Support Dog Maddie Returns Home

MAPLEWOOD, MO — Maddie, a 12-year-old Coton du Tulear, vanished from her owner's yard at the beginning of October, and Karen Newman was beginning to give up home. Newman said she was watching the dog in the front yard when she briefly stepped inside to answer the phone. When she came back moments later, her dog was nowhere to be found. The loss was even more devastating because as a support dog, Maddie — who is deaf and has cataracts that hamper her eyesight — nonetheless alerts her owners whenever she senses a drop in blood sugar or the onset of seizure. Last week, KMOV reports, Newman got a tip on Maddie's whereabouts in the form of a strange phone call:

The caller asked Newman if she had been missing a white dog. Newman said yes, answered a few more of the caller's questions, and then the caller said "I believe I have your dog."

The caller, who identified herself as Sheila, said she found Maddie in her daughter's apartment.

The woman's daughter had been arrested on an unrelated charge. Newman said she didn't really care about the details, but that she was just glad Maddie is home. Read more from KMOV.

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