“Wishing for” a Monday Microchip Miracle: Cold Cases – Stella & Dario

In honor of Lost Dogs of America‘s National Lost Dog Awareness Day yesterday, we decided to introduce a new element of Monday Microchip Miracles that we will integrate periodically on our blog.

Today we begin to feature some Cold Cases of missing pets that are microchipped as “Wishing for a Monday Microchip Miracle” tale.

We ask for you to share these stories far and wide, as pets that have been missing for a long time could literally be anywhere! At the same time, amazingly enough, they could be right around the corner too! Even those that are lost for a short time can be taken in and cared for by someone who moves, passes the pet over to another, or ends up in a shelter and not reunited, only to be pulled by a rescue group miles or states away. These heartbroken owners need closure to their missing pet’s story! Help us help them.

And so here are our first Cold Cases … the story of a chocolate lab Stella and a pug Dario.

Stella’s Story starts with a car accident. This is not as unusual as you might think in terms of how a missing pet story begins. It’s a reminder that while you may feel your pet will always be protected, unexpected situations can arise.

FB Page for Stella Thanks to Lost Dogs Wisconsin for helping in sharing Stella’s posts.

“Although there wasn’t much traffic at the time, it is a busy interstate, I-94, and on that day there were many travelers for the holiday. Wednesday it will be 17 months that she has been gone. We filed a report right away with Lost Dogs of Wisconsin and called the microchip company. That day and the rest of the weekend were spent searching, putting up flyers, driving to all the area farms, passing out flyers to all we saw, area police departments, sheriff and DNR officers were emailed her flyer. Lots of posts were put up on Facebook and thousands of shares helped to spread her information. We thought for sure that when Monday came, a vet would call and say that someone had turned her in. When that didn’t happen, a Facebook page was started. www.facebook.com/letsfindstella.

About 450,000 people viewed the page the first month. A few local papers did articles on her and NBC 15 Madison did a story. The only confirmed sighting was immediately after the accident when she was seen running down the interstate, but we didn’t find that out until over a month later. There were other sightings and some we could confirm weren’t her but many couldn’t be confirmed either way. Then we had to get creative. Thanks to the generosity of others, billboards went up, radio ads were played and newspaper ads were placed. Before the spring and fall elections, clerks were contacted and asked to post her flyer, . A local pizza restaurant put quarter page flyers on their pizza delivery boxes over the Memorial Day weekend. At the Great Lakes Pet Expo, a group wore tee shirts with her flyer on them. Last fall, a property owner along the interstate offered to put a sign up. So a large banner was made and it is hanging on a hay wagon parked along the fence.

Stella went missing from a car accident on Thanksgiving morning 2015.

Dario’s Story Website:

Thanks to Lost Dogs Arizona for sharing Dario’s posts.

Here is Dario’s story as told by his mom:

“Tragically, Dario wandered away from home on March 30, 2015. After a week without any leads, we brought in a pet detective with sniffer dogs and tracked his scent to nearby Sahuaro Ranch Park where, after wandering through the orange groves for some time, he made his way to the parking lot for the dog park and softball fields and it seems he was picked up in a vehicle. Because of his microchip, we still have hope that someday, Dario will come home, and our family will be whole once again.

I arrived at Petco one Sunday morning to pick up my 9^th foster pug, a little chunky boy named Tanner. My rescue friends handed him over and he hoovered his way around the store while we made our way to the car where my boyfriend and 3 personal pugs were waiting. I was a great foster mom and had tearfully let go all my previous 8 fosters to fantastic homes! In the car I placed him in my lap while my other pugs were tucked in the backseat. I sat him on my knees so he could look out the window, but he promptly turned himself around, sat up like a person, pooched out his little Buddha belly and cocked his head. I was in love, but remember, I was a good foster and would definitely let him go… right?

We traveled an hour and a half to my Grandfather’s home to celebrate his birthday. Tanner was a fantastic house guest. He climbed ever so gently into the lap of my Grandmother with Alzheimer’s who gushed about how he was exactly like her pug, Maggie, who had died many years before. He rolled over for belly rubs from my Mom who told me to come get him quickly or she was going to take him home with her. He was unbelievably cute and extraordinarily sweet – even for the good natured pug breed.

Over the next few days Tanner made friends with my other pugs; Oreo who generally doesn’t like other dogs but tolerates them, Leo who was “too old” in his opinion to put up with young’uns, and Willo who was the queen bee, quickly fell to his charm. My boyfriend, Mark, and I were drawn in too. Tanner was not just easy to love but downright enchanting , he very quickly became everyone’s best friend. The first time someone said to me, “Oh he’s super cute! And such a gentleman! You’ll have him adopted out in no time!” My heart broke. Then I heard the same message a few more times and my thought each time was, ‘You can’t have him, he’s mine, not yours.’ But the truth was – he wasn’t mine.

So I went to the head of our rescue and asked one of the hardest questions of my life. Why was it so hard? Because I was terrified the answer would be no. But as I stood there, tears in my eyes, heart in my hand begging for this little dog that I had fallen in love with, (truth be told, the first time his eyes met mine) the answer was yes!! As I’m sure you’ve guessed, that question was could I adopt the little Tanner pug?

The first piece of business was to give Tanner a name that fit into the family, after all, even the tortoise was named Hermio. We went through dozens of names and Grecco was a close one since Tanner liked it, though no one else seemed to, but we finally settled on Dario. As he joined our family it became clear that he was our missing little puzzle piece and Dario completed our puzzle.

The next couple of years were amazing. Dario tempered Willo’s aggressive tendencies and brought out the puppy in Leo. He could cuddle with Oreo and was always the number one ambassador for the fosters that came into the house. He went with me out of state to care for my Dad when he had hip surgery and spent many hours in the nursing home of my Grandfather after my Grandmother passed. He was a really good boy that I could only find fault with two of his traits. The first was if given the chance he would eat till he made himself sick and the second was that he liked to wander. If you took him off leash, say at the dog park or when you went to check the mail, he wouldn’t run, he would just meander away following his nose, curious as could be. It was this second trait that ended it all. Ended my little complete family.

The Day Dario Went Missing

It was a very hot March day that Dario went missing. I returned home late from dealing with my office being stolen from and went to feed the pugs. I was telling Mark about everything when I realized he was gone. I checked out back and inside before panic started to set in. In hysteria I ran out front screaming his name but my little puzzle piece that had completed my life, was missing.

I didn’t sleep for three days straight. We posted to every lost pet website I could find. I was posting flyers by 3am that night. I was posting large signs by the next afternoon. Looking back 2 years later, it’s all a blur by now. I remember my friend Rachel coming to search and my friend Marilyn (and mom to former foster Mo) from two states away emailing and calling vets office after vets office. He had a collar and tag – someone had to call right? He had a microchip – surely someone would scan him and call the rescue….. I remember banging on doors, flyers in hand, and person after person, saying, “It’s a pug? I’m sorry, someone probably kept him.” And then many more saying, “ I lost a dog once, looked for months but it never came home.”

Then I said “Good night” to Dario and finally slept a few hours. I woke up thinking about one of my favorite books as a child, Where the Red Fern Grows. Surely, if a dog can track a raccoon, a dog can track another dog right? I got online and started to search for tracking dogs. I found a wonderful pet detective, Deborah, but she was busy the next couple days. So without any leads, I returned to work. A week after Dario went missing the pet detective showed with her sniffer dogs bright and early at my house and out we went. Dario had meandered in his usual snaky pattern out of the yard and down the street…. Then he turned a corner and made his way half a mile down that street. He got into this historical park where he spent a good deal of time exploring the orange grove. I strongly suspect that he was eating the oranges. Then he turned and started to head back to the house and suddenly his scent trail went in a straight line into the parking lot and ended in a parking spot. The sniffer dogs each worked the trail individually over and over again to confirm. It appeared Dario had been picked up in a car.

I put up more flyers and got leads, I banged on doors, and met many a fantastic pug owner who willingly showed me their babies. I handed out flyers. I found that Dario had been seen walking several yards behind a couple as several people had seen him and assumed he was with that couple. I also found that he may have been picked up and put into a green SUV in the very spot where his scent trail ended. 4 months after he had been missing I put up 42 signs at the entrances of the nearby freeway and I hung signs all over where 4^th of July fireworks were released. Eventually, life had to go on.

Two Years and Still Looking

It’s been two years. I still look. I haven’t had a lead in many, many months. I started a missing pugs Facebook group and I am now the lost and found coordinator for the rescue, APARN. I have reunited some families and have given hope to many. I have seen many miracles, encouraged many more people to never give up hope, and cried so very many tears. I do it for him, Dario, that sweet little pug who I still miss so desperately. I worry that he looks dramatically different but more I worry about his health and if he’s happy. He’s very much missed. He’s missed by my niece and nephews and my parents. It was hard for me to visit my grandfather to fear he would ask for him and it was even harder when my grandfather passed. He’s very much missed by my other pugs who will still react by looking around when they hear his name. I worry I will never get my little missing puzzle piece back and we will never be whole again.

I have a few favors to ask. First, if you have seen or think you have seen Dario, please help him get home to us. Second, if you ever find a pet do your utmost to get them home, you never know how long they have been missing. Third, and not least, if you have lost a pet, Never Give up Hope.”

~Dario’s Mom

Dario’s mom continues to say “Goodnight Dario” every night and hopes one day it will be in person with her beloved Dario by her side.

Things to recognize for long lost dogs Stella and Dario.

Some well meaning person may well have taken them in, or even adopted them if their microchips were never scanned or recognized. Much can go wrong with scanning for microchips, even by well intended individuals. In the case of Dario, his microchip is of a variety that might not be recognized by many scanners as he has a Eurochip. Another great reminder to have your microchipped pet scanned to be sure it can be read by your vet or at an event where microchip scanners are on hand!

In the case of Stella and Dario, they are easily recognizable breeds and ones that specific rescues could have stepped in to help. Closure is so important to these families. Reach out and assist them to learn where their beloved pets might be.

If you believe you have a tip for Stella or Dario’s family, please reach out to them or let us know so we can share the info with them. Every night is a night with a broken heart, as the memory of their beloved pets never goes away.

As illustrated in many of our stories, lost pets can turn up years and even owners later! The message to Never Give Up is vital to share, as are preventive measures with tagging and microchipping your own pet and making sure all info is current.

We pray for Stella and Dario’s return one day to take place. Thank you for helping to get the word out for them and future COLD CASES we share. Just think … what if it was yours?

If you know of a COLD CASE you’d like us to consider sharing email us pics and info to generationwags@gmail.com.

We also invite you to join our new initiative Unite 2 Reunite! Learn more about how you can become a part of the community to help reunite more lost pets.

Remember to microchip, register,
and keep your contact info updated!

Even if your pet has gone missing and it’s been some time,
you might one day get that miracle call!

To visit the home page for our
Monday Microchip Miracles blog
click here to read other happy reunion tales!

#LoveTagChip YOUR pet.