The Maltese dog named Brody that wondered off from his family in Lakeland is now back home after an excruciating four days.
In a weird twist, the dog actually got adopted by a new family in the parking lot of SPCA Florida.
They even named him and started a special bond with their new puppy.
“Mr. Noodles,” said Marie Stearns, when asked what name they picked.
She and her mother, Beverely McPhee were in the parking lot of the SPCA Florida on Saturday when a woman stopped by to drop off Brody after she was unable to find his owners.
The facility was not accepting animals at the time so she was going to take him to the pound.
“Take him to the pound? I said if he doesn’t get adopted and they don’t find him, they’ll euthanized him,” Stearns said. “We’ll take him home!”
Stearns and McPhee told all their family and friends about their new addition and even showered him with gifts.
“That was the first stop we made at the pet store,” she said.
Finally, on Wednesday, the ladies got around to taking Mr. Noodles to his first vet visit.
“I said we were at the SPCA, and I didn’t get anything else out of my mouth, she about jumped out of her shoes ‘oh my gosh everybody has been looking for him!’ I was like who’s everybody? What? I had no clue!”
Dr. Jill Davis at Dunham Animal Hospital knew all bout Brody’s story form the news.
“I said I know who the dog is, that is Brody!,” she told ABC Action News.
We covered the family’s campaign to bring him home and the strong emotional connection they had with him — he was born the same day as the owner’s father passed away of cancer.
Stearns and McPhee made the handoff Wednesday night, and Mr. Noodles went back to being Brody.
“When he seen Daddy, oh yeah that was Daddy. It was sweet,” Stearns said.
