the divorce papers were signed and filed, so legally she was mine, but I had suspicions.

He told me the truth: he took her that day. Meaning he drove 4 hours here, took her out of my front yard, then 4 hours back to his mothers'. He'd had her the whole time.

I convinced him to bring her back. I got her back Halloween night (luckily it was pouring rain so trick-or-treating had been moved to the day before). I had him meet me at a public place, because when he figured out I wasn't going to continue speaking to him he wasn’t too happy... he physically pulled her away from me and I had to hold on to her collar and loudly insist that what he had done (and was trying to do again) was theft.

BUT. I GOT MY GIRL BACK! My son is so happy and she's happy and sweet as ever. She remembers my house, my son, the cat, and all her old tricks. She's a little jealous of the dog I recently adopted, but we're working on it and I've already seen a good amount of progress.

If you've read all of this, thanks. I guess I just wanted to share. It feels like a small miracle. I'd given up. My son couldn't even hear her name without crying. Every time I see her now it's like "surprise! I'm back and I love you!"

In 2011 I purchased a puppy that I named Champ while on deployment during operation enduring freedom and operation new dawn.
In 2013 I separated from the Navy and was finally able to go home and reunite with my pup. Approximately a year later Champ would inevitably escape the house.
I searched everywhere for my dog, had people report his whereabouts for weeks afterward with no luck of me finding my pup. 
7 years later, 07/10/2020, A local farmer found him running around on his ranch, Champ was not as friendly anymore, but the farmer still continued to try to reach out to him. After continuous feeding and care, Champ became friendly with the farmer. Approximately 10 days later, the farmer noticed Champ had a limp in his leg, so as any kind-hearted person would do, he took Champ into the vet to identify what the problem may be.
I received a knock on my door from the local Animal Control unit who gave me extremely shocking news that my pup was ALIVE! I could not believe my ears, the dog that I had missed so much had actually been alive this entire time! I rushed over to the hospital to see my boy! Unfortunately, his elbow is out of place and it will take surgery to repair his arm close to 100%

Ginger ran away several weeks ago, and Sergeant Dahlberg and her daughter were afraid their beloved puppy was lost forever. But after constant searching, they found Ginger on our website – and you can see how happy both she and her family were to be reunited. Unfortunately, she got parvovirus while she was stray. This disease can be lethal, but we were able to find treatment soon enough, and it looks like she’ll make a full recovery now that she’s back in her loving home.

This man saw my posts and was on the lookout - he saw Jack in the parking lot of a nearby grocery store. When he tried to approach, Jack ran across the street and inside the fence of the same big open grassy area that I had been playing with him in yesterday, and he PM'd me. The other man had put me in touch with a guy named Tim, who used to live in Houston, but now lives in NOLA (? I hope I'm getting all this right), and who maintains a large email list of people involved in animal rescue. I followed this man's advice and contacted Tim, who sent out all of Jack's information to his list last night. One of the women on his list had an extra 15 min to kill before she picked up her daughter from school so she drove to the Baylor area where Jack had been lost and called me on my cell to tell me she had him in sight. I RAN straight to where she was, as fast as I could (even hopped in the back of a truck for a block of the distance when a good semaritan saw me sprinting and offered). The first man saw me then, and asked if we'd seen a dog, and I was like "it's my dog! I'm looking for my dog!" and that's we made the connection. I could have hugged him right then. We quickly found the woman with eyes on the dog and Jack seemed pretty freaked out, but came right over to me. OMG. There just aren't words. I thanked them both and rushed Jack home, called his vet who said he could see him with just enough time to spare that I could give Jack some (vet approved) cool water and a chance to chill out a bit, and me enough time to post that he was found. Here's the pic I took (still sweaty from the run) right after calling the vet. I think there's a rule that Jack and I both look terrible in all selfies I take, but I don't even care. I'm just so unbelievably happy. The vet says he's totally fine, just some scrapes and bruises. He gave me some pain meds for Jack, and I had Jack chipped and filled out the paperwork for his chip while we were there. I feel like I owe the world a whole load of karma right now.

Honey came into ACS as a stray last week. When he was picked up, we found a microchip which was registered to someone who had adopted Honey many years ago. We called the owner and let them know Honey would be at the shelter. While he was getting his initial shots upon entering our shelter, our staff got a call that his owner had already made it to ACS to reclaim in our front office.
One of our Intake Coordinators walked Honey up to the front to see if the pup would recognize the person reclaiming. The woman burst into tears as soon as she saw him, fell to her knees, and held him in her arms. She began to ask him if he remembered who she was.
Seeing her reaction, our staff member curiously asked how long Honey had been missing, to which Honey's mom replied "Almost 7 years!" 
This emotional reunion was the result of Honey being microchipped many years ago when he was adopted at our shelter! Each pet leaves with a lifetime, registered microchip upon adoption. Because of this, Honey and his mom are now finally able to live their happily ever after! 

It was scary because I thought I’d never see her again but we found her and she’s happy, safe and sleeping in her favorite chair again.

Well something amazing happened here at Terrington yesterday
This beautiful little girl came into the practice and after a scan of her microchip and a check on the database by our receptionist, it was discovered that Bonnie had been missing for 6 1/2 years! Yes, six and a half years!!!
Well, suffice to say they were overcome with shock and emotion and found it hard to believe especially given the fact that she was found over 200 miles from their home!
They were overwhelmed and very emotional and guess what? It’s her 10th birthday on Sunday and she is going home on Saturday in time to celebrate.
They had never given up hope of finding her so please anybody with a missing pet please never ever give up looking!