An Oregon family has been reunited with their dog after losing him while on vacation in the Bay Area.
Teddy, the family's labradoodle, ran off from the family's Airbnb in San Rafael. The family's social media post caught the attention of dozens of good Samaritans who went above and beyond to reunite the family.
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WATCH HEREOregon resident Rebekah Whittaker posted a video on TikTok that captured the hearts of thousands of dog lovers. She was pleading for help to find her dog Teddy.
“We were just in panic mode. We were in absolute panic mode. Just frantically trying to find him,” she said.
The TikTok post tugged at the heartstrings of hundreds of dog lovers and soon, a small army of volunteers were out searching.
“The amount of support from folks locally and nationally was incredible,” she said.
People posted fliers and scoured San Rafael. A person even sent a drone and a drone pilot donated three days of his time to help.
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When Whittaker was forced to return to Oregon for work, one of the many volunteers promised the search would continue.
“When I had to go back, I was so sad to go back to Oregon. She took my hand and said. This is our Teddy. We're going to find our teddy and you will get your teddy back,” she said.
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SIGN UP Then on Monday morning, after more than three weeks, Whittaker got the news she'd hoped for, a text saying Teddy had been found.
The family immediately drove back to the Bay reuniting with Teddy on Monday night.
“We just fell to the ground hugging. We just missed Teddy so much,” she said.
On Tuesday, afternoon, some of the volunteers gathered at a San Rafael park to meet the wayward pup.
“We're so happy, we're so happy. This is all we had hope for,” said Natasha Weir, a volunteer. “I couldn't imagine the feeling if I lost my dog in an Airbnb away from home.”
As of Wednesday evening, Teddy was on his way back to Oregon, a few pounds heavier but happy to finally be with his family.
