Dog News

Almost Blind and Deaf Dog, Lost Four Years Ago Is Found

by Katherine

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Negrita (Spanish from black), is a ten-year-old Lhasa Apso from Miami who ran away from home on Dec. 22, 2011. Her owner, Rosemary Maseri, searched for the pet but after a while the woman lost all hope of reuniting with her beloved pet. However, a reunion was made possible four years later, and it was all thanks to a registered microchip.

Photo Credit: Miami Diario
Photo Credit: Miami Diario

The dog was picked by Animal Control on Nov. 8, 2015, and taken to the Miami-Dade shelter where the pet was scanned for a microchip. Thanks to the information registered, animal control sent Maseri a letter letting her know Negrita had been found and the owner had until Nov. 14 to claim her.

Unfortunately, Maseri wasn’t able to get the shelter by the date notified. When she arrived a few days later Negrita had been already adopted by a new family.

The former pet owner was distraught. The dog had been part of Maseri’s family for many years and had been an essential piece in Maseri’s mourning and healing process after her husband passed away on 2006.

The heart broken woman pleased with animal service to contact Negrita’s new owners and ask to return the pet.

“I cried and begged to have my dog returned,” Maseri told Miami Diario. “I asked them to call the new owner. I told them she didn’t love my pet yet. Not as much as I did.”

Upon learning about Negrita’s past, the dog’s new owner agreed to return the pet and on Nov. 17, 2015, the reunion took place.

No one knows where the pet spent the past four years, what it is known is the dog has lost the majority of her vision and hearing ability. However, nothing stopped the dog from recognizing her former owner and showing affection.

“When I saw her, I held her and [the dog] held on to me,” said Maseri. “I wanted her to know who I was, so I lay her down and scratched her belly. I asked her to pose like a ballerina and she stretched out her legs. That’s how I knew she knew who I was.”

Maseri never imagined she would see her beloved pet again, and after the reunion happened she feels like the most fortunate pet owner on the planet.