In October of last year, Olympic gymnast Aly Raisman adopted the sweetest little pup named Mylo. Like any new mom, Aly plastered her Instagram with shots of her new baby. Mylo rocketed to social media stardom when he took his celebrity friendship with Dodger Evans, i.e. Chris Evans pride and joy, public. But July 3rd, Aly broke our hearts when she posted a photo of 11-month-old Mylo and his beautiful baby blues next to a desperate message asking for help finding him. Mylo had been spooked by fireworks during pre-Fourth of July celebrations and ran away. Aly pleaded with her followers to let her know if anyone spotted him. She asked folks not to shout for him, but to contact her directly. A few days later, Mylo was still missing so Aly posted a reward for Mylo, again asking people not to chase him or shout, but merely to let her know where he was. On Friday, Aly let us know that Mylo had been found and was back home. Thank goodness! People has more on the story.
The search for Aly Raisman’s beloved rescue dog Mylo has come to a happy end.
The Olympic gold medalist, 27, announced on Friday that her 11-month-old pup had been found and shared images of their sweet reunion on her Instagram.
Calling the individuals who helped locate Mylo her “HEROES,” Raisman captioned the shots, “I HAVE HIM.”
“MYLO IS SAFE,” she wrote, before thanking the individuals — including another dog! — for her canine companion’s return.
Raisman added, “Will share more soon but for now going to snuggle with my everything.”Mylo’s reunion with his owner comes just a week before his first birthday.
When the Raisman first introduced Mylo to her fans in October, she said that the dog — whom she adopted from the EGAPL Heart of RI Animal Rescue League in Rhode Island — was born on July 16, 2020.
“I’m so excited to be his mom. I’ve already cried a few times because I feel so lucky,” she raved on Twitter, posting several pictures of her new pet. “I can’t wait to get to know him.”
Raisman opened up about being a dog mom to Mylo in May, writing alongside a photo of herself snuggled up against the pooch, “I didn’t rescue him… he rescued me.”
I’m delighted this story has a happy ending for Mylo and Aly. Dodger’s dad also reposted Aly’s IG post while Mylo was missing to help find him. I’m sure Dodger is already planning their first playdate when Mylo’s feeling better.
I don’t want to be too cutesy, though, because there are some serious considerations in this post that bear repeating. Every year people talk about how much trauma animals have with local fireworks. I don’t think anyone is arguing against structured fireworks displays. Pet owners who know when and where those ware can take the precautions they need to make their pets feel secure. It’s the ones going off down the street that sound like we’re under attack and with no warning. Fireworks are illegal in my area, so I have no problem railing against those who set them off for two weeks in July (I heard some last night at 3AM). They affect dogs, cats, birds, horses and people, especially veterans living with PTSD. I’m not looking to rain on anyone’s parade, I’m just asking folks to consider their neighbors if they’re participating in illegal activity. If your pet is scared by fireworks, here are some good tips to help comfort them.
The other important tip here is about Aly asking people not to call out to Mylo or to chase him. I learned this the hard way. A scared dog will run when chased and it’s often the wrong way to get a missing pup home. Plus, in a barrage of noise, a dog might not recognize its name, especially if it’s not being said by someone it knows, and would react to the strong tone being used instead. My dogs breed is considered a flight risk, so I’m learning a lot about how to react if they get off leash or slip out of my hand. Our rescue organization uses Fi GPS tracking collars for our rescue (this is not a paid advertisement). We believe in them so much; we pay for the first year’s subscription when you adopt one of our dogs. Mylo was missing a week. That would be gutting for any pet parent. Aly said she’ll let us know more later, I don’t know if she will, she certainly isn’t obligated. The important thing to note is that it can happen to anyone and the big takeaway, besides the happy ending, is ways to prepare should this happen to your pet. So, I appreciate anything Aly does share with us.
As the article said, Mylo turns one on the 16th. Can you imagine how spoiled that little pup is going to be at his party? I wonder if Dodger is going to get him a Lion that matches his?
Photo credit: Instagram
So glad Mylo is safe. Everyone I know in Southie was looking for him. Mylo was at the city’s fireworks display on the waterfront when he got lost.
As in she took him to the fireworks display? There’s a lot of side eye in that question. People need to keep their dogs securely at home when they know there’s a risk of fireworks. I once went to a park for a fireworks show, and a guy settled down a few feet from us with his dog. The dog lost his mind, the guy was basically choking the dog with the leash to keep it from running off to find a place to hide, I lost *my* mind, and he finally left with his dog.
Poor beautiful puppy. Fireworks can be so scary for some dogs. Glad to hear that he is back home with his momma.
If you can’t do the tracking device, at least put your address and/or phone number on a tag around the dog’s neck. I’ve walked home two different dogs in the last month, thanks to those tags. If you’re weirded out by having your address running around with your dog, just put your phone number. It really does save dogs.
Happy for Aly! Having a lost pet returned is the best feeling.
Good advice – apparently the two girls (and their dog!) who found Mylo didn’t know whose dog it was at the time – but Mylo did have a tag with a phone number (Aly’s parents) and they got in touch.
This! This! This! And have the collar with the ID separate from the collar that the leash is attached to. If the dog slips the leash, the ID stays with them – it’s not left at the end of the empty leash. Our dog’s collar has her name and my cell phone number on it and is separate from the harness her leash is attached to.
Glad he’s safe! I adopted a doggo in November and I would be an absolute wreck if he took off!
Another thing to consider- make sure your pet’s chip is up to date! I got fixated on that a few weeks ago and updated all the chips- my cats’ chips still had my old (6 years ago!) address and phone number, and the chip for my doggo was never updated at the rescue. Now they’re all current and correct and if they get loose (and the doggo loses his collar) someone can still get in contact with me.
Please leave dogs inside on fireworks holidays. It’s really sad how many go missing and it’s so easy to prevent.
Exactly! Why would anyone bring a dog to a firework show? Blows my mind…
She didn’t bring him to a fireworks show. She lives in the city. She shares this in a Twitter post.
now that a lot of states allow unfettered sale of fireworks, people are setting them off at home – often without warning to neighbors. They’re not just doing it on holidays, but at random times with increases around holidays. Some people are also doing “practice” sessions during the day – again, without warning to neighbors. With all of this, it’s pretty hard to know when it’s safe to be out with your dogs to avoid the noise of fireworks. In addition to the trauma that pets & vet w/PTSD face with the increased use of fireworks, livestock and wildlife are also being frightened with all the displays. Even the birds in my back yard were getting freaked out when a neighbor was (i guess) doing a practice session the afternoon of the 4th
Definitely, and if they need to go out, go with them on a leash. Won’t prevent every run away, but maybe some!
I’m so glad Mylo was found and is safe! She must have been so worried.
From Aly’s Twitter
Mylo had a harness on when he ran away & a leash. & he’s chipped.
https://twitter.com/Aly_Raisman/status/1413833961185370112?s=20
S**t still happens, dogs get scared and run away.
I’m so glad this story had a happy ending.
I’m local to the area. The poor little guy was inside a fenced off construction site. The girls’ dog found him and they climbed in to get Mylo.
Ya know, the people who think it’s ok to set off their own personal fireworks will never, ever succumb to reason and accept that they shouldn’t. Veterans and PTSD are at the top of the list, along with scared children, scared pets, potential for fire (of others’ property) and lastly, personal injury. I live by an empty parking lot (yaay) and last year was insane. The neighborhood “kid” in his 20s has since moved away and this summer has been 99% peaceful, with few fireworks.
That’s the problem, unfortunately – the people setting them off just don’t care about others.
The little ones are legal here now, which people took to mean you can go get a full professional level display for your backyard. A neighbor here, in my area full of old trees and houses fairly close together, set off one big one after another for almost 30 minutes, and 10 at night, on MEMORIAL DAY. Not a day for fireworks. Our towns PD always says they won’t be tolerated, but I’m less than a mile from the station and they did nothing.
I really, really wish the quiet ones were available everywhere, that would at least stop terrifying pets and people.
I received an email from my city that said: “…Police would like to wish you a happy and safe holiday weekend. Please help us keep your neighborhood safe and STOP celebratory gunfire.”
That celebratory gunfire is a thing here…another terrifying consequence of the “holiday”
I live in a state that fireworks are legal and this particular Independence Day weekend was horrible.
With scheduled fireworks we spend the evening in the mancave watching a movie, but this year people we letting them off indiscriminately all day. Potty breaks were nearly impossible. We do the thunderstorms, her favorite music, and calming chews.
It has taken a week for my baby to recover. I will have to work on desensitizing this winter.
My dog, that passed away just over a month ago was so terrified of fireworks and thunder and there was no consoling her. I would take out my Bose noise-cancelling headphones and hold them onto her ears and put some classical music on for her. She would have hated this past two weeks. People have been setting off fireworks almost every night – celebrating Canada Day for weeks! And there have been a number of thunderstorms. If she hadn’t passed away, I am positive that this would have killed her anyway. I hate fireworks for that very reason. Meanwhile, my other dog doesn’t even notice them.
This makes me so happy. We have a Lab who is terrified by fireworks, so I really identify with this. The Nextdoor Ap is very popular in my area, and one of the best things about it is how much it is used to locate lost animals. Animal lovers are great about trying to help lost or injured animals.
In the UK one of the big supermarket chains has said they will no longer sell fireworks but you can buy them everywhere and it’s a nightmare. Bonfire night (5th Nov – where we celebrate a failed attempt to blow up parliament, sure) is the worst and there are fireworks going off every night for around a week usually then people buy them and set them off randomly through the year because why not. I really wish it could be properly regulated but the government has no appetite for anything they perceive as being unpopular unless it’s taking money away from poor/foreign people who obviously don’t matter.
An NHL player died when amateur fireworks hit him recently. He wasn’t even setting them off; apparently he was relaxing in the hot tub when it happened.
Why are some people judging her so harshly? My dog Luna run away 2 years ago, a week after we adopted her from the shelter. She is chipped, we only take her outside to go to the bathroom in the firework season and we put address on her collar and she still run away. She is a border collie mix (she looks just like Finn Seyfried) and she has a lot of fur but she was also very malnourished after 3 years in the shelter so we had a problem with a size of her collar – for it to fit over all that fur but also not to strangle her. She got scared of the fireworks (it was a week before Christmas) during the walk, she snaked herself out of the collar and she was gone for 3 days.
It was the worst 3 days of my life, I looked for her all day every day but the miracle happened when some girl who saw our Facebook post (which generated a lot of hate towards us in the comments) was coming back from a party at 2 am and she saw her through the window of a night bus. She left the bus, called me and helped me and my boyfriend catch Luna in the middle of the night. We needed 15 minutes to get there so this hero girl was quietly following my dog and trying not to loose, or scare her for 15 minutes, in the dark, in a strange place all by herself, all to save my dog. She’s an angel to us and we will never forget how much she helped us. We know Luna well enough now to know that no one would be able to find her during the day because she is scared around strangers and she must have been hiding in the bushes. We were looking for her in the same area and no one saw her. She was covered in velcro plant as well.
Just when I’m ready to give up on humans. What a lovely, lovely person.
Cute pup! So glad he’s safe. Thanks for the PSA on fireworks and how to contact a dog that has gotten loose.
Really glad to hear her pup was found safe and sound. Veterinary PSA – please don’t take your dog to a fireworks display. Please keep your animals contained on July 4 and be extra cautious with their safety. We see more hit by car dogs, lost dogs and injured dogs on July 4 weekend than any other time of the year.
There is so much to know about dogs to be a good /responsible guardian. I remember when I first got a dog, I was a little overwhelmed.
I always keep mine indoors as much as possible and do everything I can to shield them on July 4. I also don’t ever use collars now, only chest plate harnesses. There’s no perfect situation but we do the best we can.
My cat Smitty is absolutely terrified of loud noises – even noisy cars, motorcycles and shouty voices can set him off so fireworks mean calming treats (I highly recommend them for both cats and dogs), all windows and doors closed, and soothing music on (he seems to like smooth jazz best). Thankfully we haven’t had big fireworks displays where I live in 2 years but there are always a bunch of a-holes around who set them off in their back yards and parks. I’m all for banning public sales of them.