Magda/Michelle Makes It Home

Magda was found wandering in Southern Florida. The Good Samaritan who found her made posters and went online to try to locate her family, but had no response. She decided to turn Magda over to us. We received this healthy and playful girl happily and fostered her for several weeks.

Shortly before Magda was placed on our page as available for adoption, we got this note from her foster mom, detailing symptoms of what, in retrospect, we might read as signs of homesickness:

"She is very, very sweet. Still timid & submissive but not shaking like a leaf all the time like she did when she first came to us. She knows how to sit - still doesn't respond to her name or come. She likes to go off by herself and just sit - it's kind of weird. We have to keep the bedroom door shut or she will go in there and disappear.

She loves to eat - very food motivated. Has a beautiful sleek black coat and very dainty legs. She lays on the couch with us at night while we watch tv. She has no issues with our dogs.

She would do well with other dogs - especially young ones who want to run and play.

We wonder what happened to her, how she ended up on the street. Some one must have loved her very much."

It was an insightful statement, and it was true: her people did love her very much. In time we learned that Magda, whose real name is Michelle, escaped from her home with another dog one day. Though her companion returned home, Michelle did not. Her family searched for her, but they didn't know to check or advertise on the Internet "lost and found dog" resources like the Yahoo K9 Amber Alert list, and they didn't come across the ads and posters the Good Samaritan put up. Then one day they took their remaining dog to the vet--and in the vet's office, they saw a poster advertising Michelle as a "Found Dog."

When they anxiously got in touch with the Good Samaritan, almost three months after Michelle went missing, they were directed to us, and, after they provided indisputable proof of ownership, Michelle and her family were reunited. Trust us, there was not a dry eye in the house!



Her foster mom says, "Here is Michelle and her owner John as he held her for the first time in almost 3 months. I love the look on her face here....she's saying 'look at me, I've found my Daddy!!'"

Mostly we hear sad stories about families breaking up or children with allergies or wicked landlords who won't permit pets and the tears we see are tears of grief and loss when families must surrender their beloved Frenchies. How rare and wonderful to see tears of joy and to be able to return a girl to her loving family! Michelle is now microchipped, so if she is ever found exploring the sandy roads of her neighborhood again, she won't have to wait quite so long to go home.

Wow, Michelle! What a long, strange trip it's been! marvels
The Frog Princess