Filtered By: Lifestyle
Lifestyle

Lost dog gets reunited with owner with help of concerned citizen


Lost dog gets reunited with owner with help of concerned citizen

A lost dog in Poblacion, Makati found its way home to his family, thanks to a small act of kindness from a concerned citizen. 

Anja Abrogar was in the middle of a meeting at a restaurant in Makati's hip district of Poblacion earlier this week, when she saw a male dog wandering the streets.

The dog "looked lost," Anja told GMA News Online. "He was very thin, but he had a collar. So, I felt like maybe he had an owner and he just got lost,” she recalled.

Her curiosity piqued, Anja decided to follow the dog around after her meeting, and even called her driver to bring some dog food along when he picks her up.

A fur mom herself, Anja thought "maybe I should try to rescue the dog" because he was near a very busy road. "I was scared that if he crossed the street, he could easily be like hit by cars."

The dog appeared to be nice and sweet, "but he seemed very tired."

"I thought it was a bit dangerous for him because he was hiding under cars to sleep, but when the cars would start to move, he was so tired, he wouldn't notice," Anja said. "I was so scared that he'd get hit."

She tried luring the collared dog with some dog food "but he wasn't so interested," the Ateneo de Manila alum narrated. 

Borrowing a dog bowl and filling it with water, Anja brought it to the canine. While he didn't drink from the bowl, the dog finally approached Anja. "He looked really tired and just wanted to sleep."

When the dog mustered enough energy to start walking again, Anja continued to follow him, with her car, a van right behind them. Then she saw a popular eatery serving fried chicken, and Anja thought that might do the trick.

It did. "I offered it to him, and he was super happy. He was hungry and wanted to eat it."

 

COURTESY: ANJA
COURTESY: ANJA ABROGAR/INSTAGRAM STORIES
 

After containing the dog, Anja called a vet clinic and shelter in nearby Rockwell to ask for a rescuer. “But they didn't have a team that was available at that time. So, I ended up doing it myself,” she shared.

Determined to rescue the lost dog, Anja placed a large piece of chicken inside her vehicle, which immediately attracted the dog. He jumped in.

She went to Biyaya’s clinic to run some tests on the dog, have him vaccinated with anti-rabies, and take anti-fluid tick medicine. She also asked the clinic if they can provide shelter for the dog, but the clinic was over-capacity. 

“They have a thousand dogs in their shelter. So, they couldn't take him. And I called a bunch of other shelters. But apparently, all of them don't have space. There's just plenty of stray dogs. I even offered that maybe I could sponsor the dog and they could take him. But it's a space issue. They couldn't find anyone to take him home,” Anja shared.

With no one to shelter the dog, Anja decided to take him with her to their house, give him a bath, feed him and set up a space for him.

“I found a space for him in my house because the vet said that he had to be isolated. I have a dog at home. And the vet said, just to be safe, you have to keep the dog isolated for seven days away from other dogs. But allow them to go outside to pee and walk. But just don't let them interact yet because it's like a period where you're supposed to watch them to see if there's anything that's wrong. So, I set up a space for him at home,” she said. 

Reuniting with fur parents

The next day, Anja spent some time on Facebook to post about the lost dog. She even put posters around the Poblacion area in hopes of finding his fur family.

A few hours after posting the dog, someone messaged her on Facebook, claiming they are the owners of the pet, fondly calling him Toochie.

 

COURTESY: ANJA ABROGAR
COURTESY: ANJA ABROGAR
 

“I was super excited, of course. But I wanted to ask for proof just to make sure before I release the dog. To make sure it's really the owner. And he sent so many photos of him and his dog,” she said.

According to the owner, they lost Toochie during the New Year. They didn’t notice the dog had left their home in Sampaloc, Manila. Tootchie's human told her of their efforts in finding Toochie such as posting pictures of their missing dog on Facebook.

Upon verifying they are really the owner of Toochie, the family immediately went to Anja’s house to get the dog. 

“The dog was so happy. His tail was wagging. He was jumping all over his owner. The owner was so happy. And the dog was even making little cries. Like, he was so, so happy. Like, tears of joy type that he was reunited with his family,” Anja shared.

Rescue if you can

Looking back at her experience, Anja said she learned to not give up easily when situations like this happen. 
 
“I guess my learning is to just keep trying. Especially if the dog is friendly.  Don't give up so easily. Because all it took was just the chicken,” Anja said.

For Anja, it was just a little act of kindness, and a super small part of her day, but left a big impact in Toochie’s life.

“I feel like just from that little act, a dog and his family are together again. He'll have a great home for the rest of his life, and his family's happy to see him. So, just those little things can make a big difference especially in the lives of animals and dogs who don't really have the means to fend for themselves,” she added.

As a fur mom, Anja also hopes that her short encounter with Toochie will inspire more people to help animals especially when they are in need.

“I'm hoping that it inspires people to take in dogs. Rescue dogs because a lot of our shelters really want to help. But they don't have the capacity. So, like if individuals can. Like if you have any space in your house. Or like you have some time to help rescue dogs. It really comes a long way,” she urged. 

— LA, GMA Integrated News