Woman reunited with lost dog after 8 years

It was Father’s Day in 2009 when Tessa the Yorkshire terrier went missing in Florida after someone left a gate open. Tessa’s owner, Louise Friedlander, spent hours that day looking for Tessa, who was wearing a collar with Friedlander’s contact information. She would spend the following months placing ads in newspapers, recruiting friends to canvass neighborhoods and posting flyers. But Friedlander didn’t find Tessa. Eight year later — June 30 of this year — an animal control officer called Friedlander at 3 in the morning to say Tessa had been found wandering loose outside a fire department building. When Friedlander arrived at the animal services building (Lee County) she went to Tessa’s cage and said, “Tessa, it’s Mama!” Tessa jumped up on the cage and, wagged her tail and licked Friedlander’s hand. Outside of mouth and ear infections, Tessa, now 10, is a healthy dog.