Top 10 Happy Tails of 2022: Meet Ozzy!
As 2022 comes to a close, we're taking a look back at all of the lives that we’ve saved thanks to your support. Today begins our Top 10 Happy Tails of 2022 — each story is remarkable in their own way and are examples of the heart of our Muddy Paws Pack community. We hope you enjoy reading them as much as we’ve loved all of these special pups.
Today’s Happy Tail is Ozzy!
Ozzy, (we knew him as Noodle) arrived in our care in early October from our shelter partner in Georgia. He was found as a stray, brought into Fulton County Animal Services (FCAS), put on transport to NYC and placed into foster care with us! Ozzy already experienced quite the adventure, but his journey wasn’t over.
Ozzy was completely housebroken, crate trained and happy to be with other resident dogs, kids and his doting foster mom (and chihuahua aficionado), Sueli. It was clear to us that this dog had lived in a loving home prior to finding himself at the shelter. He loved to snuggle, play with toys, and was great on a leash. At events he was a bit barky, but we chalked that up to him being set in his ways. Little did we know, Ozzy was only trying to tell us something!
The weeks came and went, and Ozzy hadn’t been able to find that perfect fit. There were a few families who expressed interest, including the family of his second foster Annelise, and Sueli joked about adding him to her brood. Turns out, there was a cosmic reason that Ozzy hadn’t found a family yet…
Where did ozzy come from?
Toward the end of September, Josh was found unconscious in his home and taken to the hospital, where he stayed until the end of October receiving care. At home were Josh’s two pups, Joey and Ozzy (or so he thought). Somehow when Josh fell ill, Ozzy escaped from the home and got lost. A good-intending neighbor picked him up, and hoping to reunite him with his owner, posted on Facebook. After a bit of time, when his owner wasn’t located, Ozzy was taken to the shelter so he was able to find a new home and eventually made his way to us in NYC.
After Josh got out of the hospital and was back at home with Joey, he searched far and wide for Ozzy. Finally, he found the original lost dog post on Facebook. He contacted the author, who let him know that Ozzy had been turned over to shelter (which incidentally, is where Joey had also been adopted from!). At that point, in mid-November, our staff got the happy call from FCAS that Josh was looking for him!
“While Ozzy was gone, Joey would look everywhere outside for him every time he went outside,” Josh said. “Now they cuddle up together in front of the heater all the time. Ozzy is such a loving sweet dog, who gets a little loud every once in awhile when he gets excited. But I don’t mind.”
A story like this takes so many caring pack members who were determined to get Ozzy back home to his wonderful family. In the words of our shelter partner, “the eagle has landed!”. We are so thrilled we could help make this reunion happen, and know that Ozzy will always remember his big city adventure!
