This Senior Dog Dodged Animal Control for 5 Hours Before Reuniting with Her Family
San Francisco dog Nieve had an action-packed, drama-filled month that most of us only see in the movies. The lost white terrier evaded animal control for upwards of five hours before an eventual heartfelt reunion with her family.
It all started when Carlos, who lives in Vallejo north of San Francisco, discovered his family's dog was missing. He was worried Nieve had either escaped or been stolen while he was away working in Mission Bay, KPIX reports. He quickly drafted lost dog posts on social media in hopes someone would spot the missing pup.
And Nieve was spotted alright. But she wouldn't be caught easily.
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The local animal control unit received a call on July 7 about a white dog spotted near some train tracks, according to Deb Campbell, a spokeswoman for San Francisco Animal Care & Control who spoke with KPIX. What started as a simple mission soon turned into a lengthy chase. Little Nieve evaded Capt. Amy Corso, Lt. Ellie Sadler, Officer Rebecca Fenson, and Officer Shane Jolley for over five hours in a game of cat and mouse (or rather police and pup).
The chase was especially impressive given Nieve's senior status as an 8-year-old dog. Talk about stamina.
The team eventually cornered her behind a parked car and took her to the city animal shelter. From there, Naive was transferred to Muttville Senior Dog Rescue next door. It was there that Alice Ensor, an adoption counselor at Muttville, thought the lost white dog looked a tad bit familiar.
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Ensor had seen the missing dog posts Carlos had posted just a day before, meaning the timeline checked out for the white dog to be the family's beloved Nieve, according to Patty Santon of Muttville.
"It's amazing someone didn't take her home or she didn't get hit by a car but most people have a good heart and someone must have said 'Let's call the shelter,'" Stanton told KPIX.
On Friday, Nieve's outrageous adventure came to a wholesome end when she was reunited with Carlos and his son. Carlos had tears in his eyes as he held his sweet dog and repeated "thank you, thank you," making for a paws-itively happy ending.
