Community Corner

Missing Beagle Finds His Way Home After House Fire Nearly A Week Ago

Veterinarian says pup will be fine

Winston is home.

The 50-pound beagle who was spooked by a fire that destroyed his family's Lacey Township home is now back with his loved ones.

“I saw him at 7 a.m.,“ owner Ashley Van Santen said.  “He was crying, I was crying.  It’s much better than Christmas morning.”

The 50-pound, tri-color beagle had been missing since the morning of July 4, when a fire broke out at the family home. Van Santen had put him and Maddie, another family dog, in a neighbor’s back yard.

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Both dogs escaped from the yard. Maddie was found quickly. But Winston went missing for nearly a week. He was spotted in the woods near the Garden State Parkway.

Van Santen and her family searched the woods day and night for the pup. Last night she followed a suggestion from a reader and left one of her shirts near the burned-out house.

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Apparently it did the trick. Van Santen’s next door neighbor spotted Winston in the family’s back yard. He ran back into the woods for a time, but when he returned to the yard, the neighbor locked the gate and called the family.

When Van Santen woke up this morning, her mother told her to come downstairs.

“She said ‘someone downstairs wants to meet you,’ “ Van Santen said. “He was in the car. I’m so happy!”

The next step was a trip to the vet. Winston had about 40 ticks on his body, which took some time to remove.

“They were in his ears,” she said. “My dad gave him a bath.”

The beagle was already on preventive heartworm and flea medication, Van Santen said.

“The vet says he will be fine,” she says.

Tonight the family and all three dogs will be altogether again when they settle into a rented home in Lacey.

“We’ll all be there together,” she said. “It’s so exciting. It’s so amazing.”

And she wants to thank everyone who spent hours searching for Winston in the heat and humidity of the past week.

“All the people who helped…complete strangers,” Van Santen said. “I’ve never been so happy in my life.”




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