In September, a 10-year-old dog named Tiny disappeared from Sophia Burgess’ backyard in Bartow, Florida. Her family searched the area and put up fliers, but it seemed that Tiny had simply vanished into thin air.
Amazingly, the senior dog turned up nearly 70 miles away during the last week of December.
Last Friday, the Clearwater Police Department said:
If only Tiny could talk, she might be able to shed some light on how she made it from Bartow to Clearwater Beach more than three months after going missing. But Tiny is a dog, and, you guessed it, a wee little pupper at that. She weighs just 4 pounds and is 10 years old. And she can’t talk.
Explaining how the wandering pooch was found:
Officer Ryan Kenna found a wayward pooch near Tower 1 on Clearwater Beach. He took it to Pinellas County Animal Control, where after some investigative digging, they learned through a chip that the dog came from Polk County – more than 67 miles away.
The police recounted how Sophia’s daughter had recently dreamed of Tiny’s unlikely return home, writing:
Sophia Burgess and her family put up signs in the neighborhood when Tiny turned up missing and also posted online pleas for her return. After more than three months, it wasn’t looking promising. Then a couple weeks ago, her 15-year-old daughter, Jaliyah, had a dream that Tiny came home.
Sometimes, a dream can turn into reality.
Tiny’s family learned that their dog was still alive on December 30. The authorities explained:
Burgess got the call from animal control late on Dec. 30, just before the facility was going to close for three days for the new year’s weekend. “I had to hold it in all weekend. ” She didn’t tell her two children right away in case there was some type of mix-up and it wasn’t Tiny after all. She knew right away once she saw the pooch that it was indeed Tiny.
Nobody knows how Tiny got so far from home, but they are grateful that she was found and returned. And the officer who found her is happy to have played a part in the miraculous reunion. The police department said:
For Officer Kenna, it was neat to be an integral part of a happy ending for the family. “It’s great knowing that a family was reunited with their four-legged loved one,” he said. “It was the perfect time of year just after Christmas and starting off the new year on a better page for the family.”
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