Delivery driver reunited with abandoned dog he rescued

 

MOUNT PLEASANT, Wis. (CBS 58) -- Along his routes, Mike Sivoli sees a lot while delivering packages. So, when he saw a pink blanket in the road, he didn't think much of it.

But as Sivoli made a delivery in Wind Point on Jan. 6, he noticed there wasn't just a blanket laying across Deepwood Dr. 

"I saw a puppy kind of walking back to the blanket," Sivoli recalled. "And just, with a stick, laying down and everything."

Sivoli said the dog was wet and added, "the amount of shaking he was doing was really intense." 

After about 10-15 minutes of crouching near the dog and letting the animal sniff his hand, Sivoli said the puppy began to warm up. The dog was comfortable enough to let Sivoli pet him, and he even started getting "jumpy."

Eventually, Sivoli had to get back to work. He works for Devil Dog Delivery, which is contracted by Amazon to drop off packages.

Sivoli let his dispatch center know about the situation, and he also informed the community. Sivoli posted about the dog in a Racine County neighbors Facebook group. He said, within minutes, people began to show up.

"I don't remember her name, sadly," Sivoli said of a woman who arrived. "She came by. She had a little leash and everything."

By the time he'd left to continue his route, Sivoli estimated nearly 10 people had stopped by to check on the dog. When he returned to delivering packages, he said one recipient immediately recognized him.

Mike Sivoli's social media post about the abandoned dog spread far and wide.

"The lady ran out and was like, 'Hey, are you Mike?'" Sivoli said. "I guess [she] recognized the post right away."

While Sivoli finished his shift, his brother took the dog to the Wisconsin Humane Society's Racine campus, which is in Mount Pleasant. His post was generating lots of likes and comments, and while Sivoli was happy to see so many people concerned about the dog, it also led to a sad realization.

"With that many reactions, shares and likes and stuff, not one person claiming, 'Oh, that's my puppy that got lost.' It was just- It made me [realize] that, yeah, it was probably more definitely abandoned," Sivoli said.

Carolyn Nellessen, the animal evaluator at the humane society, said the dog, now named "Berwick," was put on a stray hold in case an owner came forward.

"No one did come to claim him," Nellesen said. "So he was then neutered. He's been vaccinated, microchipped."

"He was ready to go for adoption, and then he did get a little bit of an upper respiratory infection."

Berwick had a bit of a sneeze Wednesday when a CBS 58 crew visited the shelter. Sivoli was coming to see the dog for the first time since the rescue.

Sivoli said it meant a lot to visit Berwick because he felt a personal connection to the dog, given his situation. Sivoli said he'd spent some time on his own during his teenage years.

"It's something, personally, I've kind of experienced years ago, where I'm just alone, just kind of got nobody or nothing," he said. "And so, seeing a little innocent puppy, not even a year old, if that, just on its own, wanna check up on it."

Berwick might've been even more excited for the reunion. At one point, the pup accidentally soiled Sivoli's jeans. The man didn't mind; he was just happy to see Berwick in a much better state.

"Man, it's nice that he's all dry and everything," Sivoli noted while petting the dog. 

Once Berwick gets over his cold, Nellessen said he'll be posted on the humane society's website. You can see the listings for all animals up for adoption here.