Lost Dog, Santi, Home After 3 Weeks: 'It's The Best Christmas Gift'

NORTH FORK< NY — After a desperate search for a lost dog, Santi, who had been missing in Jamesport since just after Thanksgiving — on Sunday, Santi was reunited with his overjoyed family.

According to Carrie Kubo, a call came in from a woman and her daughter who said Santi had been found in Laurel.

"He had been living under their porch for two weeks," Kubo said. 'They called us because of a flyer they had seen."

Kubo said she and her entire family, including her daugher Chloe, Santi's owner, are forever grateful. "We got so much support from everyone, especially Teddy Henn and Patricia Dussault of Long Island Lost Dog Search & Rescue," she said.

She added: "We're all beyond thrilled and grateful," Kubo said. "My daughter said it's the best Christmas present she could have asked for."

After an initial Patch post, there had been sightings of Santi, a mix of Korean Jindo and German Spitz, Kubo said. "People were recognizing him from the black ring on his tail," she said.

He went missing right after Thanksgiving from Kubo home on Main Road in Jamesport, near Tuthill Lane and across from Harbes. Carrie said she and her husband Kelvin were saying good-bye to some friends at the front door.

"The front door was open a bit and Santi dashed out," she said. "We started running and driving, going west, the way he'd gone. We couldn't find anything."

According to Chloe, she and her boyfriend had discussed getting a dog for a long time and eventually found Santi two years ago.

Santi, she said, "had had bad experiences, that the animal rescue saved him from. It felt like he needed us as much as we needed him. We fell in love with him immediately — he is our first thought and care every day."

Kubo added: She added: "He's already back to following my daughter around the house."