Christmas miracle: Pit bull lost 3 years and facing death will soon be reunited with owner

It's a Christmas miracle for a long-lost pit bull that was one day away from being euthanized at a Rogersville animal shelter.

Instead of getting a lethal injection, the friendly tan female pit bull was taken in by a Springfield member of Rescue One, a local group that tries to save as many animals as it can from shelters where their time is running out.

Springfield Rescue One member Kelly Fender stepped up to welcome the 7- or 8-year-old pit bull into her home, where the dog she nicknamed "Adele" joined two other pups she rescued earlier.

And now, through a massive stroke of luck and some hardcore social media sleuthing by Rescue One, the pit bull's original owner has been found, and there will be a joyful reunion on Dec. 29 in Arizona where the owner now lives.

"My birthday is tomorrow, so this will be a birthday present and Christmas present all in one," said Richard Glosser, who said he cried upon learning his dog had been found after being lost three years.

"I'm a grown man, but I cried when they called and told me they had her," Glosser said. "I had her five years before she got out and disappeared."

Glosser said he and his wife were living in Potosi, Missouri, but were in the process of moving to Illinois when the family dog he had raised since a puppy slipped out of their house.

"She had been an inside dog all the time, and was one of the family," he said. "But when the time came for us to move and she still hadn't come back, we just couldn't wait anymore."

He eventually moved to Arizona, fearing the worst had happened.

"I just hoped someone took her in," he said.

How the dog ended up in Rogersville remains a mystery.

"She's a very sweet girl," said Fender, who has cared for Adele since Dec. 7 — the day before she was to be put to sleep — and found the dog enjoys Andy's frozen yogurt cones.

"She whines at me when she wants to eat," Fender said. "She loves people and has been around kids and has been to the groomer and she's been just fine."

After her rescue, Adele also visited Seven Hills Veterinary Clinic in Nixa, where the dog was checked for a leg injury and a skin condition. To everyone's surprise, Fender said the veterinarian discovered something else.

"They ran a microchip scanner and that's when they discovered she had a chip implanted in her," Fender said. "They were shocked to find she had a chip."

The tiny device revealed the name of the dog's owner and some geographic information that might help Rescue One track him down.

And also encrypted in the device, the dog's real name: Mayhem.

Fender said Rescue One members took that information and turned to the Internet.

"Annie Cruse did some Internet research, contacted the chip company and got the owner's name and info, but it wasn't current," Fender said. "Through a Facebook search of the name, several accounts were reviewed and contacts made until finally Stephanie Shelton, Rescue One's president, called the right guy!"

Ellen Dowdy, Rescue One's foster home coordinator, said Mayhem was picked up as a stray in Rogersville but appeared to have had some kind of human care in recent months.

"This dog had a person," Dowdy said. "Somebody had to have been feeding her."

The dog's personality certainly didn't fit the name on the chip, she added.

"She didn't look or act like a Mayhem. She looked like a 'May,' which is what we call her."

A friend of Dowdy's who lives in Arizona had been following Mayhem's story on Rescue One's Facebook page.  Dowdy said her friend planned to be in Springfield over Christmas and volunteered to drive Mayhem back to Phoenix, Arizona, and deliver the dog to her long-lost owner.

Glosser sent several photos and accurate descriptions of Mayhem to Rescue One, convincing the group the dog was his and that he'd do anything to get her back.

"I can only imagine what it'll be like," he said Wednesday. "They say dogs don't forget their owners, so I hope she'll be like, 'Hey, Daddy, I found you!' I'm so excited to see her!"

Though she'll be sad to see Mayhem leave, Fender said she is thrilled with the ultimate outcome.

"I'm elated that family will get their dog back," Fender said. "I'm just so happy it has turned out this way."

Information about the nonprofit  Rescue One can be found through its Facebook page and donations can be made, and more information about volunteering or fostering can be found, online at its website, www.rescueonespringfield.com.

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