Toy poodle found alive after hawk snatches it from owner's Pennsylvania backyard
A toy poodle miraculously survived a night in the bitter cold despite being being targeted by a hawk for the bird of prey's next meal.
Porschia, a 16-year-old pup who is deaf and nearly blind, was lounging on her owner's back deck at their home in Whitehall, Pennsylvania, on Thursday when the hawk scooped her up, her owner, Debra Falcione, told ABC Pittsburgh affiliate WTAE.
The attack, combined with weather that dropped into the teens overnight, convinced Falcione that she would never see her beloved poodle ever again, despite hours of searching, she said.
"I was crying my eyes out," she told the station. "She is my life. My dogs are my life."
The animal lover was shocked when she got a call more than 28 hours later from the Banfield Pet Hospital, who told her they had Porschia safe and sound. Falcione didn't believe them at first, she said.
"I went down there, and sure enough, this is the dog," she said. "The old dog with the strongest will to survive."
Staff at the animal hospital told Falcione that Porschia had been found by a neighbor about four blocks from her home after she was dropped by the hawk.
Hospital staff placed her in a heating tank after she was turned in, according to WTAE. While she was lethargic, she had no broken bones and will make a full recovery.
Falcione described Porschia's escape as nothing short of a miracle.
"How she got away, I'll have no idea. How she survived it, I will never know," she said. "But I know one thing: by the grace of God, this dog is still alive."
