Ruth Parada de Martinez and her daughters will never forget the day when their loving pup Dante went missing
During one of his walks Dante suddenly got off his leash and ran after the other dogs He disappeared out of sight leaving his family brokenhearted
Dante was a beloved family member and Ruth and her daughters couldnt imagine their life without him The pup meant the world to them
They frantically searched for him but he was nowhere to be found and nobody knew anything about him
Trying To Move on
Source Fairfax County Animal Shelter via PEOPLE
The family adopted him in 2017 when Ruths eldest daughter found out that she had lymphoma
Dante was just a puppy and he brought so much joy to his family He was a constant support to them until July 26th of 2022 the day he went missing
Ruth and her children had a hard time moving on All they could think about was their loving pup who was no longer with them
Deeply saddened the family decided to move to another town in Virginia 20 miles away from their former home
Dante Ends Up In A Shelter
Source Fairfax County Animal Shelter via PEOPLE
In August of 2022 a Good Samaritan noticed a sweet dog in Burke Virginia and she brought him to the Fairfax County Animal Shelter
The pup was a real sweetheart and he stole the hearts of the shelter staff
They wished to find his owners but unfortunately the friendly stray didnt have a collar or a microchip They also searched lost dog reports but nothing came up
The staff named him Soldier
They focused on helping the pup find a great home Since the dog was adorable and friendly the shelter believed that he would soon find a family
Soldier met a couple of families who were interested in him but the pup was reserved He didnt want to interact with them At the time the shelter staff didnt know that Dantes heart was filled with immense love for his family
He shut down during all his meetandgreets there was just a little bit of a sadness about him We kept talking about it in staff meetings Why isnt this beautiful playful boy getting adopted We couldnt figure it out And then of course we realized he was waiting for his family Reasa Currier the director of the shelter told PEOPLE
In October of 2022 Ruth her two daughters and her grandson arrived at Fairfax County Animal Shelter They came to the shelter with the intention of adopting a dog
The family looked at the adoption kennels but they didnt feel connected with any of the dogs Just as they were about to leave the most surprising thing happened
An Emotional Reunion With Dante
Source Fairfax County Animal Shelter
While Ruths daughter Kayla Martinez was looking at the pictures of dogs on a wall in the shelters lobby she noticed a familiar face Her heart jumped with joy when she recognized that it was the sweet face of their Dante
When she told her mom that the pup in the picture was Dante Ruth couldnt believe it She explained to her daughter that the dogs name was Soldier
Kayla started crying She was sure that it was their loving pup Since her daughter insisted Ruth asked the staff to see the dog
The moment the pup saw his family his whole body wiggled with happiness He was over the moon to see them
Ruth and her children cried tears of happiness when they saw their precious Dante in front of them The pup started jumping with joy His family ran to him and wrapped their arms around him
Dante felt immensely happy He never stopped believing that his family would find him
Ruth showed the shelter staff Dantes pictures when he was just a puppy and she thanked them for taking care of their boi
The next day she took Dante home feeling relieved that their nightmare was over The beautiful pup was overjoyed to be back with his family
Dantes story highlights the importance of getting our dogs microchipped If the delightful canine had a microchip he would have been reunited with his family shortly after arriving at the shelter
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