Family reunited with ‘Dora’

FORT FRANCES—Six-year-old Kassidy Morrison thought she was dreaming when she saw her beloved puppy, “Dora,” for the first time since she had gone missing three months ago.
“It was a dream come true,” said the youngster. “I never thought I’d see her again.”
The Chesapeake Bay retriever disappeared from the family’s backyard on the 500 block of Church Street East here around mid-spring.
The family desperately tried to locate their missing pet by contacting animal control, the local Humane Society, and veterinarian office, as well as placing posters around town.
Three weeks ago, after finally giving up hope of Dora ever returning home, they decided to get a new puppy.
“Kassidy really missed Dora and bugged us about it all the time,” said Shawn Morrison.
Meanwhile, Flora and Bud Danylchuk had discovered a dog hanging around their cabin on Redgut Bay in early July.
The couple eventually started feeding the dog because it was friendly and they realized it didn’t belong to anyone around there, Flora Danylchuk noted.
“She was really friendly and we felt bad for her because she looked a little beat up, probably from the bush,” she said.
The couple eventually coaxed the dog to get into their vehicle and took her to see Dr. Dan Pierroz at the Nor-west Animal Clinic here.
“We wanted to get her looked at because she had a couple of hot spots on her, and we wanted to find her family or a home for her,” Danylchuk said.
Ironically, on July 31, Shawn and Kassidy Morrison headed to the vet’s office with their new puppy, “Meeko,” to get his first shots just as the Danylchuks set out with Dora for her check-up there.
“When they walked in with their dog, I thought it was weird how similar she looked to Dora, but her coat was much lighter than Dora’s when she disappeared,” he said.
“I later heard that they’d found her, which was weird but Redgut is 35 miles from town so I figured it was too far.”
Later that day, Shawn Morrison called the Danylchuks to tell them Dora’s story and arranged a meeting to see if it was their dog.
“When our mystery dog turned out to have owners, I was really pleased because we couldn’t keep her,” Danylchuk explained.
“I still can’t believe we happened to be in the vet [office] on the same day as them,” Morrison said.
“I’m just happy to have her back, but now it’s a little crazy [with two dogs],” Kassidy Morrison said.
“We need a bigger house now,” her dad laughed.
(Fort Frances Times)