Kate Olson was looking forward to a Thanksgiving visiting relatives in Missouri and took her faithful friend along, her dog Walter.
The dog mom from New Hampshire was in Arnold when she took her golden retriever mix out for a walk in the woods.
Sadly her anxious dog slipped out of his collar and ran off.
Kate was beside herself and delayed her return to New Hampshire for almost a month so she could look for him.
“Walter is just a very special dog he has a lot of anxiety and nervousness and so I relate to him and he’s my protector as much as I am his,” she told KSDK.com last year.
Since Walter went missing on November 26 Kate did all she good to find her beloved pooch including posting signs with Walter’s picture on, knocking on doors, hiking through woods and even organized search parties.
Kate said there were a few sightings on Walter but he remained missing. Kate even reached out to animal rescue groups and created a “Where’s Walter?” Facebook page.
“I just want to know if he’s okay. I want him to know that I’m not giving up on him, I’ll never give up on him,” she said, after Walter had been missing for 40 days.
She had to eventually return to New England but never gave up and was even told about a number of sightings of Walter. She returned again in January of this year but still couldn’t find her beloved hound.
“I just want to know if he’s okay. I want him to know that I’m not giving up on him. I’ll never give up on him,” she told Today in St. Louis’ Allie Corey at the time.
But nearly a year after Walter ran off he was found on Friday 13th, in the same area where he had run off almost a year before.
Kate received the call she had been waiting for. Lost Paws Trapping, based in Belleville, Illinois, was able to capture Walter and return him to his rightful owner.
The 31-year-old jumped on a plane so she could be reunited with Walter after a year apart.
“He has been such a little love,” Kate said after the happy reunion. “He is the same sweet boy he was before and maybe even sweeter because he has missed getting loved on!”
Kate described volunteers from Lost Paws Trapping as “her heroes” and added Walter had been given two baths and a grooming since returning home and has an appointment with the vet to make sure he is healthy.
Watch the adorable reunion in the clip below.
I cannot imagine the heartache Kate has experienced over the last year wondering where her precious pooch was.
Thank goodness for all the people around her who helped find Walter and reunite him with his loving owner.
Please share this happy news with your friends and family and help put a smile on their faces today.