Family reunited with dog missing for months after random encounter at NYC adoption event
A stray dog at a New York City pet adoption event was looking to find a new forever home, but was instead reunited with her missing family.
The dog, found in East New York and named Sandy by the Animal Care Centers of NYC, was actually named Mocha.
She had been in the care of Brooklyn Animal Care Center for the last month after she was found tied to a post near the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals and brought in by the New York Police Department.
She was one of the animals available for adoption at Union Square June 4 as part of the organization's annual "Paws in the Park" event.
In the video posted by Animal Care Centers of NYC, a family happened to walk through the adoption event and noticed that Sandy looked just like Mocha, the dog who had been lost to them since January.
They showed old pictures of Mocha, who volunteers and staff had previously noted had the temperament of a family dog.
After verifying her identity with the family, Mocha was finally able to return home.
“I was so excited to be there when the family first noticed Mocha," Ellen Curtis, chief programs officer for Animal Care Centers of NYC, told USA TODAY in an email. "It very much a matter of right place right time. There were hundreds of people and pets walking around Union Square and for the family to walk by their long lost dog had to have been fate."
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The video of the family and dog reuniting has since gone viral, with over 113,000 likes on Instagram.
Curtis said that every animal that comes into ACC is microchipped, now including Mocha.
"It goes to show you that if you lost a pet you should never give up hope that you will be reunited someday," Curtis said. "It’s also a good time to remind everyone to microchip their pets."
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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Mocha the dog reunited with missing family at NYC adoption event
