Dog, stolen 8 years ago, returned to Glendale owner

• The story of the Fatcat%2C an English Bulldog stolen from a backyard in 2006%2C was wrapped around a GoFundMe.com page called %22Operation Welcome Home Fatcat.%22 It included pictures of the dog as a puppy and as an adult after its rescue last week.

Eight years ago, LaShena Harris' puppy was snatched from her backyard in Memphis, Tenn.

She searched desperately for the white English bulldog she'd named Fatcat, filing a police report, putting up posters and searching nearby neighborhoods. She never saw the dog again.

Until last week, when she was reunited with her lost dog more than 1,400 miles away in a Phoenix hotel parking lot after a remarkable series of events.

"I don't want to use hyperbole. ... It is like (Fatcat) was somehow meant to get back to this owner," said Kerry Sneed, director of an Arkansas animal shelter where Fatcat was dropped off two weeks ago after being found on a road. "This is a really great feel-good story. ... It is the most extreme return-to-owner that I've ever come across."

Fatcat's story first appeared last week on a GoFundMe.com page Harris set up after learning that her dog was still alive. She called the page "Operation Welcome Home Fatcat."

The story was seemingly too good to be true. Emotional, heart-tugging. It told how Harris had lost and then found her dog — "I boo-hooed for 2 weeks, placed ads, reward signs, everything possible, but I knew in my heart she was gone." It included before and after pictures of Fatcat. It also documented the dog's condition. And it came wrapped around a plea for donations, cash to pay the dog's medical bills.

"Overjoyed isn't the word ... I cried like a baby at hearing she was found," Harris said on the page. "But, of course, I knew if someone had turned her in, it was because they were done with her."

The dog had been mistreated. She had been used as a breeding machine. Used up. She needed medical attention, treatment for heartworm, dental work. The costs could top $5,000.

GoFundMe is one of those question-mark sites: a crowd-funding source that sets few rules about what people can ask for and who can do the asking. Users set a goal, make a case and reap whatever cash they generate, less a percentage to the host.

Consumers should treat donations to GoFundMe with the same caution they would take before donating to any charitable cause. Check it out. Try to find out who is behind it and where the money will go.

There are numerous stories about GoFundMe scams. In May, the parents of a 9-year-old New York girl killed in a car crash discovered fraudsters were posing as relatives to raise $10,000 on GoFundMe.

Enter Fatcat. The story defied time, geography and even mortality since bulldogs are not known for their longevity. It had all the hallmarks of a scam: A spot-on setup, quintessential story line, and compelling narrative.

Except the story was true.

"I promise you, I am just a dog owner. I'm not a scam," Harris, 34, of Glendale said. "I was shocked. I was literally speechless when they told me they had found her."

The call came a little more than a week ago by way of Harris' mother in Chicago. She had gotten a message from an animal-rescue group in West Memphis, Ark.

Harris moved to Memphis, Tenn., in 2006 and had been in the city only a few weeks when Fatcat was taken. Pure-bred bulldogs are a lucrative target for thieves. The dogs are rare, and puppies can sell for up to $3,000. White bulldogs like Fatcat are rarer still.

Although Fatcat was implanted with a microchip, the puppy couldn't be found. When Harris relocated to the Valley a few months later, she said was resigned to never again see her plump, waddling companion.

The shelter found Harris through Fatcat's microchip. But Harris' excitement over finding Fatcat was short-lived.

The shelter was honest about Fatcat's condition. The dog needed medical care. Because of her size, Fatcat couldn't be transported inside the cabin of a plane, which meant crating her and transporting her inside the plane's cargo hold. The shelter said the stress of such a trip might kill Fatcat. And driving to West Memphis wasn't an option for Harris.

"I'm a single mother of a teenager. I have to work. I don't have that kind of time," Harris said. "You don't know how I went from the highest high to the lowest low."

That left one option. She asked the shelter for 24 hours.

"I couldn't believe she had been found only for me to to have to make a decision to put her down," Harris said.

The next day, Harris called back, heart-stricken. She was ready to give her authorization to euthanize the dog, when the shelter director interrupted with an offer. A friend involved with one of the area's animal rescue groups was moving to Scottsdale.

She could bring Fatcat to Harris.

Sneed said Fatcat's recovery is "truly remarkable." She said the dog fought age, a breeding mill, mistreatment and abandonment. She said bulldogs in the best of health have a 10-year lifespan and Fatcat appeared to be older than that.

"There's no doubt that dog is a miracle," Sneed said.

Sneed said a local business owner dropped off Fatcat at the shelter two weeks ago. He said he'd found the dog wandering on a highway in February and brought it home. But he said the dog needed too much attention and had an uneasy temperament.

Because the West Memphis Animal Shelter is a city shelter, it is required to accept drop-offs. Fatcat is such a rare breed, Sneed said her staff arranged to have her scanned for a microchip.

Sneed spoke to Harris the next day. Sneed said she he knew the dog likely would have to be put down. That night, she attended a going-away party for a friend who was moving to Arizona. She related Fatcat's amazing story and the friend offered to drive the dog to Arizona.

When Harris called back the next day, Sneed had one question: Are you close to Scottsdale?

The reunion took place Thursday night outside a motel near Interstate 17 and Union Hills Drive. Harris pulled into the lot just in time to see Fatcat relieve herself.

"I stopped in the driveway entrance of the lot and ran over to her," Harris said. "I can't really put into words the feelings because I just kept saying thank you, thank you, thank you so much. I never thought I would see her again — in came the tears and boo-hooing."

Harris said she rubbed Fatcat's ears and the dog dropped on the ground and rolled over for a belly scratch. Fatcat sat in the front seat on the ride home, head almost in her lap.

Harris said her 14-year-old son, who was 6 when Fatcat went missing, was excited to see the dog again. Later, after feeding her and calming Fatcat down, Harris said she found her snoring in her Shih Tzu's cage.

Fatcat faces a lot of medical and dental work and Harris is still facing a host of bills. She said a co-worker suggested opening the GoFundMe account as a way to get help. Harris said whatever she gets will go directly to Fatcat's care. If there is any left over, she intends to donate it to the West Memphis Animal Shelter.

"I think the moral to this story is never lose hope or give up, timing is everything. Have your pet microchipped. They now make them with GPS locators in them, which would have helped me avoid this tragedy," Harris said. "And when the stars are aligned, anything is possible."

If you would like to donate to Harris and Fatcat go to: www.gofundme.com/czjpe8