After two days alone in the freezing cold, Ella, the 9-month-old Bernese Mountain Dog who was abandoned after allegedly running away from a dog walker in the Wepawaug Trails on Tuesday afternoon, has been reunited with her mom.
The dog walker (boarder) was arrested in Fairfield for DUI with three other client’s dogs in her car a short time later. Those dogs were returned unharmed to thier owners.
Initial reports stated that the woman brought 5 dogs to the trail that day and 2 ran away — there has never been any information released about the other dog.
Ella’s owner came to Orange to search for her beloved pup, scouring the woods for endless hours, cold and tired, she refused to give up hope.
This morning around 10 a.m., her prayers were answered. I’ve reached out for a first-hand account, but, as I understand it, a resident found Ella on Riverside Drive — some distance from the wooded area where she was left behind — with her leash tangled around a tree about 20-feet into a brushy area in a neighbor’s backyard (too close for comfort from the Wilbur Cross Parkway).
We can only imagine the joy and relief expressed by both puppy and human when they were reunited. This tense situation is finally over with the collective sigh of relief from a compassionate community and an update from our Orange Police Department.
Thank you everyone for everything you did to help this out-of-town pet owner find her lost pup.