“It was beyond belief,” exclaimed Benjamin Baxter, the proud owner of Patches, as he described that unforgettable day.
Even after nearly four years, his childhood companion, Patches, was not only alive but also safe.
“They had posted a lost and found ad for her,”
shared Benjamin.
“I looked at the picture and thought, ‘Could it really be her?'”
Benjamin fondly recalled bringing Patches home a decade ago when she was just a six-week-old pup.
From the very beginning, they became inseparable best friends.
“Whether I was out hunting or rock climbing, Patches was always by my side,”
Benjamin reminisced.
In 2020, circumstances forced Benjamin to leave Patches with a family friend in Calhan, Colorado, when he moved to Nebraska due to his apartment’s no-pet policy.
Then, on January 31 of this year, Benjamin’s wife, Elizabeth Baxter, received a call from Benjamin’s mother.
“She had been receiving missed calls from a New Mexico area code, claiming they had found Patches. We were skeptical at first,”
Elizabeth recounted.
It turns out that Patches had been discovered as a stray in Las Cruces, New Mexico.
Considering the circumstances of her time as a stray, Patches was in surprisingly good shape.
“All things considered, she looks remarkably well,”
Elizabeth observed.
Over the past week, multiple shelters coordinated efforts to bring Patches back to Colorado, reuniting her with the family friend who had cared for her.