The holidays are sometimes a time for Christmas miracles to occur – and no one knows this better than Carter Licata and his dog, Piper.
While the 2-year-old pug loves everyone in the family, she’s particularly close with Carter.
April Licata, Carter’s mom, told The Dodo, “It was love at first sight for the two of them.”
But the family’s holiday season nearly took a tragic turn when the unthinkable happened and Piper vanished.
Last month, Licata let Piper and her other dog outside to go potty. However, when she opened the door again, Piper was nowhere to be seen.
The family searched everywhere – reaching out to neighbors and community groups, as well as posting on social media. While they remained hopeful that they’d see Piper again, as the days turned into weeks, they began to fear that they’d never see their beloved pug again.
“We were all sick,” Licata said. “The older kids wanted nothing to do with decorating the Christmas tree and it was a very somber Thanksgiving for them.”
Then, one day, Licata received a Facebook message from the Genesee County Animal Shelter. A dog who matched Piper’s description had been turned into the shelter by an anonymous person.
“My husband and I were going out to dinner and honestly, there was an outcry of joy in the truck,” Licata said. “We were shocked and elated!”
Carter was out of town when Licata and her husband got the good news about Piper, so they decided to keep it to themselves and surprise him with a wonderful reunion. Meanwhile, Piper spent her days leading up to reunion day wandering around looking for Carter.
Then the big day finally arrived.
When Carter saw Piper in the front seat of their truck, bedazzled in bows, the boy immediately broke down crying.
Piper’s tail went crazy when she spotted him and as soon as he stepped in the truck, she jumped in his arms, licking him hastily.
The video of the reunion is so touching.
The family couldn’t be happier to have Piper back again, and just in the nick of time for Christmas.
I can’t even!Edited story for the curious!On November 18, we let our pug, Piper, out to go potty, and she didn’t come back when we called her. It had been a long two and a half weeks for my oldest two children, Carter and Natalie, thinking they would never see their puppy again. Piper was a very special gift for Carter’s 12th birthday: he had always wanted a black pug since he spent his baby years with another pug he loved very much -Oliver- who had to go live with another family while his baby brother was sick. We posted and shared and talked to neighbors, news venues, and community groups but as the days passed, our hope waned. But then, amazingly we got a message this Monday night that a dog that looked like Piper had been picked up and taken to the animal shelter. I was truly shocked. We had all resigned ourselves to the reality that she prolly wouldn’t come back. Lo and behold, it was her! Seeing her little tail wag as she came out from the back of the GeneseeCounty AnimalShelter where she had been so well taken can of, I lost it!! Carter and Natalie were out of town for a few days with their dads family, and so I hoped to make their reunions special. This video is no doubt the embodiment of that! It’s so amazing to see the love, and honestly the video says more than any words I could write. My son loves his dog so much, was sick while she was gone, and tonite she’s sleeping next to him again. What a Christmas miracle for our family and thank you to everyone who helped bring Piper home ❤️🎄🐶
Posted by April Elizabeth Licata on Thursday, December 5, 2019
Licata wrote on Facebook, “My son loves his dog so much, was sick while she was gone, and tonight she’s sleeping next to him again. What a Christmas miracle for our family.”
A Christmas miracle indeed!
