Traffic moved along the busy highway near Greenwood Road as Rick Rowe spotted a senior dog in its path. Kiwi could neither see nor hear the danger. Rowe removed the 14-year-old dog from traffic and took him to a veterinarian, beginning the final stretch of a journey home.
Kiwi had disappeared while his owner, truck driver Alexander Antelo, was traveling from Miami through Shreveport, Louisiana. For an older dog with hearing and vision loss, being loose in an unfamiliar city carried particular risks: Kiwi could not rely on sight or sound to detect vehicles, follow familiar cues or orient himself to known surroundings.
Antelo was far from home and did not know where Kiwi had gone. Yet an accidental phone call widened the search. While trying to reach the local dog pound, he called the wrong number and connected with Cynthia Kieth of the Shreveport Dog Park Alliance.
The alliance shared information about Kiwi online, helping turn one owner’s search into a broader community effort. “We had an army looking for this dog,” Kieth said.
That network mattered, but chance also placed the right person on the right road. Rowe, a KTBS reporter, had changed his usual route when he encountered Kiwi near Greenwood Road. The dog was in traffic on a busy highway before Rowe got him out of immediate danger and brought him for veterinary care.
Kiwi’s identity was established days after the roadside encounter. Rowe connected with Antelo, and owner and dog were reunited after a search that had lasted nearly a week. The available information does not establish how Kiwi was identified or provide a medical update beyond his safe return.
Why identification and careful handling matter
Kiwi’s age and sensory loss made prevention especially important. Dogs Trust advises keeping deaf dogs on a lead in public and blind dogs on a lead in new places, where they may have more difficulty navigating. The organization also notes that dogs with hearing or vision loss can be startled by unexpected contact. People should avoid rushing up to pet them and, when possible, allow the dog to approach in its own time.
Owners traveling with a sensory-impaired dog can apply the same principle before a crisis: use a lead in unfamiliar surroundings, keep routines predictable and make sure identification can connect the dog to a current phone number. Those safeguards cannot eliminate every escape, but they can reduce the opportunities for a dog to become lost and shorten the path home if separation occurs.
A collar with an up-to-date identification tag offers an immediate way for a finder to call an owner. A microchip provides a second layer if the collar or tag is missing. The American Veterinary Medical Association explains that microchips are not GPS trackers; they carry identification numbers that shelters or veterinary clinics can read with a scanner.
The chip must also be registered, and the associated contact information must remain current. The AVMA recommends asking a veterinarian to scan it at least annually to confirm that it can still be detected. Microchips do not replace visible tags, but the two forms of identification work together: one may provide an immediate phone number, while the other remains with the dog if a collar comes off.
For someone who finds a dog without a readable tag, a veterinary office or shelter may be able to scan for a chip. The American Animal Hospital Association’s registry lookup tool can then identify the company or registry connected to that chip number. It does not disclose an owner’s information, but it can help the appropriate organization begin the contact process.
Kiwi’s return depended on several small turns: a misplaced call, people willing to spread the alert, Rowe taking a different road and veterinary care after the highway rescue. Antelo credited the outcome to a community effort. Nearly a week after disappearing in an unfamiliar city, Kiwi was once again with the person who had been searching for him. Have you ever adopted a dog with a story like this? Share it in the comments.
By Jake Patterson — Freelance feature writer and former animal-shelter volunteer focused on rescue, adoption, and second-chance dog stories.
