Man reunites with lost dog after rescuers lure her with his socks

WHEN Norm Feigenbaum, 93, arrived at his Los Angeles home after a quick shopping trip, his yellow lab, Sunny, didn’t come to the door as she always did.

- THE WASHINGTON POST

NORM Feigenbaum reunites with Sunny, who was missing for 12 days.

(Dog Days Search and Rescue)

The house felt unusually quiet. Feigenbaum called Sunny’s name and searched every room and corner of the yard for his 7-year-old rescue dog.

“She was gone,” Feigenbaum said.

His heart sank. Sunny came into Feigenbaum’s life four years earlier, after he adopted her from a local shelter.

“I live in a big house all by myself and I just wanted to have a beating heart in this building,” said Feigenbaum, who lost his wife in 2016. “She is nothing but love and sweetness.”

Sunny’s previous owner had died and she was withdrawn when Feigenbaum first brought her home.

“This dog suffers from separation anxiety, probably because of the loss of her first owner,” Feigenbaum said.

Feigenbaum believes Sunny scaled a six-foot wall in his backyard that afternoon on October 4, trying to accompany him to the grocery store. Sunny has a doggy door that allows her to go into the backyard on her own.

“She is always following me around,” he said, noting that Sunny had never tried to escape the home before. “She’s my best pal. She's an amazing doggy.”

In a panic, Feigenbaum contacted Dog Days Search and Rescue to help him track down his dog.

“He was very distraught and did not know what to do,” said Jennifer Justice, a volunteer with the nonprofit that helps reunite lost animals with their owners.

Volunteers met with Feigenbaum and they started putting up posters. Feigenbaum drove around on his scooter and handed out fliers to passersby.