Toy Poodle Seized by Hawk, Found Alive 28 Hours Later

A 16-year-old toy poodle, snatched from the deck of her home by a hunting hawk, was found alive the next day.

Deborah Falcione watched as her little old puppy Porschia was taken from the back deck of their Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, home by a hungry raptor on Thursday. Falcione told WTAE-TV Action News 4 that she never expected to see her elderly furry friend again.

Despite understandably faint hopes, Falcione searched for hours. As daylight turned to darkness and temperatures plummeted below freezing, she was forced to give up the search. The next day, she received a call that shocked her. The Banfield Animal Hospital called to say they found Porschia.

“I said, ‘That’s impossible!’ She could not have survived 28 hours out in the bitter cold weather, in 10-degree weather. This is a six-and-a-half pound dog. She’s blind. She’s deaf. She’s 16 years old. I went down there and sure enough, this is the dog,” Falcione said.

As it happens, the hawk had lost its grip on Porschia just four blocks away. An unknowing neighbor found her and transported her to the veterinary hospital, where she was evaluated and placed in a heating tank. Aside from some very understandable lethargy, she seems to be okay — with not even a single broken bone.

“How she got away, I’ll have no idea. How she survived it, I will never know. But I know one thing, by the grace of God this dog is still alive,” a grateful Falcione said.