BC family reunites with dog almost three years after she went missing

After a thorough search to find their dog, a local family let go of the idea that they would see their chihuahua, Delilah, again. However, almost three years later, they received a promising text from a stranger. 

Mary Kleiner says her family remembers Delilah as the feisty and perky dog that she was, but in March 2020, she didn’t return home like usual. 

“We leave the door open, she goes outside, she comes inside, she knows the neighbourhood really well and the neighbours. Sometimes she sneaks over to the neighbour’s to smell flowers, but she always comes back. She doesn’t go far,” Kleiner said. “And one day… she just didn’t come back.”

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The family tried to get the word out any way they could, but because it was early in the pandemic, Kleiner says they predominantly spread the news online for months but with no outcome. 

“It was like a really difficult time,” she admits. 

“We either said when she got eaten by a coyote because we’re by right by Queen Elizabeth Park. Or two, someone took her in and needs her more than we do during this time of isolation and pandemic.”

However, this past Thursday, Kleiner received a message from a woman she didn’t know. 

“I want to ask you, have you ever found your dog Delilah?” the stranger asked. “I asked as there’s an abandoned senior dog found in Richmond outside of a Trail Appliances store.” Kleiner reiterates to Daily Hive. 

When she received the photos, Kleiner said she knew, “hands down, it had to be her.”

Kleiner was told her dog was found alone in a box by Trail Appliances store employees in Richmond. 

It’s not clear where Delilah has been or how she got to be found in the box, but she was eventually transferred to the Richmond SPCA. 

When the family went to reunite with their beloved pet, Kleiner says SPCA staff warned that Delilah might not be in the same condition they remember her as. 

Delilah is now 14 years old, is partially blind, and can not hear. 

Kleiner says their dog didn’t react when the family entered the room to see her. 

“It was tough,” Kleiner said. 

“It was slow, like it wasn’t like that reuniting feeling you would think… I can’t explain it.

“I wasn’t happy, I wasn’t sad, but I wasn’t shocked.”

Courtesy Mary Kleiner

Courtesy Mary Kleiner

Kleiner said Delilah seems to be feeling better over the last few days as she starts to walk more every day and gains weight. 

“She’s doing way better, but still a day-by-day scenario.” 

Kleiner is urging any information about Delilah to reach out. 

“I don’t want anyone to get in trouble,” she said, but any information about Delilah would help “close the gap of the three years.”

Courtesy Mary Kleiner

Courtesy Mary Kleiner