Video: Gelson Cardoso is reunited with Princess, the family dog who went missing a year and a half ago in Miami, Florida.
NEW HANOVER COUNTY – Gelson Cardoso stepped out of his car in front of the Sheriff’s Animal Services office, holding a pink leash, laughing.
“I’ve seen a lot of crazy things in my life, but this is something – this is something amazing,” Cardoso said.
Cardoso was there to pick up his family’s missing Chihuahua-mix Princess. He had driven up from Cumming, Georgia, the previous night. It was a long trip, but not nearly as long as the one Princess had been on.
The tiny 9-year-old dog had traveled nearly a thousand miles, from where his son and daughter-in-law Danielle Cardoso live near Coral Gables in the Miami area of Florida. The trip had taken a year-and-a-half; Cardoso had no idea how the dog had survived.
“Sept. 17, 2016 – that’s when she went missing. What was she doing? How did she make it? I don’t know, we’ll have to ask her,” Cardoso said.
Stepping inside the Animal Services office, Cardoso was immediately reunited with Princess by Manager Nancy Ryan.
“She definitely seemed to recognize him,” Ryan said. “Princess was very sweet like that, but we didn’t get the nuzzling and the kisses. I think she knows she’s going home.”
Holding Princess, Cardoso agreed.
“Oh yes. I can feel her heart. She knows she’s going home,” Cardoso said.
According to Ryan, Princess was located by a Wilmington resident in the Pine Valley and brought to Animal Services on Monday, March 5. Ryan and her team checked the dog out.
“The dog was healthy, and the first thing we do is check for a chip. Many dogs have them, but a lot of owners don’t actually register them. Danielle (Cardoso) did, and we were able to get in contact with her that day,” Ryan said.
With Princess tucked into his shoulder, Cardoso video called his daughter-in-law Danielle, who immediately started crying. According to Danielle Cardoso, she hadn’t updated her phone number from the original microchip registration, but she still had the same email. When she got a message from the New Hanover County Animal Services, she was in shock to hear Princess was “healthy and safe,” 800 miles away in North Carolina.
“I was stunned. We didn’t believe it,” Danielle Cardoso said. “How is that even possible?”
Danielle Cardoso said Princess had escaped by digging away the soft sandy dirt under the family’s backyard fence. Immediately after Princess’s escape, the family had searched the neighborhood without luck.
Ryan said the Animal Services team had no idea how Princess had managed the journey, but confirmed the dog was no worse for wear.
“I can only say it’s a testimony to how important it is to microchip your dogs – and to register them.
With a new travel crate provided by the Sheriff’s Office, Cardoso said he was ready to head home, adding some kind words for Wilmington on his way out.
“I came to this country 28 years ago from Brazil, and I’ve traveled up and down, Miami to New York, but this is the nicest – the people here are so nice. I just want to thank all of you, again, thank you,” Cardoso said.
Cardoso hopes to have Princess returned to his son and daughter-in-law, and his three grand-daughters Valentina, Veronica and Victoria this weekend.
Send comments and tips to Benjamin Schachtman at [email protected], @pcdben on Twitter, and (910) 538-2001.
