A woman in St. Paul, Minnesota, got the surprise of her life recently after she learned her long-lost dog was in Bradenton, Florida.
When Monica Mathis’ terrier mix, Hazel, disappeared from her Iowa home in 2017, she thought she would never see her again, according to KSTP.
“She was on a leash outside and I went to get her and she was gone from our yard,” Mathis recalled.
For a long time, Mathis tried to find Hazel but never had any luck. Not long after, she relocated her family to Minnesota to start a new job.
However, when she saw a Florida brewing company’s social media post January 24 that featured adoptable dogs on its beer cans, Mathis was stunned.
“Oh my gosh that looks like my dog, I think that’s my dog,” she said of the pup that looked exactly like Hazel.
January 17, the Motorworks Brewing company announced it would offer packs of beer highlighting the canines in hopes of finding them loving homes, according to Breitbart News.
“There’s hundreds of other dogs at the shelter that are looking for homes and that’s really the point,” the brewery’s Director of Sales and Marketing Barry Elwonger said at the time.
“It’s not just to get those four dogs adopted, it’s to raise awareness and raise funds in general,” he concluded.
When Mathis contacted the Manatee County Animal Shelter to inquire about Hazel, she was asked to provide proof that the dog was hers.
“I sent everything I could find — all the pictures so I could stop an adoption process from happening because I could’ve lost her again,” she said.
When the shelter confirmed that it was Hazel in the photo, Mathis was elated.
“I was amazed, I was crying. An emotional wreck,” she recalled.
Thanks to a beer can, Mathis said she and her beloved pet will be reunited just in time to celebrate Hazel’s 7th birthday.