Trucker Reunited With Missing Dog
Alen Nelson, a trucker from Denver, had been incredibly upset over his missing dog, Sato.
This two-year-old Shiba Inu would keep Nelson company on his long drives across the country since Sato was eight-weeks-old.
But on January 2, Sato went missing when he slipped out of his collar when Nelson pulled into a rest stop.
Nelson said that Sato may have been confused by the new truck that they were riding in. Nelson searched among all of the trucks and cars for his friend, but Sato could not be found.
Nelson was afraid of losing his job, so he knew he had to give up searching for Sato and continue on with his delivery to Atlanta.
But animal lovers and volunteers continued to search in the area for Sato while Nelson made his delivery.
Finally, after days of searching for the missing Shiba Inu, volunteers found the dog and lured him with food. They were able to slip a leash over his head and put him into one of the volunteer’s pick up truck.
Nelson was notified that Sato was found, and he headed over to the rest stop to pick up one of the most important packages in his life — his dog.
When the two were reunited, Nelson gave his beloved dog a big hug, and Sato answered back by whimpering for his owner.
One volunteer told Nelson, “This is all we wanted, just to get him back to you.”
Source: The Journal News
(Thanks shibadiva)
January 16th, 2008 at 10:12 am
Aw, look at those airplane ears!
January 16th, 2008 at 10:33 am
Shiba Inu’s have a reputation for being bad little dogs. But they are so worth the trouble!
January 16th, 2008 at 11:45 am
I’m so glad he found his pup. What a nice story.
January 16th, 2008 at 11:55 am
I’m so happy he found his dog!
January 16th, 2008 at 12:04 pm
So cute and I am glad he got his pup back. Must have been heart breaking to have to drive away :(
January 16th, 2008 at 12:46 pm
The dog appears to be smiling too!
January 16th, 2008 at 1:57 pm
They really cannot be an off-leash dog. They are so easily distracted by all the Interesting things out there. To top it off, they have pointed spitz heads which makes it easy to slip a collar by backing out of it. Mine wear Premier collars which are martingales, and they are the only collars I trust.
Amazing that the volunteers were able to catch Sato. Shibas are very good at “keep-away”, even though they are food-motivated.
January 16th, 2008 at 2:09 pm
Thanx 4 the heart warmer !! Anybody who has ever had a wayward pet knows how agonizing it is wondering if they are hurt or in a lab somewhere…Hope this doggie gets a chip & a good harness.
January 16th, 2008 at 2:22 pm
Maybe a harness would be more effective, if Sato would tolerate it.
Glad they’re back together.
January 16th, 2008 at 3:25 pm
Thank God! I use to hear this on the news station every day and I was so worried that some hunter would mistake this dog as a fox or some wild animal out there would get him. I am so happy and Sato looks relieved too! Those volunteers are amazing……..
January 16th, 2008 at 3:27 pm
My Shiba listens pretty good when he is on the leash, but if he slips it off then he goes “deaf” and decides to take himself for a stroll, with me trying to keep up. I also bought him a Martingale collar and have no problems with the collar slipping off. But I will never trust him off leash. I’m so glad that Sato is safe and back with his Dad.
January 16th, 2008 at 6:21 pm
This is really something nice to read for a change. I have read about so many cats and dogs being abused or killed by people. This is wonderful and it lets us know there are so many good people out there. I guess I would have lost my job though I would have never left without him. Denise
January 16th, 2008 at 7:36 pm
A happy ending! I’m so glad Sato is back with his fur-dad!
It was very nice of those folks to round him up.
~The Lioness
January 16th, 2008 at 8:34 pm
Awwww ~ this had me crying with happiness! I love a good ending.
Peace ~ Out
Teresa
January 16th, 2008 at 10:23 pm
Radcliffe, a harness is a great idea for dogs who can slip their collar. They can wear a regular collar with their tags, and put on the harness for walks. We’ve tried it here. Karinoe (the puppy, well, he’s four and a half years old but still the puppy) is fine with it. Kyoto, on the other hand, won’t tolerate it, so the martingale is the recourse.
January 16th, 2008 at 11:04 pm
great story. Nice looking dog.
January 16th, 2008 at 11:54 pm
Harness, microchip ID, and most importantly….a good solid foundation of obedience work.
Glad they were reunited….they got lucky this time. :-)
January 17th, 2008 at 12:44 am
I am thrilled or the man and the dog ! Wonderful reunited picture. Picture says a thousands words. Beautiful bond.
January 17th, 2008 at 1:04 am
I remember hearing about this on the news. I’m glad they are back together. I’d go crazy if I lost either of my two dogs.
Would a gentle leader work on a Shiba Inu (not slip off that is)? I use that with my Australian Shepherd mix when out on walks.
January 17th, 2008 at 7:41 am
You have to make sure that the harness is fitted correctly.
Our greater Swiss Mountain Dog can slip out of any harness given enough time and leverage. He just pulls back, shrinks his upper body by squeezing together his shoulders and POP, out he goes. Once he is fully grown, he won’t be able to do that but as a young,
growing dog he can. We use a double snap and a collar as well as a harness.
Our Pyr/Lab mix cannot slip her harness as she is not as flexible as Loki is.
January 17th, 2008 at 8:55 am
The picture says it all. I love the squints and the airplane ears. My lil mutt requires a harness whenever we leave the house. I’ll bet this little escape artist requires one now. I’m gonna bet furless dad doesn’t let this happen again. Thanks for the heart-warmer. :)
January 17th, 2008 at 10:33 am
Colby, my girl was able to get out of a gentle leader in the wink of an eye.