Finding your long-lost brother really isn’t an everyday occurrence.
However, a pup by the name of Maddy experienced just that after finally reuniting with her other half, Mozart, after being apart for 13 years.
Before being adopted into separate homes, Maddy and Mozart loved spending their days playing and having fun together. But now, they have a lot of fun to catch up with.
New Part Of The Family
Back in 2011, Mozart was adopted by Ann MacLean, a high school science teacher working in Freehold, New Jersey, after they lost their previous dog, Bogey, a year prior. As Ann was looking for a new furry friend to bring joy back into her home, she came across the perfect fit.
“I came across a litter of five eight-week-old puppies listed through Paula’s Dog House in Mount Olive, N.J., about 60 miles from us. The litter consisted of four males and one female. Two were golden in color, and three were black,” MacLean told People.
When Ann and her family went to pick up Mozart, they also met his sister, Maddy, with whom they also fell in love.
“Two days later, we called Paula’s dog house expressing interest in adopting Maddy as well; however, we were informed that someone had just expressed interest in her and would be picking her up the following weekend. We were disappointed but thankful that she had a home,” said Ann.
The New Jersey teacher assumed that she would never meet Maddy again, so she tried her best to forget her. However, fate had something else planned.
Incredible Find
After adopting Mozart, Ann decided to use an Embark dog DNA test in order to discover what breed her beloved pup was. When she got the results back, she found out that Mozart was a mix of Labrador Retriever, Chow Chow, German Shepherd, Golden Retriever, Collie, and Boxer.
But, the Embark DNA test also gave her a relative finder feature that notifies pet parents if another dog owner submits their pup’s DNA and it turns out that their dogs are related.
“In January 2024, I logged into Embark. I had not logged into the Embark website in over a year. I thought the chance of Mozart reuniting with one of his siblings was becoming small as Mozart was now 13 years old. I was SO excited to see ‘immediate family’ listed!” MacLean says.
Taking a closer look, Ann came across Maddy’s profile, which read that she loved running through tall weeds and scratching her back in the bushes. She immediately knew that this was Mozart’s sister as this was one of his favorite things as well.
“I saw that Sheila [Maddy’s owner] had contacted me a year earlier through Embark messaging. I immediately messaged Sheila. We shared information about Mozart and Maddy, and it was clear they were siblings. It was so wonderful,” she added.
As soon as Sheila received a reply from Ann, she knew that they were about to do something incredible!
After exchanging some text messages that soon turned into phone calls, Ann and Sheila learned just how similar their furry babies really were. Both doggos love to play in the white snow and would try their best to hide from the sun. Also, both have hip arthritis.
After learning that both of them live near Freehold, NJ, and that they took their puppies to the same vet, they knew that they had to reunite them as soon as possible.
“I was very surprised to discover Mozart’s family lived so close by, considering they were adopted up in the Sussex County area, which is about 2 ½ hours north of here. It was a given that these two would reunite once we knew of the other’s existence, but this close distance makes regular meets easier to do. The Universe works in such serendipitous ways!” Sheila says.
Back Together, Finally
Sheila and Ann decided that it would be best for Mozart and Maddy to meet at the park with plenty of space to play and have fun.
After they saw each other for the first time, the dogs took a moment to get comfortable with each other, and as soon as they realized that they were actually siblings, they were the happiest pups in the whole wide world.
Ever since their reunion, Maddy and Mozart met three times, but their hoomans are already planning so many more playdates in the near future.
“Maddy behaves much differently with Mozart than any other dog she’s met. She is calm and accepting, and this behavior grows each time they get together,” Sheila adds.
More playdates are exactly what these two need, as they have a lot to catch up on. I am sure that over time, the natural bond between Maddy and Mozart will become even stronger, showing everybody just how close furry siblings can get.