Louie, The Yorkie, Returned To Owner After Two-Year Odyssey

When Louie, a teacup Yorkshire terrier, disappeared on August 30, 2019, from the backyard of a friend who had been dogsitting him in Oakdale, his owner, Tiana Vignola of Southampton, did all the right things.

Ms. Vignola asked the neighbors, hired professional dog finders, reported him missing to Pet Chip Registry, the company that had microchipped him, distributed fliers, and even created a Facebook page, “Help Find Louie,” that attracted hundreds of comments from strangers offering to help.

After the first few weeks turned into months and then a year, Ms. Vignola, the owner of the TianaRose Salon in Southampton, began to fear the worst for her tiny dog, who requires treatment for diabetes.

All that changed Monday afternoon, when she got a text message from Pet Chip Registry informing her that her dog, who is now 8 years old, had been found. The message was soon followed by a phone call from Save a Pet Animal Rescue in Port Jefferson Station.

At the time, Ms. Vignola was visiting her sister in Stony Brook, and two volunteers from Save a Pet, Eddie and Donna — Ms. Vignola did not get their last names — agreed to bring the dog to her. They told her that a woman had spotted Louie sitting in the rain on the side of the road in Port Jefferson earlier that day and picked him up and brought him to the shelter. When his chip was scanned, he was flagged as missing.

A video posted to the “Help Find Louie” Facebook page shows the volunteers meeting Ms. Vignola in her sister’s driveway. Louie appears to be a bit suspicious at first, and Ms. Vignola asks hopefully, “Do you remember me?” A few second later, it’s obvious he does, as Louie begins to lick her face, his tail wagging furiously. That video had been shared more than 2,500 times by noon Tuesday.

“He has his own little fan club,” Ms. Vignola said. “People are so happy he’s been found.”

“Whoever had him took good care of him,” Ms. Vignola added, noting that his fur was clean, he didn’t have fleas, and he showed no sign of abuse. She assumes somebody snatched her dog, believing that most people who find a dog on the street would bring it to a shelter and try to find the owner.

For now, it’s nothing but good feelings. “I want to thank everybody who was involved in the effort to find Louie,” Ms. Vignola said. “I hope this story gives other people who have lost their dog some hope.”

She admitted, though, that she does face one dilemma. About a year after Louie’s disappearance, Ms. Vignola bought a Maltese puppy named Daisy. “They aren’t getting along,” she said, noting that Daisy is a bit on the jealous side. “But we’ll figure it out.”