When Kelly Fender agreed to foster a senior tan and white Pit Bull who was a day away from being euthanized at a Rogersville, MO shelter, she thought that the dog she named “Adele” would be with her only a few days. Kelly told BarkPost:
“I usually foster younger dogs since my two personal dogs (foster fails themselves) are both active and around three years old. A gentleman in our rescue is sort of the resident ‘senior dog’ foster…. He had a house full already when Ellen [Dowdy] made the [Facebook] post asking for a foster for [‘Adele’]…. [Rescue One] couldn’t let her be euthanized and I figured I’d take her for a couple of days, we’d do some shifting and [‘Adele’ would] end up with this other foster…and I’d end up with a dog better suited to my household and pack.”
As it turns out, there were other plans for this furry addition about to join Kelly’s household.
“[B]efore [‘Adele’] even got to my house, Ellen had announced she had a microchip and people in our group were hunting down her owner. Once [her owner] was found, and we knew he wanted her, it seemed silly to move dogs around unnecessarily since she wouldn’t be a true ‘foster’ and would be moving out within a few weeks.”
Along with the scanning of “Adele’s” microchip came the reveal of her name from her previous owners — Mayhem, or May for short.
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Ellen shared with BarkPost her experience of having Mayhem scanned for a microchip.
“At first when I heard the chip reader chirp, I didn’t get too excited because a lot of times they detect a chip but then they’re not registered. The vet tech looked at the scanner and said it was registered and I was pretty excited.”
Ellen also stated to BarkPost that Mayhem was previously checked for a microchip but that scanner failed to find it, for whatever reason.
“[Mayhem] was previously scanned for a chip. Sometimes older chip readers don’t pick up new chips. And sometimes new chip readers don’t pick up older chips. It’s scary to think that it was [missed] and that other dogs’ chips may have been missed. [Unfortunately,] that’s the reality.”
If you find a stray animal, it’s extremely important to take them to a veterinarian, shelter or contact a rescue group so that they can scan the animal for a microchip. It is also important to ask if they have a “universal” scanner, as some scanners can only detect microchips made by certain brands. By ensuring an animal is scanned for a microchip, you increase the chances of a reunion with the family from whom they have been separated.
Once it was discovered that May had a microchip, Rescue One took on the role of dog rescuer internet sleuths as contacting her original owners wasn’t as easy as it appeared. Annie Cruse, a volunteer with Rescue One, contacted the company of Mayhem’s microchip and was able to receive the owner’s name and contact information, however, it ended up not being current. This didn’t stop the rescue, though, and through a Facebook search of the owner’s name and multiple Richard Glossers contacted, they finally had success, finding Mayhem’s long lost dad.
The best part of finding Richard Glosser? He was elated to know his dog was safe and sound, and yes, without a doubt he wanted to be reunited with her. Richard told BarkPost,
“I knew instantly [that this dog was Mayhem]. I never lost her in my heart…. [I was] so excited to know she had found her way home and now I feel like I have been given a chance to make it up to her.”
Three years earlier when the Glossers lived on eight acres in Missouri, May wandered off on the property, never to return. Prior to Mayhem being lost, the family had planned to move out of state. Richard’s wide, Andrea, had recently suffered a broken neck and a better job awaited Richard in a different state. Heartbroken, Richard and his family had to leave Missouri without being able to locate May. Recounting that difficult time to BarkPost, Richard said:
“[I]t seemed like everything was just falling apart and wasn’t getting any better.”
Even though May shared a home with Kelly for only a few short weeks prior to being reunited with her family, this gal left some wonderful – and amazingly cute – memories behind.
“May was a joy! She was sweet and calm and funny. She is a great head-tilter! I love dogs who tilt their heads…. Richard’s [birthday] is the day [before] Christmas, and I took pics of her with a birthday hat on to send to him. She was adorable tilting her head this way and that way.”
Ellen echoed Kelly’s sentiment, telling BarkPost:
“When I first met [Mayhem] and petted her, she leaned into my legs…. I love it when dogs are leaners…. In my car as I was driving her to her foster home [with Kelly], she nudged my hand to be petted and laid her head on the center console just watching me[,] waiting for me to pet her again.”
When asked what her favorite moment of May’s journey was, Kelly had no hesitation, telling BarkPost:
“My favorite part by far is the video when May first sees her family. The video the news showed cut out the initial sight and the angle was different. Linda [Williams] sent me video immediately and while it’s out of focus, it’s beautiful. It’s everything you want it to be. It’s a dog with her family again, and everything is right with the world for just that moment as you watch her run to him.”
May and her family, which includes her dad, Richard, her mom, Andrea, and May’s two human siblings, Jason and Alex, were successfully – and joyfully – reunited on December 29, 2015.
Left as a comment on Kelly’s Facebook page after she shared yet another media outlet covering Mayhem’s journey to being reunited with her family, Richard posted:
“Thank you everyone who participated in making this all happen[.] [M]y family is very grateful to have you guys on our side [and] Mayhem is settling in like she never left…. [We’re] already having such a great time [and] we will be sure to update all Mayhem’s new friends she made along the way [with pictures] of all her new adventures that [are] yet to come.”
For those who would like to continue to follow May as she settles back into life at home with her long–lost family, you can ‘like’ her Facebook page.
A rescue group named 4 the Love of K9s was the group who originally pulled May from the Rogersville shelter, reaching out to other rescues, such as Rescue One, to search for a foster home.
If you can, consider donating to Rescue One so they can continue to help dogs find their forever homes. (Or, as in May’s case, reunite dogs with their previous owners.) And if you live in or around Springfield, MO, you can also volunteer or foster.
All of us here at BarkPost wish May and her family the warmest of homecomings.
Sources: The Nest
