One Arlington family now considers Friday the 13th a very lucky day after their missing dog Murphy was discovered one month after he escaped while on vacation 1,200 miles away from home.
Brooklyn Richardson says her family was hiking Carlton’s Peak in Superior National Forest on July 13 when Murphy, who they were fostering from Little Dog Rescue North Texas, got startled and took off – leash and all. The family spent three days searching for their shy little dog but were unable to find him.
But thanks to the nonprofit Little Dog Rescue North Texas and the kindness of strangers in Tofte, Minn., Murphy returned home to Arlington last month.
Donations from fellow pet lovers allowed Little Dog Rescue North Texas to pay for mailers with Murphy’s photo and contact information to be distributed to homes in a 20-mile radius of Carlton’s Peak. Weeks went by, but then an 11-year-old girl spotted Murphy on the side of the highway and recognized him and his bright orange harness from the photo on the mailer. Soon, he was at the vet getting a checkup, and the Richardson family was resting easier knowing their dog was safe.
Brooklyn Richardson chronicled the month-long search on social media for about a month, including her trip to Tofte to retrieve Murphy. The small dog lost three pounds and had a few minor injuries from his misadventures but is otherwise in good condition.
“I am up here now and just amazed by the kindness of strangers. We have met the wonderful people who found him. We even stayed with one of them in her house. She literally opened her home up to strangers,” Richardson said upon her reunion with Murphy. “This Tofte community is incredible.”
Arlington resident Donna Darovich is a volunteer with Little Dog Rescue of North Texas and was the person who originally brought the two-year-old neglected dog from Weatherford to the Richardson family in Arlington. Murphy is an example one of the many deserving dogs the nonprofit helps find a second chance, she says.
“It always makes my day when I have any role in saving a little dog from a situation where it has been abused, abandoned or is a last-minute rescue from a euthanasia list at an overcrowded shelter,” Darovich says. “I have fostered many dogs, but even if all I can do is just transport them to their temporary foster home or to their adopter, I can’t stop smiling, knowing I helped get them to a place where they are sheltered, fed and loved, maybe for the first time in their life.”
While Murphy was spotted because of a lost dog flyer, he was micro-chipped and has now been formally adopted by the family, Richardson says.
Arlington Animal Services reminds residents about the importance of micro-chipping their pets and making sure the contact information is kept up to date. People move, addresses and telephone numbers may change, and on rare occasions even a tiny microchip can move. Checking the chip each year to make sure it is detectable, and that the information is correct can make the difference in a joyful celebration reuniting with a pet if it ever gets lost or stolen.
For more on Arlington Animal Services: arlingtontx.gov/city_hall/departments/animal_services. To donate toward Murphy’s vet bills: paypal.me/littledogrescue.
