NORTH READING — Chief Michael P. Murphy was happy to announce that the North Reading Police Department was able to give a very special gift to a Reading resident the day after Christmas, when they found his beloved dog, which had been missing for a full week.
The report from the police department continues below:
On Dec. 19 sometime after 11 p.m. North Reading Police received a call from a Reading resident, William Leong, who wanted to report that his dog had gone missing. According to the caller, his 3–year–old, 35 lb. female, Japanese Kai Ken, named “Kona” had “slipped her harness” at the conclusion of a walk and was now missing. Kona’s owner told the NRPD that Reading Police had taken a report of a dog fitting Kona’s description, which had possibly been hit by a car in the area of Main Street that evening. Kona’s owner told NRPD that he spent much of the next six hours in the woods, looking for what he believed was his scared and injured dog, with no luck.
Kona’s distraught owner was asked to forward any biographical information for Kona, as well as an up–to–date image of her, so the NRPD could try to assist him by placing the information on their various social media sites, which consequently have successfully reunited missing pets with their owners several times over the past few months. Unfortunately the e-mail was not received until sometime the next day and the information did not get posted.
After seeing Kona’s owner’s e-mail response on Dec. 22, North Reading Police reached out to Leong to check on Kona’s status. Kona’s owner reported that after a long and difficult search in the woods between Reading and North Reading, that he had located what he believed was Kona’s remains. Leong believed that she had been attacked by wild animals after being injured by the car sometime before or after her death. North Reading Police sadly passed on their condolences to Kona’s owner for his loss as well as their regret that they were unable to help him in locating her in safe condition. They later learned that Kona had also been posted by her owner as “Missing” on the Granite State Dog Recovery, Facebook page. That page had since been updated reporting Kona’s suspected untimely demise.
Fast forward to the morning of Dec. 26. North Reading Police Officer Greg Connolly, who was off duty at the time, called into North Reading Police headquarters to report that there was an unknown dog that had somehow gotten into his fenced–in back yard. The dog was described as small, black and not wearing any collar. Officer Connolly reported that the dog could even have been some type of wild animal.
The description of the dog was immediately recognized as consistent with Kona’s description previously provided by her owner. In fact, when Kona’s owner initially reported her missing, he stated that people may even mistake her for a fox or a wolf. Officer Connolly was able to send several images of the animal to NRPD headquarters, to include one of the animal trying to get into his house by the rear door. The images of Kona, originally sent to police by Leong were then compared to the images taken by Officer Connolly and the results were seemingly a match. Officer Connolly was able to safely secure Kona by “lassoing” the dog with a leash until she could be transferred over to the custody of North Reading Animal Control.
A phone call was then placed to Leong, who was visiting family in New York. Upon hearing that his beloved pet may still be alive, he packed his bags and drove back immediately. Kona’s owner said he had given up hope after he had found and buried the remains of an animal that he believed was Kona on Dec. 22. He went on to explain that he and his family had been devastated by the loss of Kona and that his other dog had almost completely stopped eating since Kona had gone missing, out of what he suspected was stress. The police cautioned that although they believed that images taken by Officer Connolly that were sent to him were in fact Kona, they could not be sure until he arrived and was able to confirm it.
During the afternoon of Dec. 26, Leong arrived at Grooming Unlimited, located at 238 Park St. after a five and half hour drive from New York. Kona’s owner was able to confirm that Officer Connolly had in fact found his missing and presumed dead dog, Kona. Kona was successfully reunited with her owner and her canine house companion, Yoshi who is a Shiba Inu. An update was eventually sent to the Granite State Dog Recovery, Facebook page reporting the good news.
Leong asked that North Reading police include the location where he had buried the remains of the animal that he had found and believed to be Kona. He was very concerned that someone else may still be missing and looking for that deceased dog/animal. The location the animal was buried was to the right of the entrance to the Bare Meadow, Mattera Conservation Area, located at 1501 Main St. in Reading which is just south of the Reading/North Reading line on Main Street.
Leong also wanted people to know that when he posted his dog missing on the Internet, there were numerous scam artists who reached out to him and tried to exploit him for profit with schemes to return his missing dog. He wanted others to be aware of it in the event they need to do the same so that they are not taken advantage of during their vulnerable time missing a lost pet.
“Although we were initially unable to assist in getting Kona home, we are grateful that one of our officers was fortunate enough to locate and safely recover Kona, who had been missing for one week from her family, which led to us getting her home. After witnessing the reunion, it was safe to say that it was in fact a Very, Merry Christmas for Kona and her family,” North Reading Police said in a statement. Even after being on her own for a week, Kona was determined to be in good health and maybe just five pounds lighter.
