This is a story of love, of faith, of hope; the power of prayer and positive thinking. It is a story of never giving up and a lesson that cannot be emphasized enough—microchip, microchip, microchip!

Last Fourth of July Elissa De Maria Battista and her husband, Matt, along with their new baby and 2-year-old Boston terrier, named Fisher (aka Fishy Pup), were enjoying a long holiday weekend in Ocean City, Maryland when Fisher went missing. 

They believe that he had learned to open the screen door of the rental property and let himself out.  He was wearing a harness and a bandana, but no collar with an ID tag. However, Fisher was microchipped.

The family immediately began looking for him and extended their stay in Ocean City to search. They put up signs, notified the police, lifeguards, fire department and searched on foot, on bicycles and in cars. They hired a dog tracker and Fisher’s picture appeared on the city’s famous floating billboard, The Seaboard.

You name it, they did it! But eventually the family had to return home without Fisher. Elissa started a group Facebook page, “Find Fisher.” 

“We will never give up until we find him,” Elissa posted.

The posts went viral and thousands and thousand of people responded with well wishes and pictures of Boston terriers each time one was found. Unfortunately, for nine long months, 290 days, Elissa’s response was always the same, “Thank you for sharing, but it’s not Fisher.”

Until yesterday! Goose bumps and tears filled the internet when in response to the picture of a found dog, the post read, “I think it is Fisher.”

A male Boston terrier had been found roaming the streets of Baltimore.  He was picked up, scanned and confirmed to be Fisher.

Elissa made the five-hour drive from her Connecticut home to Maryland yesterday afternoon and through tears, laughter and repeated exclamations of “Oh, my god,” she and Fisher were re-united, making the family whole again.

Elissa commented this morning that she would like to turn the “Find Fisher” Facebook group page into a place to post all lost dogs in an attempt to get them back home with their family.

For those of us who followed the story and prayed for Fisher’s safe return, we are ecstatic about this happy ending and once again, encourage everyone to microchip their pets.

Shelia Huffman, former Dallas resident, contributes this story congratulating Fisher and the Battista family and in memory of her Boston Terrier, Wheels, (2008-2018).