Most responsible dog owners are well aware of the potential safety risks to their pups. Never let them eat chocolate, only let them off the leash when it’s safe to do so—that sort of thing. There are some accidents, however, that could occur at a moment’s notice to the surprise of even the most educated dog lovers.
That’s exactly what happened to the Newhards when one of their dogs was playing outside in the yard as she normally would. Seemingly out of thin air, their seven-year-old Bichon Frise was attacked—and the reason why was unreal.
The Newhard family of Bowmanstown, Pennsylvania, were “dog people” through and through. The owners of four small dogs, they considered each one of them to be beloved members of their family.
That’s why what happened to one of their dogs, Zoey—a seven-year-old Bichon Frise—in January 2018 was such a nightmare. No animal owner likes the thought of losing one of their pets… especially not in this way.
It all started when Monica Newhard’s brother, Felipe Rodriguez, let the dogs out into the backyard. What followed, however, was pretty much the last thing anyone expected.
After joining the dogs outside, Felipe spotted a beautiful bald eagle flying high in the sky. Then, before he knew what was happening, the scene turned to something akin to a nature documentary…
“He’s thinking ‘What beautiful wings’ and then all the sudden he’s going, ‘Oh my God, that’s Zoey,'” Monica explained to WFMZ-TV. “[It] never crossed my mind that that would ever happen.” Indeed, the eagle had swooped in and carried poor Zoey off for dinner!
Tiny as she was, Zoey was plucked from the ground as if she were a fish. In an instant, the eagle—and Zoey in its clutches—were out of sight entirely. All Felipe could do was stand there, horrified by what he’d just witnessed. Soon, though, the panic set in…
The family reluctantly accepted the fact that Zoey probably did not survive the freak incident. Still, they wanted to recover her body. To do so, they took to Facebook to ask their friends for help…
Most of the search was focused around the nearby Lehigh River. Since the water was frozen at the time, the Newhards theorized that the eagle was desperate for an alternative food source.
Unlikely as it seemed, incidents like this were not unprecedented. “It has been documented before, but not that often,” Hawk Mountain Sanctuary biologist Laurie Goodrich told Chicago’s WGN 9.
In fact, just as the Newhards suspected when water sources start freezing up, raptors often will search “a little more widely and [take] advantage of whatever might be out there,” Laurie confirmed.
All that mattered to the Newhard family at the time was that they could give Zoey a proper burial. “Never were we looking or ever thinking that our dog would be alive,” Monica admitted. But then, they heard an interesting piece of news…
Four miles away, a woman named Christina Hartman had seen something strange on the road. Initially, she thought it was merely snow before it dawned on her what it was. “It’s all frozen, hardly moving,” she said of the scene.
Amazingly, Christina had found Zoey! Not only that, but she was—against all odds—still alive. She was covered in icicles and on the brink of death, but after bringing her home and feeding her, it appeared as though the tiny pup would make it.
Most likely, the eagle had dropped Zoey once it realized she wasn’t a meal. Meanwhile, Christina knew the dog had to have a family, so she went online and found the picture of Monica, her granddaughter, and their dogs, which the Newhards had posted just hours earlier.
While Christina didn’t know the Newhards, she immediately identified Zoey. “I said to my friend Cindy, ‘Oh my God, this is a miracle! There’s a God!'” Not long afterward, she had reunited Monica and her beloved dog.
Still, it was difficult for Monica and her family to comprehend what had happened. “So many things [could have] gone wrong,” Monica remembered thinking. “And they didn’t.”
It was difficult for Christina not to get emotional about the reunion as well, even just from talking about the experience. “Oh, it made me cry, and Monica is such a nice lady,” she said.
The incident even gave Monica a renewed sense of optimism. “People are good, there is good in this world. With everything going on in this world, you think no, there’s not,” she explained.
Christina wasn’t even the only one to do a special favor for the Newhards. Monica said that she was offered a free large crate by a stranger, which would allow the dogs to play outside without risking something like this happening again.
While people have lost their pets to birds of prey before, it’s amazing to know that the Newhards were lucky enough to bring their furry friend back home safely. As scary as eagles can be, people might be surprised to learn that some actually keep them as pets.