Being a dog lover who has owned dogs my entire life, I was drawn immediately to this story. Unfortunately, it left me wanting to know so much more. At a bare minimum, it would have been nice to know how old Abby was when she was lost and therefore, how old she is now. At ten she is getting on in age but if there had been time to teach her tricks, she might be even more remarkable.

It certainly might have been nice to know more about the disappearance. Had she escaped restraint or was she often loose. It might have given some current dog owner pause to examine their own practices to safeguard their pet through some type of precaution. Some break in routine that fateful day might have illustrated some other cautionary tale.

And finally, one cannot but wonder about those ten lost years. Rescue shelters probably have some rules about releasing information about their work but it would have been nice if someone could have gleaned a few facts. Was she surrendered by someone? Was she found wandering around? Did someone report she just appeared in a neighborhood or did someone call animal control to report a stray? We are left to assume she appeared to have been cared for and accept that individual privacy would be honored. Ten years ago, it was probably not common to have dogs chipped or think to have a found dog scanned, but it would have been interesting to have some information if only not to have to assume that Abby was healthy and uninjured and apparently well cared for.

On commercial news station I often come away wondering why they bothered reporting a story when all the information was contained in the headline. On WBUR, I expected that if a story merited coverage, it merited a sincere attempt to flesh it out as much as possible.

The well being of ANY adopted pets should be PUBLIC INFORMATION.

This is a touching story for any pet owner who has ever " lost " a dog.
"I was like, 'Abby?' I said, 'I haven't seen her for 10 years,' " Suierveld says.

" Once she rejoined their family, it was almost like she'd never left. "

About a year ago my woman companion ,Dorene R- then at Hope Hospice in Providence, Rhode Island, dying of liver cancer( spread from breast cancer ) had to give up her two beloved lap dogs " Dottie " and " Mindy " . " Our girls " we called them. We were happy that the Providence Rescue League on Elbow St. found a home - the same home - for the two adored pets. Dorene cried about them to the end ( April , 2017 ).

I also bonded with " Dottie " and " Mindy ". Now I would just like to know where they are and how they are . But for some reason there are bureaucratic obstacles to this.

There is a video of me talking with them in their cage at the Animal Shelter. Dorene gave me a blanket and some toys to put in their cage. Seeing me and my nephew , " Dottie " and " Mindy " began to bark . " Let us out of here ! " I imagined them thinking. Then ALL the dogs in the shelter began to bark . But we had to leave them there.

How wonderful it would be if I could see them again -just briefly - and hear them barking again as if Dorene and I never made that sad trip to Elbow St., Providence.

Last year I got a Valentine's card from Dorene, Dottie, and Mindy.