On A Cold Winter Day, This Story Will Warm Your Dog-Gone Heart

(Manchester Township Animal Control Officer Margaret Dellapietro, left, poses with June Nicolaus and her dog Annie after being reunited this week. Photo courtesy Manchester Township Police Department)

When June Nicolaus’s dog, Annie, went missing in late 2012, the Whiting woman did everything she could think of to find the black-and-tan terrier mix.

She posted fliers throughout Crestwood Village 6, where she lives, and reached out to authorities for help. She kept an eye out.

“I was broken-hearted,” Nicolaus said in a news release from Capt. Lisa Parker of the Manchester Township Police Department. She had adopted Annie from the animal shelter at Popcorn Park just a few months before she went missing in November 2012. But she never gave up hope of finding Annie.

This week, Nicolaus’s hopes were answered, as the pair were reunited.

Parker said township Animal Control Officer Margaret Dellapietro was called by a Crestwood Village resident about a dog the resident had been feeding since last June. Dellapietro lured the dog into a humane trap using her unfinshed breakfast sandwich. Once she got the dog into the trap, she had her scanned and the microchip identified her as Nicolaus’s long-lost Annie, who had lost her collar and tags and apparently had been living in the wooded areas of Crestwood Village the entire time.

When Annie was reunited with her owner, her fur was matted and dirty, making her almost unrecognizable, Parker said. But, Nicolaus, who initially was in disbelief that Annie had returned, told Parker she immediately recognized her pet’s eyes.

“In the back of my mind, I always held out hope,” Nicolaus said. “Miracles do happen. I was over the moon.”

Dellapietro said reuniting lost animals with their families is one of the most rewarding aspects of her job, which she has been doing for 14 years.

“I love doing what I do, for moments like this,” Dellapietro said.

Pet owners are reminded that having their animals microchipped can help to bring them home safely and expeditiously should they go missing. As in the case of Annie, collars can become lost, making microchips a crucial source of identification, Parker said.

Mike’s Pet Grooming in Whiting donated grooming services to Annie, and Dr. Teal Ranney of Whiting Veterinary Clinic is caring for her health. Annie is enjoying being back home, again living comfortably alongside her owner.