Happy Ending: Missing Dog Spooked By Fireworks Finds Her Way Home

PECONIC, NY — It was the happiest of endings for Shiva, a dog who went missing on July 4 after she was frightened by the booming sounds of fireworks on the North Fork.

Shiva, Iris Welcome said, arrived back home in Peconic at about 4:30 a.m. Sunday. "I was out until about 1:30 a.m. searching and had a friend who was also looking; we had split up," she said. "He stayed out and I went home, hoping she would orient herself and start to track her steps back."

And, much to her joy, Welcome said, Shiva did just that.

"She's an excellent tracker," she said. "I just prayed that she would deem it safe to come back."

At home, Welcome had left the screen pulled so she would be able to hear Shiva if she came home, she said.

And then, after her hours-long adventure, Shiva made it back.

"She laid down on the mat and whimpered," Welcome said. "At first, I didn't think I'd heard what I did because it was so faint, but then I looked and she was outside the door. Covered in ticks, with blisters and cuts on every paw, hungry and thirsty, still shaking at first — but safe and healthy."

Shiva, a three-and-a-half-year-old rescue from the Dominican Republic, went missing through a hole in the fence after fireworks spooked her. A Basenji and Vizla mix, was seen running the beach as far away as the Beachcomber Resort Motel in Cutchogue, Welcome said.

Welcome searched for hours for her four-legged, faithful companion. "Shiva is like my adopted child," she said. "When I came across her as a street pup in the Dominican Republic, I said, 'I can't save all the dogs here, but I can do this one thing for this one dog.' I told her it wouldn't be perfect, but I'd keep her healthy and safe."

Welcome wanted to express her gratitude to the North Fork community who reached out after learning that Shiva was missing: "A deep 'thank you' to everyone who read the story and reached out," she said. "I heard from people who know us and people who don't. As big a landscape as the North Fork turned out to be, I'm reminded how grateful I am to be part of this small community that has never failed to show me how loving and supportive they can be."

More dogs go missing on July 4 and 5 than any other days of the year, due to fear of fireworks. If your dog is lost, find tips on what to do here.