"Who knows where she's been and what she's been through," said Voorhees Animal Orphanage Kennel Manager Laurie Ballard. Watch video
VOORHEES TOWNSHIP -- Maria Gonzalez never gave up hope.
It had been nearly three years since her puppy Rihanna was stolen from her backyard in the Bronx, but Gonzalez always held out hope the microchip implanted in her beloved white boxer mix would lead her home one day.
Rihanna, a white boxer mix, pictured as a puppy just before she was stolen from Maria Gonzalez's backyard in the Bronx. She was turned up three years later in Camden County, more than 100 miles away. (Photo provided) When Gonzalez's phone rang on Feb. 18 and a staff member of the Voorhees Animal Orphanage on the other line told her Rihanna was found at last, more than a 100 miles away in South Jersey, however, she couldn't believe it.
"I don't know how she got that far," said Gonzalez on Friday. "But I thank God she's with me now. I'm making up the time with her now."
The joyful reunion was captured on video and made possible by volunteers at the nonprofit, no-kill shelter who were so moved by Rihanna's story they went the extra miles, literally, and drove her back to New York.
"I got the call saying 'Guess what? Your baby's coming home,' and I started crying right there," said Gonzalez, starting to tear up again on the phone.
Voorhees Animal Orphanage Kennel Manager Laurie Ballard said Rihanna was brought into their shelter on Feb. 17 by two men who said the boxer was dumped on a front lawn in Stratford Township.
Rihanna was scared and nervous, Ballard, said, so it wasn't until the next day they were able to scan her for a microchip and discovered not only did she have a home, she had been stolen and the animal equivalent of an Amber Alert was put out for her recovery nearly three years ago.
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"We we're like, 'Oh my gosh,'" said Ballard, who said out-of-state microchip addresses usually mean a dog has been dumped or the owners never updated their location. "It was definitely almost like a miracle on our end, we were all really excited."
Rihanna pictured just before reuniting with her family after being missing for nearly three years. (Photo provided) Once they got ahold of Gonzalez, who was overjoyed at the news but unsure she'd be able to make the trek down to South Jersey, the shelter's volunteers arranged the trip, packed up a case full of dog food, treats and shelter t-shirts and headed north.
Rihanna knew her family as soon as she saw them.
"She recognized all of us, and was jumping on me and kissing me," said Gonzalez. "I was so, so happy."
Ballard said there's no way to know at this point how Rihanna ended up in Camden County and how she was treated in the years she was away from her family, which makes the reunion video that much more emotional.
"I cry every time I watch it, it feels so good and it's so touching," said Ballard. "Who knows where she has been and what she's been through?"
Back at home, Gonzalez said Rihanna is happy and healthy after reuniting with the family's two other dogs and now spends her nights curled up in Gonzalez's bed. Her son is so thrilled to have her back, he plans to frame his Voorhees Animal Orphanage t-shirt along with a photo of Rihanna.
"I'm thankful and I pray good things come to the people who brought her to me," Gonzalez said about the shelter, which is the midst of an ambitious capital campaign to replace its deteriorating facility. "Without them I'd never have seen her again."
Michelle Caffrey may be reached at mcaffrey@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @ShellyCaffrey. Find the South Jersey Times on Facebook.