Culture
Queens family reunited with missing dog at pet adoption event
Mocha’s family, which consists of her two parents, a 6-year-old girl, and two boys aged 10 and 11, could not believe that their pet had returned back into their lives
June 9, 2023 5:52am
Updated: June 9, 2023 5:52am
A family from Queens, New York was overjoyed when the impossible seemed to have happened: they were reunited with their lost dog at an adoption event in Manhattan.
The family had lost their pet Mocha in January after it escaped while in the care of a dog sitter when they were on vacation. As the family was getting over the loss of their beloved dog, they stopped by the Animal Care Center of New York (NYCACC) adoption event at Union Square Park on Sunday to look for a new puppy.
"We had enough time, and we decided to take a ride over there and take a look, not expecting to find Mocha. Just take a look to see if we could find a puppy. And as soon as we walked in, she was right there," said one of the family members.
“My wife says ‘Hey, that looks like Mocha.,’” said the dad of the family. “I turn around, I take a glance and I said, ‘That is Mocha.’ I called her name out and she started jumping, perked her ears up to her name and that was it. That was the end of it. She answered to her name.”
The NYCACC said in a video uploaded to social media that the dog, who they renamed Sandy, came to their Brooklyn shelter about a month ago after being found tied to a post outside the American Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. She was then brought to the shelter by New York Police Department officers.
"We named her Sandy, and she quickly became a staff and volunteer favorite," Animal Cares Center volunteer Jay Damashek told the NY Daily News.
During her stay at the shelter, volunteers and staff “noted that her temperament was that of a true family dog,” the NYCACC said in the video.
Mocha’s family, which consists of her two parents, a 6-year-old girl, and two boys aged 10 and 11, could not believe that their pet had returned back into their lives.
"After verifying the family's proof of ownership and witnessing Sandy's ecstatic reaction upon seeing them, we are so overjoyed to announce that Mocha has finally returned home," the video continues.
