Couple’s dog escaped from backyard the day after the wedding, returned a week later
By Andrew Dooley
MLive.com
MUSKEGON, Mich. (AP) — A runaway dog that became the focus of a community effort to find and return her to her out-of-state newlyweds has been found.
The dog was brought to town by her owners, John Malosh and Christine Watson-Malosh. The couple were married Sept. 8 and planned to return to their home in Alexandria, La., with their dog.
But Corona had other plans. The 20-pound mixed-breed managed to escape the day after the wedding from the backyard of the bride’s mother on Lake Harbor Drive in Norton Shores.
The 2-year-old rescue dog was found uninjured after she came back to the same yard she had escaped from a week earlier.
The fence gates were left open in hopes the dog would return. When the bride’s parents woke up to look for Corona, they spotted her in the backyard and quickly closed the gates before she could escape.
The newlywed couple stayed in Muskegon looking for Corona as long as they could, but were forced to return to Louisiana, making the 20-hour drive.
The groom’s mother, Darlene Malosh, drove back up to Muskegon from her home in Hartford, Ky., and spent the week looking for the dog, helped by community members and fans of the “Corona Phone Home” Facebook page. Residents continued to report seeing the dog, possibly injured, in the Muskegon area.
The groom, who grew up in Monroe and attended the University of Michigan, and the bride, who grew up in Muskegon and attended Michigan State University, were familiar with the kindness of Michiganders, but were blown away by the response from the area.
“The community response came totally out of left field,” John Malosh said. “I grew up on the east side of the state and know people from Michigan are generally a really good bunch and will give you the shirt off their back.
“It’s one thing to be that caring and helping to another person, but they were doing this for another person who lost their pet,” Malosh said. “Part of the reason we got the response we did was our story, that we lost her the day after we got married. But I think a lot of the reason so many people showed up is that Muskegon is a really giving and caring area.”
Malosh said Corona’s escape turned the day following the wedding into “pandemonium” and kept the couple from being able to enjoy their new marriage.
“An hour after she escaped we were on her trail but then we lost her,” he said. “It wasn’t a normal first week of marriage. We were constantly thinking about her the whole time and trying to coordinate things. We didn’t go out to any parties. It just felt really weird and awkward that we had at least 25 people, probably more, looking for our dog. We didn’t feel like it was appropriate at all.”
Now with Corona safely back in their possession, John Malosh said the couple is feeling much better and making plans to keep the same situation from happening again.
“It’s a huge weight off. We can finally start getting back to our normal day-to-day life. I know we have a lot of friends down here who really worried about her,” he said. “We’re definitely going to get her microchipped and we’re looking at a few companies that offer GPS collars. We’re hopefully never going to have a ‘next time’ with this. It’s been too scary -- I just don’t want to go through this again.”
Despite being unable to catch Corona, Darlene Malosh said the search gave her a chance to explore and appreciate Muskegon.
“I came up in August for Christine’s bridal shower, but I didn’t get a chance to see the city,” Darlene Malosh said. “Corona actually ended up taking me on the grand tour. It’s a beautiful city, full of truly wonderful people.”
Darlene Malosh drove down to Marion, Ill., to meet the couple and return Corona.
“We didn’t even know most of the people who helped us. (They were) just people in the community who are dog lovers and just wanted to help John and Christine because they read about the story or saw me driving around with my hazard lights on,” Darlene Malosh said.
She believes the dog’s shy tendencies made her more elusive.
“(Corona’s) real skittish,” Darlene Malosh said. “The problem was that she could be spotted but she couldn’t be caught. I never did see her all the time I was looking.”
Jen Wolters Cross, one of the local residents who assisted in the search efforts, said she didn’t know the family but went looking for Corona because she hoped others would do the same for her family.
“The dog looked really sweet and happy in the photo with her owners,” Cross said. “I didn’t know the couple or their family, I just felt sad and compelled to help.
“I’m so glad she made it home safe and sound. That’s not always the case.”
