It’s always devastating when a pet goes missing and you can’t find them anywhere. You’re left heartbroken, wondering where they are and if they’re okay.
It can be even worse when they go missing around the holidays. No one wants to spend Christmas without their pets.
But a year after her dog went missing, one woman got a “holiday miracle” that she never expected.
Last December, Kelly Shade, from Chicago, was devastated when her pit bull Gracie went missing. The dog got loose after a visitor left the door open, and she ran off.
Kelly searched everywhere, to no avail. “We posted signs everywhere; we posted on Lost Dog Illinois, contacted all the shelters in the neighborhood and I just cried for months,” she told WLS.
What Kelly didn’t know was that Gracie was off on her own, just two miles away, living as a stray. The dog was scared and wouldn’t go near humans or other dogs.
But when a woman named Polly Ellison spotted the dog Jackson Park Highlands over the summer, she became determined to help.
“She was in obvious fear of potential harm [and] I just couldn’t turn my back on her,” Polly said.
With the help of a friend, she was able to slowly gain the lost dog’s trust, eventually capturing her.
Luckily, Gracie was microchipped, so it didn’t take long to identify Kelly as the owner.
Almost a year after her dog went missing, Kelly got the stunning news.
“I just started crying all over again,” she told WLS. In late November, Kelly was reunited with Gracie, 11 months after she escaped. The now-6-year-old dog immediately ran up to her, thrilled to see her owner again.
It was a very emotional reunion for both of them. Kelly was also grateful for the kind strangers who went out of their way to make it happen.
“She got close and that tail started wagging, and she just lost it and I lost it,” Kelly said. “In the world we live in and we hear all these bad things too, (to) hear there are kind-hearted people willing to go above and beyond.”
Now, Gracie will be back home, just in time for Christmas. “Definitely a holiday miracle,” Kelly said.
We’re so glad Gracie is home where she belongs after nearly a year on the streets!
It’s a reminder to always get your pets microchipped — it’s what makes miraculous reunions like this possible!
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