Local vet reunited with missing dog

Published: Updated:

CAPE CORAL, Fla.- A veteran who suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder from his time in Afghanistan has been reunited with his missing dog.

Justin Batdorf reached out to WINK News after his dog, Vada, got out of a fenced yard in Cape Coral.

After three days of fearing the worst, Batdorf woke up to a text message from a high school friend that read, “I think I have your dog.”

“I couldn’t be happier. I don’t even think she knew she was missing, she thought she was on a little vacation,” said Batdorf.

Vada’s story captured many hearts in Southwest Florida. Her pictures and the story on her disappearance were shared hundreds of times on social media.

“I’m so grateful for you guys, because if you guys wouldn’t have blown it up on Facebook, and everybody wouldn’t have shared the videos, she could have never seen it on Facebook. I credit you guys with 99.99 percent of it.”

Vada is currently training to become Batdorf’s service dog.

“She can sense when something is wrong, she comes up and licks my face and tries to focus my attention towards her.”

Batdorf says he is getting many offers of support, including from the Wounded Warriors Project, and from a local resident who is offering free service dog training for Vada.

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