In a heartwarming tale of adventure, hope, and loyalty, Panfilo, a Maryland dog, recently completed an unexpected adventure on the West Coast.
The saga began when Panfilo ran off while traveling through Santa Fe, New Mexico, with his owner, Roughiatou Sotelo,
Sotelo is a truck driver, and in a profession that feels lonely most of the time, she brings her dog along.
The truck driver stopped by Santa Fe. While she wasn’t looking, Panfilo ran off and disappeared.
Sotelo spent the next hours looking for her dog but to no avail.
In the end, she knew she had to leave the state without Panfilo, and we can only imagine the pain she went through all throughout the drive back to Maryland.
Sotelo, however, didn’t give up hope.
She monitored different local shelters in the area where she and Panfilo got separated to see if her dog would eventually end up in one of them.
Days turned to weeks, but there was still no sign of her beloved dog.
Meanwhile, Panfilo found his way to the Santa Fe Animal Shelter and Humane Society.
The amazing people in the said shelter took great care of Panfilo. In a Facebook post, they shared that the dog received a full medical workup.
He also had a lot of enrichment activities like “pupsicles,” frozen kongs, and nose work.
Nosework or scent training is an enrichment activity where dogs are stimulated physically and mentally by making them find different things.
It is through the Santa Fe Animal Shelter and Humane Society that the story will take a positive turn.
Sotelo had been searching through the internet for 17 days when she came across a post from the shelter. The dog, named by the shelter as Hopper, bore an uncanny resemblance with Panfilo.
Sotelo contacted the shelter to confirm the information. Right there and then, she booked a flight to Santa Fe to finally be reunited with her dog.
The shelter recorded the heartwarming reunion.
The moment Panfilo caught his owner’s scent, he bolted through the kennel to the common area where pets and a tight hug greeted him.
Panfilo couldn’t contain his excitement.
He was literally jumping around and his tail was flailing about. After half a month, he finally found his way home.
The reunion was so emotional that even the staff at the shelter couldn’t hold back their tears. But of course, the happiest in the room are Sotelo and Panfilo.
Everyone involved was relieved and grateful.
“Stories like this make us all smile a little wider and remind us that pets are truly family,” Pamela Weese Powell, Director of Philanthropy, said in the Facebook post. “We’re so grateful to be here as a resource to families and to our community.”
“Oh my gosh! How amazing! Good work everyone – and so much love to sweet Panfilo and his beautiful mama!” said one commenter.
“What a happy reunion! So glad she got her fur baby back, safe and sound!” said another.
Watch this heartwarming reunion after this truck driver’s dog adventured on the West Coast.
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