A heartwarming story has emerged from Argentina. A dog and her owner were reunited after being separated for over 2 years. Paprika was found wandering the streets as a stray and dropped off at Argentina’s Arca Animal refuge.
Facebook | Arca Animal Refuge
Silvia Ferreyra, a worker at the Arca Animal Refuge, said that when Paprika was dropped off, they were sure she was a stray, but she was very sad and depressed at the shelter. Many people coming into the shelter prefer puppies, and finding a home for older, sadder dogs is tragically more difficult.
What workers at the Arca Animal Refuge did not know, was that Paprika already had a forever home, and her owner, Ariel Naveira, was very sad without her. Paprika went missing from her home with Ariel, and he desperately searched for her for a great deal of time before almost giving up hope. Just over 2 years later, Ariel’s mother recognized the dog on the shelter’s Facebook page, and immediately contacted them and told them the dog was her son’s!
Every year, many rescue dogs are often looked over and live out their lives in a kennel. In this case, a rare time when Paprika was not rescued, time happened to be in her favor for once as she was reunited with her owner after so long. In the video, you can see that Paprika is very tentative, and not even certain if she recognizes her former owner.
Facebook | Arca Animal Refuge
Eventually, Ariel Naviera was contacted and he immediately sprung into action to head to the Arca Animal Refuge. Paprika had no idea that her owner was on his way to come pick her up.
Facebook | Arca Animal Rescue
When the two were finally reunited, Paprika was noticeably shy, depressed, and elusive. Even getting her to pose for photos was a challenge, as worker Silvia Ferreyra recounts to everyone that the dog wouldn’t look at the person taking the picture.
Finally, the two were reunited, and you can see that as soon as Paprika smells her owner, she immediately recognizes his scent. She is overjoyed. Now, almost a year later, Ariel Naviera says that Paprika and him are inseparable.
Facebook | Ariel Naviera
