March 29, 2024

A Joyful Reunion

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Overcome with emotion, Michelle and Steven Kaiser of Woodstock, Ill., were reunited with their Welsh corgi, Guinness, who had been missing following a July 30 accident on Interstate 80.

The happy reunion took place Thursday afternoon at the home of Bev and Joe Klingensmith, where Guinness was found in a live animal trap earlier in the morning. The Klingensmiths notified the animal rescue league, who in turn notified the Kaisers that Guinness had been located.

“This is the best gift in the whole world,” Michelle Kaiser said. “I was afraid we’d never see him.”

Guinness had been missing for about two weeks after the Kaisers’ camper and pickup overturned in the median near the 164 exit. A second corgi owned by the couple died in the accident, but Guinness survived and ran off during the ensuing chaos. Jasper County Animal Rescue League and Northeast Iowa Pet Rescue in Strawberry Point put the word out that the corgi was missing, and the search was on.

Ultimately, Guinness was found close the where the accident occurred in Newton. The Kaisers said they were grateful for all the efforts of everyone in Iowa who was looking for their missing dog. Bev Klingensmith found him in a live trap Thursday morning, thinner and a little frightened, but generally in good shape.

For the Kaisers, it was the answer to their prayers.

“It restores your faith in the human race when something like this happens,” Steven Kaiser said. “(We’re) so relieved and thankful.”