OWL Volunteer Fire Deparment reuniting families

For Occoquan-Woodbridge-Lorton Volunteer Fire Department, saving lives is just in a day’s work.  Sometimes those lives aren’t even human.  

While the engine crew from station 14 was retrieving dinner, they spotted a beautiful husky who was without his family.  “We saw him walking around the parking lot and we just walked up to him and he came right to us. He was very well behaved and friendly, so we knew he had a family,” said Firefighter Chris Weber.  Although wearing a collar and tag, the veterinarian listed was out of business. “We took him to Old Bridge Animal Hospital but he did not have a chip.” 

Animal control had been contacted, but Firefighter Weber put out a post to other department members in the hopes that the owner might be found.  Another member recognized the dog, whose family had posted his disappearance on Facebook.  Within the hour, dog and owners had been reunited.  “Kai” who is four years old had run off through an open gate in the back yard.

He had been gone for two hours and the family was thrilled to find him so quickly.  “Sometimes your best chance of finding help for a missing pet can be in your pocket on your smartphone,” said Valencia Lee, Kai’s owner.  To the OWL firefighters, Lee expressed gratitude. “Thank you for finding him and bringing him home! I don’t know what we would’ve done if no one had found him!”

Remember to chip and have current tags for your dog. If you find a lost pet, call Animal Control services at the Police non-emergency number at 703-792-6500.