Reunited: Midland Yorkie returned to owner after months of searching

MIDLAND, Texas (KOSA) - A 12-year-old Yorkie named Pumpkin is 10 pounds of pure determination.

Midlander Lori Carson held out hope for nearly three months after Pumpkin disappeared.

“I knew in my heart that I would find her,” Carson said.

With poor eyesight and hearing, the odds weren’t in Pumpkin’s favor.

“I made hundreds of posts every week to dozens of different groups,” Carson said.

Carson’s determined search gained attention from Midlanders like Elaina Horsburgh, who owns the salon Tobar’s Doginistas.

“Flyers everywhere. So you know, the vet that I go to, there was flyers there,” Horsburgh said. “She came in every few weeks to give us a new and updated one.”

When a couple posted about finding Pumpkin on County Road 150, Carson’s phone lit up with messages.

Pumpkin was covered in fleas, scabs and her hair was hard as a rock. Nonetheless, she was alive.

“I mean, nothing got her. No coyotes, no foxes, snakes [or] cars,” Carson said. “She was just running [in] 108 degree temperatures. She was just running helter skelter to come home and I ran helter skelter to pick her up.”

Pumpkin may not have survived if she spent another day out in the triple digit heat, Carson said.

Carson suspects Pumpkin was taken. When she first went missing, no one called her despite Pumpkin’s tags.

Now that she’s back, Pumpkin got her first haircut Tuesday at Tobar’s Doginistas.

“So there’s some scabs on the edges of her ears and her back a little bit and I’m pretty sure it’s from flies and bugs just nipping at her ears,” Horsburgh said.

Pumpkin’s long fur will recover in about a month, Horsburgh said.

After a brief hospital stay, Pumpkin is catching up on rest and food. Carson said she’s grateful to all who helped her search for Pumpkin.

“What I have to say to everybody else, don’t ever give up because sooner or later your pet will be found,” Carson said.

Carson plans to throw a party to celebrate Pumpkin’s return when the Yorkie is feeling better.

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