A Missouri man got the surprise of a lifetime when he discovered his own dog that had been missing for nearly a year on a pet adoption website.
Athena was still on postoperative medicine as she recovered from being hit by a car and having to have her leg amputated when she disappeared from her owner's home in Bourbon, KTVI Fox 2 reported.
His owner, Dylan Summers, told the outlet that he "searched everywhere" for Athena for nearly 10 months.
Summers had eventually lost hope in searching for her –– and decided to start looking at shelters to adopt a new dog.
While scrolling various websites, he stumbled upon Athena's photo on the list of dogs awaiting adoption at the Gateway Pet Guardians website in East St. Louis – just an hour away from his home.
Summers left a voicemail for the adoption center and immediately received a callback, said Alisha Vianello, Gateway Pet Guardians Program Director.
The shelter, who named the dog "Miss-A-Toe," as a play on for her missing leg, rescued her and other dogs from a property. One of the dogs at the property was dead when they arrived, the outlet reported.
“Everyone involved in her rescue had been so puzzled as to how a dog who not only was spayed but was also healthy and had received a life-saving surgery was on the property with other dogs who seemed likely to have never received veterinary care,” Vianello told the outlet.
The shelter helped arrange the reunion between Athena and Summers.
“I was so happy to hear that she was safe and doing well and being reunited with her was incredible,” said Summers. “She is already settled back in at home and it’s like she never left. I am so appreciative of Gateway Pet Guardians for getting her back home to me.”
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