They say all dogs go to heaven; at least, that’s where one Homestead, Florida, woman thought her beloved Boston Terrier, Lola, had been for seven years.
In 2008, little Lola did what terriers to best—go crazy—and escaped her home, digging herself to terrible, horrible freedom from the backyard fence. Lola’s owners, Julie Arango and her daughter Celine Papas, searched for their missing pooch for months before ultimately giving up, hoping for the best, and accepting that life must go on.
Seven years is a long time to go without a pet, long enough for you to forget that they were even a part of your life, and long enough for half of a new dog’s lifetime. So when Arango got the call on Sunday that Lola had been found nearly a decade later, you can imagine the disbelief.
Animal advocate and former vet tech, Linda Gall, answered a Craigslist ad from a person who cared for Lola for seven years. Gall took Lola to the vet, had the microchip scanned, and lo and behold, Arango’s information popped up.
Gall called Lola’s original mom and “was adamant,” Arango told CBS Miami. “She goes, ‘No. You’re Julie. And you had a Boston Terrier and her name was Lola.” In shock, Arango recounted the goosebumps she felt after hearing the good news. Now that Arango and Celina have a second chance with their little Beantown baby, Lola. “I’m definitely going to be spending everyday with that puppy,” Celina declared.
Lola may as well have come back from the dead; and having been gone for so long, it must have felt like she did.
Let this be a lesson to everyone: Microchip your dogs, especially crazy, hyperactive terriers.
Photo by Tricia/Flickr (CC BY 2.0)
