Nicole Asher of Buddha Dog Rescue & Recovery received a call about a loose dog on January 19, 2022, when a woman spotted it running along I-84 in Middletown, New York.

The skinny, scared Shepherd mix was spotted for more than two weeks in both New Jersey and New York, according to authorities.

It took Asher two weeks to find Teddy’s fresh tracks. On January 21, he followed them to a farm where he found Teddy hiding.

He lured Teddy into a trap with chicken and hot dogs after two days of hiding there, but the anxious pup wouldn’t let Asher approach him.

When Teddy finally recovered, he was taken to the Catskill Animal Hospital for evaluation, where he was scanned for a microchip. The owner hadn’t dumped him; he had been lost.

Teddy’s family lives in Washington D.C., and Asher was able to contact them. She said:

“We were able to locate the owner and she was beside herself. She was crying and screaming. She couldn’t believe it was true … they never thought he would be able to survive, so when the call came in, she was in an absolute state of shock.”

Thanks to Buddha Dog Rescue, Pets Alive, and the New York State Troopers, Teddy’s parents were reunited with their dog seven months after he went missing. Shocked and overjoyed to see Teddy again, his parents wept and thanked the rescuers.

Becky Tegze, Executive Director of Pets Alive, credits Teddy’s eventual reunion with his family to his up-to-date microchip.

“Sometimes we get very lucky that there are microchips, and we are able to find the owner. A lot of the times we’re not … Teddy traveled over 80 miles. If he was not microchipped, we would not have had a reunion like there was, because no one would have known to look [for] a family in Washington, D.C. when you’re in New York.”

His story broke Teddy’s family’s hearts in May of 2021 when he was photographed in a high-kill animal shelter in California.

Teddy’s previous owner surrendered him after he “was brutally attacked by other dogs,” the dog’s new adopters said.

“He had severe bite wounds on both shoulders and had surgery on both, followed by a very difficult recovery.”

There was no interest in Teddy after he was placed on the adoption list because of his fearful behavior.

“He was traumatized by his experience and fearful of his surroundings and people/dogs. He refused to interact with handlers or shelter staff and just sat in the corner shaking in fear.”

As a result, Salvatore Della Monica flew from D.C. to Los Angeles to pick Teddy up. However, Teddy escaped less than a month later in June while the Della Monica family was vacationing in Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania.

It would take Teddy seven brutal months of being alone and outdoors before he would eventually make it to New York.

Over the course of seven months, Teddy endured a lot

You can certainly say this about Teddy: he’s a survivor. As his relieved family wrote:

“Our miracle boy Teddy is around 4 years old (we think) but he’s gone through more than most dogs and even humans gothrough in a lifetime.”

As a result of Teddy’s extended stay on his own, the dog came back with some brutal injuries and conditions, including Lyme disease and bullet wounds, which led to the creation of a GoFundMe page to help cover his medical expenses.

“We don’t know everything he’s gone through but we can tell from his injuries that it was a lot. He was shot and has bullet fragments in his left hind limb. He has severe bilateral hip dysplasia and will most likely need a hip replacement and months of therapy.”

Here is a link to Teddy’s GoFundMe page. Follow Teddy on Instagram to see how he’s doing now that he’s home. Please microchip your pets!