Caring for shy dogs is such a rewarding experience because you get to watch them come out of their shells and learn to trust. Yet, the first few days after adopting a shy dog can be rough as they learn to adjust. If their new families aren’t careful, the dogs might try to run off.
That’s what happened with a tiny dog named Lilibeth. After spending some time in a foster home, she was adopted. However, she went missing after only a day in her new home. After more than a year of searching, Lilibeth was presumed dead, and her adopters moved on. But her story didn’t end there.
Missing Dog Presumed Dead
In 2021, Carly Fife fostered the small white dog named Lilibeth through Friends for Life Animal Rescue in Arizona. Fife was happy that Lilibeth got adopted, but it didn’t take long for everything to go downhill. Only one day after her adoption, the nervous dog got loose and was nowhere to be seen.
“Immediately went to look for her, because I had just bonded with her,” Fife said. “We looked several days that week, put up signs and walked the alleys. And at a certain point I thought she couldn’t be found, she couldn’t survive out there.”
Eventually, Fife began to assume that the dog was dead. Lilibeth’s adopters also moved on and decided to adopt a different dog.
About 15 months after Lilibeth went missing, Humane Animal Rescue and Trapping Team (HARTT) was looking for another lost dog in the area. A few residents said they’d seen a small dog wandering around the neighborhood for about a year, but they’d been unable to catch her. Fife was shocked when she found out it was Lilibeth.
Lilibeth Gets a Second Chance!
When Lilibeth was found, she was severely matted and distressed. Luckily, HARTT was able to capture her and scan her microchip, which led her back to Friends for Life.
“Lilibeth probably survived on cat food and water left out for the cats, so we’re very fortunate she was able to survive 15 months out on her own,” said Barb Savoy with Friends for Life.
Lilibeth’s adopters decided not to take her back because they felt their home wasn’t the right fit for her. So, Fife agreed to foster her again. Lilibeth seemed to recognize her foster home, and she perked up again not long after she arrived.
Lilibeth will go up for adoption in a few weeks after she has had time to recover. No one knows exactly where she’s been all this time. It’s a story only Lilibeth can tell.
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via Whisker Therapy