A story that started out as a potential case of animal cruelty, had a happy ending Monday night as a Rensselaer family was reunited with their beloved Great Dane 'Eeyore.'
The one-hundred-plus-pound bundle of energy was found cold, hungry, and tied to a tree last week.
It's taken four days and dozens of phone calls, but Schenectady County SPCA officers have finally been able to identify the rightful owner of the animal.
It turns out the dog the SPCA found with no tags, and had called 'Duke' was really 10-month-old Eeyore, the heart and soul of the Diaz family of Rensselaer.
On Monday night, the SPCA scheduled a happy reunion at the family's home to celebrate the discovery.
"Eeeeeeyore!! Eeeeeeyore!! Eeeeeeyore!!! One young Diaz child screamed as she caught sight of the massive canine.
You could tell by all the screeching and yelling, this was one local family filled with joy, and relief.
Dog owner Wilson Diaz said, "He really had me scared, didn't think we'd get him back."
Within minutes of seeing his family, Eeyore began responding to commands.
"Eeyore, give me the paw, give me the paw," one little girl begged.
And when the Great Dane eagerly handed over his massive paw, she laughed and said, "Good boy! Good boy!"
SPCA officials say smiles and giggles like that make all of their volunteer investigative work and phone calls worthwhile.
David Dean is the Chief Law Enforcement Officer for the Schenectady County SPCA.
He said, "You know, the dog is so distinctive that Mr. Diaz received a bunch of calls on his own too, although we had a lot of calls to go through, we eventually got in touch with one another. We talked to him about the circumstances of how we were able to come in possession of the dog, and we just had to come over and verify that the animal was his, and tonight, a few days later, we're happy to reunite the dog with the family."
And Eeyore's owner was overjoyed to finally get that call.
Wilson Diaz says he lost the huge dog during a walk on campus at Schenectady County Community College. Diaz says he searched for him for about an hour and a half, but he was sick, and cold, and was forced to give up.
Diaz said, "The kids have been real upset about it, I've been upset about it, I feel terrible, you know, having lost hold of him and, you know, not being able to find him and with what happened to him, with someone tying him to the tree. Really, I'm glad he's home, I'm glad he's safe, I'm grateful to the SPCA and everyone who's gotten involved in taking care of him."
Dog owner and mother Renee Diaz said, "It was devastating. The kids were asking questions all day long, (and we were) trying to talk to people and deal with the situation. It was very, very hard."
But now, Eeyore's back, free to get all the overbearing hugs and kisses he's been missing.
"HOLD ON!" One of the young children yelled as she tried in vain to hug the gray, spotted gentle giant.
Wilson laughed as he watched his little girl try to convince Eeyore to give her a hug.
"I don't think that's gonna happen," he said with a smile.
The case is still under investigation as the SPCA tries to find out who left Eeyore tied to the tree, on a short leash, in an icy puddle.
The SPCA talks about one of the odd things that happened as officers originally approached the animal.
"One of the strange occurrences that happened was that when the peace officers approached the animal somebody ran from the woods and ran down the bike path. Now we still can't rectify whether that was connected to the animal or not, but we're still looking into that," Chief Officer Dean said.
The SPCA says anyone who loses a pet is encouraged to call local police or animal advocates right away to help expedite the reunion, and perhaps get some help in finding the animal.
