An outlandish story that just went viral has finally come to a joyful conclusion!
Six years ago, David Guindon, a resident of San Bernardino, California, had a heart attack and stroke, leaving him crippled, confined to a wheelchair, and in need of a service animal. In 2014, he adopted and bonded with Zeus, a Husky who had been expertly trained to aid David with tasks.
A nurse working in David’s home left a door unlocked two years ago, and Zeus wandered away. David had not seen his dog since then and had been searching feverishly, leaving fliers, and even hiring a pet detective to find him. He’d subsequently adopted and started training a new dog named Zero to assist him, but he hadn’t given up hope of ever finding Zeus.
David received a call from Home Again, the firm with whom Zeus’ microchip was registered, a year and a half after Zeus vanished. David was ecstatic to learn that his dog had been found, but it did not mean he would be returning home. Home Again informed that a woman wanted the microchip re-registered in her name, and they needed David’s authorization to do so. David refused, stating that his dog had not been surrendered, but had been misplaced and that he wanted him back.
The original ABC7 story can be found here:
Despite the fact that the microchip contained his details and the firm refused to re-register it, a woman had found Zeus and refused to return him to David. She claimed that the Husky had formed a strong attachment with her autistic child, and she would never abandon him. Home Again was unable to provide David with the woman’s contact information in order for him to contact her. David contacted local animal control for assistance, hoping to see his dog again, but they didn’t have any information on either Zeus or the woman because Zeus had never been in their care.
When they went to the woman’s house, she told them Zeus had run away, so David contacted his local law enforcement and filed a police report.
David spoke with San Bernardino’s KABC News, and his tale rapidly went viral as people were furious that someone could be so callous as to refuse to return a crippled man’s beloved service dog. However, the day after the public release of David’s interview, he received another phone, this time from a police officer informing him that the woman who had Zeus had changed her mind and surrendered him to local animal control.
The two were finally reunited today! Zeus and David can return home and meet Zeus’s new brother, Zero.
Zeus and David appear to be overjoyed to see each other again! It’s the happiest conclusion to this tragic tale.