Dog Spooked by Fireworks Runs from Home. 16 Days Later, Sighting Changes Everything
Fireworks are always a fun time. There’s nothing like watching colorful fire burst into the air and rain down.
As a kid, I always hoped the last of the embers wouldn’t land on me. But then again, I’m traumatized by sparklers and will never use one ever again.
But this New Year’s Eve, there were fireworks in most communities, including a small suburb of Orlando called Port St. John. They’re fond of parades and big community events.
Unfortunately, one family’s dog, Kypris, wasn’t such a big fan of the fireworks this year.
Maybe they just weren’t the right colors or maybe they were just too darn loud, as usual.
She managed to dig out from under the fence of her yard and ended up romping off on her own for 16 days.
Kypris’s human, Paul Chinaris, told News 6 that she was 5 years old and a border collie.
Chinaris and his family posted across multiple lost pet Facebook groups and put up posters all over town, hoping someone might see her.
“We got a lot of sightings, about a dozen that I went out on,” Chinaris said.
“They weren’t her, but people were looking.” With so many posters and social media posts, combined with the smaller size of the community, hundreds of people were searching for her.
He said that one person even used a drone to help look for her! Oh, the wonders of technology.
But after 16 days of false alarms and unfortunate circumstances, a couple of utility workers for Orlando Utilities Commission — Robbie Southwell and Trey Farris — spotted what looked like a border collie near the power plant.
They were able to recognize her from seeing her picture on social media.
“When we got close enough to confirm it was her, I called my wife and said, ‘Call the guy, and tell him to get here,'” Farris said. When Chinaris finally got the call he’d been waiting for, he was over the moon.
“I zoomed down from work — I’m about 10 minutes away — I came down, and sure enough, it was her,” said Chinaris. “The two guys — Trey and Robert, great guys — they had been corralling her.”
And now, thanks to the hard work of the community, Kypris is home and warm, probably very happy the fireworks are over and that she’s getting her normal food.
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