Livonia woman's dog found safe four days after running away
Woman reunited with missing dog
It was Sunday afternoon, and James Hirschfeld was working for a security company, patrolling a lot where new vehicles are kept. James is a retired member of law enforcement, so when he’s on duty, he’s often looking for bad guys or anything that seems out of place. And that night, something caught his attention, sending him into investigator mode.
LIVONIA, Mich. (FOX 2) - A family's heartache was erased after a dog named Charlie was found after going missing following a car ride in Livonia.
FOX 2 brought the story about the frantic search for Charlie, who went missing after his owner went over a deep pothole in Livonia.
Local perspective:
It was Sunday afternoon, and James Hirschfeld was working for a security company, patrolling a lot where new vehicles are kept. James is a retired member of law enforcement, so when he’s on duty, he’s often looking for bad guys or anything that seems out of place.
And that night, something caught his attention, sending him into investigator mode.
"All of a sudden I’ve got barking up at my ankles, so I’m thinking this is not good," said Hirschfeld. "Looked underneath and down underneath that truck on the far back end was a large German Shepherd mix."
The backstory:
On Wednesday, Aislynn Kaminski's dog named Charlie went missing when she went over a pothole at Newburg and Plymouth in Livonia.
"My dog freaked out because it was a very large drop, and he got out through the window," Kaminski told FOX 2.
Four days later, Hirschfeld finds Charlie scared and alone.
"When it finally came out, it took off running. I don’t know who was more scared, him or me," he said.
Dig deeper:
The lot was locked, so Hirschfeld called Livonia police for backup. He also called his wife to say he might be late coming home.
"She immediately said, 'Is that the dog with the harness on? It is all over the Internet,'" he said.
His wife was able to provide some information from social media, and Kaminski was soon on site.
"It was probably one of the best moments of my life. As soon as we made eye contact, he came right out from where he was hiding; he came right up into my arms," she said.
Charlie is recovering, and Kaminski is grateful to James and all who helped to end this nightmare.
Now that Charlie is back home where he belongs, Kaminski says she’s making changes.
"We have a tracker for his collar. We have a whole new collar harness that is a bit more secure for him and see when he’s in the car," she said. "We are in the process of getting him microchipped as well."