'Just a miracle': B.C. family reunited with Delilah the Chihuahua years after disappearance
A reunion with their long-lost dog was the last thing Mary Kleiner's family expected to receive this holiday season. Then came a text message from a stranger.
"It's just a miracle," Kleiner said Friday after retrieving Delilah the Chihuahua from the B.C. SPCA.
The tiny, frail and elderly dog vanished without a trace from the Vancouver family's yard in the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic. The sudden disappearance was particularly sad, coming just months after their other Chihuahua, Samson, had died on Christmas Day.
Kleiner said they did everything they could think of to find Delilah, from putting up posters to splashing her picture on social media to calling her name day after day in their neighbourhood.
"I know if she heard me yelling, she would come out," Kleiner said.
The family lives near Queen Elizabeth Park, which left them worried Delilah might have had a run-in with a coyote – but they never found her collar, nor any evidence she was harmed.
Kleiner felt certain the dog was still alive, but the family eventually had to give up their search. She and her husband settled on a story that would provide them – and their four children – with some comfort.
With so many people worried and isolated during the initial COVID-19 lockdown, the parents decided Delilah might have been scooped up by someone in dire need of companionship.
"That's what we told the kids," Kleiner said. "We said you know what, we lost her. Maybe she'll come home, but if she doesn't, maybe someone needed her during that time even more than we did."
AN UNEXPECTED TEXT
More than two-and-a-half years later, there was a notification on Kleiner's phone. A stranger had seen the family's social media posts about Delilah from March 2020 and recognized the Chihuahua in pictures shared this week by the SPCA.
Describing Delilah as a "sweet angel," the animal welfare agency said the Chihuahua had been discovered by employees at a Trail Appliances store in Richmond. Delilah was found alone – cold and shivering – in a box.
How she got there, the family may never know. Kleiner urged anyone who recognizes the dog and has information on her whereabouts over the last 33 months, including any veterinarians who might have cared for her, to reach out.
"I don't want to get anyone in trouble, I just want to know where she's been," she said.
Delilah was also suffering a host of health problems. She's now partially blind, her hearing is impaired, her teeth are gone and she's underweight.
While Delilah will need ongoing care, Kleiner said the family was unbelievably grateful to learn that her early vet bills were covered by the SPCA.
"The SPCA is amazing. Donate to them, please," she said.
On Friday evening, the Chihuahua was relaxing in the family's home and getting reacquainted with the couple's four children – plus meeting a fifth who arrived after her disappearance.
"It feels like she's been here the whole time," Kleiner said. "It's crazy."
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
More than 115 cases of eye damage reported in Ontario after solar eclipse
More than 115 people who viewed the solar eclipse in Ontario earlier this month experienced eye damage after the event, according to eye doctors in the province.
Toxic testing standoff: Family leaves house over air quality
A Sherwood Park family says their new house is uninhabitable. The McNaughton's say they were forced to leave the house after living there for only a week because contaminants inside made it difficult to breathe.
Decoy bear used to catch man who illegally killed a grizzly, B.C. conservation officers say
A man has been handed a lengthy hunting ban and fined thousands of dollars for illegally killing a grizzly bear, B.C. conservation officers say.
B.C. seeks ban on public drug use, dialing back decriminalization
The B.C. NDP has asked the federal government to recriminalize public drug use, marking a major shift in the province's approach to addressing the deadly overdose crisis.
OPP responds to apparent video of officer supporting anti-Trudeau government protestors
The Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) says it's investigating an interaction between a uniformed officer and anti-Trudeau government protestors after a video circulated on social media.
An emergency slide falls off a Delta Air Lines plane, forcing pilots to return to JFK in New York
An emergency slide fell off a Delta Air Lines jetliner shortly after takeoff Friday from New York, and pilots who felt a vibration in the plane circled back to land safely at JFK Airport.
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau on navigating post-political life, co-parenting and freedom
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau says there is 'still so much love' between her and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, as they navigate their post-separation relationship co-parenting their three children.
Last letters of pioneering climber who died on Everest reveal dark side of mountaineering
George Mallory is renowned for being one of the first British mountaineers to attempt to scale the dizzying heights of Mount Everest during the 1920s. Nearly a century later, newly digitized letters shed light on Mallory’s hopes and fears about ascending Everest.
Loud boom in Hamilton caused by propane tank, police say
A loud explosion was heard across Hamilton on Friday after a propane tank was accidentally destroyed and detonated at a local scrap metal yard, police say.