JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – A Florida animal rescue group looking for a lost dog Thursday wound up finding another dog that had been missing since January.
At the time, Florida Urgent Rescue was out searching for Allie, a dog that slipped her collar and ran away from the veterinarian's office, according to a Facebook post from founder Mike Merrill.
Even though the group had no luck finding Allie, volunteers spotted another dog in the woods nearby and then managed to trap him in a crate, Merrill wrote.
The dog, which was in "pretty rough shape," was taken to the vet for treatment. But while at the vet's office, others recognized the dog as one that had gone missing 10 months ago.
It turns out, the dog's name is Toto. He had been on the run since January when he broke free at First Coast No More Homeless Pets, ran into the road and was struck by a car.
"He ran off, and everyone told his owner he probably died, but she said she never gave up hope," Merrill wrote.
Merrill said Toto's owner has cancer and takes medication that causes seizures. Toto used to alert her before she had an episode so she could go somewhere safe.
"She has had a very rough year," wrote Merrill. "She had to put her older dog down right after Toto went missing, and then she had open heart surgery in August."
But after months of hoping Toto would turn up, his owner was reunited with her canine companion for the first time in almost a year.
Allie's owner called News4Jax Sunday to say she had been found and extended his gratitude for Merrill's devotion to rescuing lost pets.