Little lost dog found at last

[ Originally published on: Wednesday, November 18, 2009 ]

Friday the 13th turned out to be a lucky day for Mindy, a 2-year-old Maltese poodle that was found emaciated and alone near a boat ramp in Northfield, over 600 miles from home and over three months after being lost.

''She was a mess,'' said Stephen Albertson, of Greenfield, who, along with his 12-year-old son, Tye, found Mindy.

''She looked like a matted hair ball,'' Albertson said.

Mindy had been separated from her owners, Kathy and John Dunbar from Akron, Ohio.

Mindy had been lost in early August while the Dunbars were taking a trip along the Mohawk Trail.

Distraught when they realized the dog was missing, they scoured the area and eventually contacted the Dakin Pioneer Valley Humane Society in Leverett and left a description of Mindy, in case she was found.

The prospects for her being recovered safely were pretty slim due to her size, according to Martha King-Devine an adoption counselor at Dakin.

''It's unbelievable that this dog survived,'' King-Devine said. Big dogs can last a very long time in the wilderness; that's what they're built for.''

Mindy was 10 pounds at the time she was lost and had atrophied down to a mere three by the time she was found.

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