CHARLOTTE, N.C. — As the Calteaux family gathered around their web camera from New York to share updates on their beloved golden retriever Lucy, it was clear their family was beautifully complete again. At one point, Dana, Glenn, their two boys, and their two pups (including Lucy) made an appearance all at once, and their joy was apparent.
"The whole situation -- it was a blessing in disguise," Glenn Calteaux said, referencing Lucy's months-long disappearance last year and the frantic community-wide search that followed.
Lucy gave a goofy grin on camera, tongue lolling out, as one of the Calteaux boys gave her a big hug. Her body had filled back out and her coat was much healthier than when she first returned home in August 2023, emaciated and sickly from months on the street and away from home.
"I didn't realize how depressed I was that she was gone until she came back," Dana Calteaux said. "It was just becoming my new normal, that I was just sad every day. Then, when she was back, it was just happy. You don't think they're ever going to come back, and it can happen."
WCNC Charlotte first reported on Lucy's story last year. In April, Lucy ran off while the family was camping at Carowinds Wilderness Resort. Since they were visiting from New York, they could only stay behind so long to look for her, eventually turning over the search to Tucker K-9 Search and Rescue and volunteers in the community – total strangers who went amazing lengths to look for Lucy and spread the word about her story.
"She wouldn't be back here if they didn't do it, if they didn't care," Dana Calteaux said. "Total strangers cared enough to give us time."
"I'm floored with what they've done," she continued.
Through social media and WCNC Charlotte's news partners in other states, Lucy’s photo circulated nationwide, sparking an unexpected impact on look-alike lost dogs.
"There were hundreds of pets saved because of Lucy's story over the entire time, with her story kept alive this entire year, and we were still getting calls of golden retrievers that were being found," Kelly Chatman with Tucker K-9 Search and Rescue, said.
Then, on a seemingly average day in August 2023, Lucy was found at a complex not too far from where she disappeared.
In the year that passed since she was found, Lucy, who was found sickly and underweight, has become happy and healthy again, and the Calteauxs are complete, with a love for Charlotte cemented forever, new friends in the community, and a renewed passion for helping others in their shoes.
"We will be lifelong friends with the Calteauxs," Teresa Tucker with Tucker K-9 Search and Rescue, said. "We nicknamed them Tucker K-9 North."
"They have been advocating for animal welfare," Chatman said. "They've helped reunite pets up there because of this story. It's been phenomenal."
Contact Vanessa Ruffes at vruffes@wcnc.com and follow her on Facebook, X and Instagram.