Hillsborough Family Reunites With Lost Dog Wesley After 17 Months
By Diana Rocco
HILLSBOROUGH twp., N.J., (CBS) -- A happy April Fool's Day reunion the Cruz family thought would never come.
"We were thinking that he passed, he may have been struck and, you know, we hoped that if he is alive that someone is taking care of him," dog owner Miguel Cruz said.
Wesley, the four-year-old Golden Lab went missing from his Hillsborough Township yard days before Superstorm Sandy. After weeks of searching Miguel Cruz had to break it to his 11-year-old son, who has a mild form of autism, the dog he loved was gone. But Tuesday night at dinner, a call came they will never forget.
"The phone rings and it's the West Windsor PD," Cruz said.
"Now I'm thinking April Fool's. What a cruel joke this is. I said come come on, is this an April Fool's prank? No, no they found him, they found Wesley," he said.
A year and a half later, Wesley was found several towns away wandering through a neighborhood.
Police checked him for a microchip which led them back to his original owners.
"When you're a dog person, the dog is part of the family. It's a family member that's gone. So, you never give up hope," he said.
Wesley, now 25 pounds heavier, has had a day to get used to his old surroundings and is already making himself at home.
Police still aren't sure where Wesley has been all this time, but his owners says they're glad he's home and in good health.
