Finally, some good news in 2020: Lost airport (stuffed) puppy is heading home
2020 has been a tough year, but here’s some lighter news amid the coronavirus pandemic and a nationwide reckoning against racial injustice: A lost (stuffed) pup at Cincinnati’s airport has found its owner – a little boy who got the Dalmatian the day he was adopted.
The small, black-and-white puppy was found on July 14 by the Starbucks outside of the Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport’s security checkpoint, reports the Cincinnati Enquirer, which is part of the Paste BN Network.
The airport posted a picture on Twitter, hoping to find the stuffed animal's owners and get him home: "We think this guy missed his flight at CVG this morning! We found him hanging out by Starbucks outside of our security checkpoint. Look familiar? Help us share so we can get him home."
In the days that followed, CVG posted pictures of the pup – who the airport called Jet but later found out is referred to by its owner as "Masch-Masch" – touring the airport and hunting for its family. Jet/Masch-Masch got on a plane, tried some Graeter’s Ice Cream and even made friends with a Transportation Security Administration K-9 officer.
Then, Thursday morning, the airport announced the pup was finally heading home, back to Florida Friday morning to be reunited with its family. “We can’t wait for his big send-off,” the airport tweeted.
Doug and Phyllis Ronco, of Madeira Beach, Florida, said they were driving to the St. Pete-Clearwater International Airport to retrieve their son’s stuffed animal Friday.
The family’s flight out of the southern Ohio airport had left early in the morning the day the toy was lost, Doug Ronco said.
“I think our son was half a sleep when he left Masch-Masch (the dog’s nickname) at the terminal,” Ronco said. “Under normal circumstances, he would never forget him.”
The family was traveling to visit relatives and friends in Ohio and Indiana with their three children, one of whom keeps the stuffed dog as his companion, Ronco said.
A judge gave Ronco’s son, Jaydence, the stuffed Dalmatian on the day he was adopted by the couple. “So it’s very special to him,” he said.
Ronco said the airport contacted him by email to let the family know the dog was left behind. He thinks they were the only family with children on the flight, and acknowledged the story had taken on a life of its own on social media.
“The times we are in, some people sees the humor in something lighthearted, and others say, ‘Is this all you can do, talk about this stupid stuffed animal?’” he said, laughing.
The family is bringing Oreo cookies to the airport to thank those who helped arrange the journey of their son’s special toy back home.
Contributing: Associated Press