Leigh’s Lost and Found: Success story! How a missing Shih Tzu was found after 10 days

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. (KY3) - {ANCHOR} In today’s Leigh’s Lost and Found, an amazing story of survival for a lost Shih Tzu.

The little guy got lost in rural woods in Harrison, Arkansas and because of his age, and background, there was little hope he’d be found alive. But happily, Dexter beat the odds.

“Basically he spent his whole life just making puppies for breeders, he’s nine and half years old so I’m pretty sure he hasn’t seen the outside of a crate during that time.”

4 the love of k9′s volunteer Cassie Womack says breeder releases like Dexter need a lot of TLC and patience to get them ready for adoption. After fostering him for two months, he was ready and she found Dexter a forever home.

Cassie says, “I took him down to Harrison, Arkansas and approved the adoption. They seemed like a solid adoption.”

But forever only lasted two days, after they let Dexter off his leash and he bolted.

“They live basically in woods and this was a Saturday evening and they didn’t let me know until Sunday morning so I was distraught. I’d only had him two months but I was very connected to him. He bonded with me immediately.”

Cassie posted pleas all over social media but didn’t hear anything. As the days went by, she started losing hope

“It’s not like he can fend for himself very well in the woods.”

She clung to the fact that he had a microchip and that chip paid off.

She tells us, “on the tenth day he was missing I got a call from the humane society down there and she said, I think we have Dexter and I just immediately started bawling.

“I walked in there and he came right out wagging and they’re like oh my gosh, it is your foster dog! He was a little bit of a mess. He was covered in burrs from being outside that long and he had a little wound on his neck.”

Now shaved down and cleaned up, Dexter is content to be back by Cassie’s side, and she announced on social media, that’s where he is going to stay. She and her boyfriend are officially adopting him.

“I don’t think I would be able to say I’m doing the best for this dog, to not keep him because he’s very comfortable where he’s at.”

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