For 72 long and emotional days, Chicago rallied around one man and his missing best friend. And now, there’s finally a happy ending.
“Bam Bam and Angel are REUNITED!!” wrote Amy Pasalich, the friend and advocate who had been tirelessly helping in the search. “After a long and emotional nearly three months, Angel has finally been reunited with Bam Bam. The reunion took place on the evening of August 19th, and both are now safely back together.”
The 14-year-old dachshund had been stolen from a backyard in Logan Square back in June. His owner, Angel Santiago, who is legally blind due to glaucoma, spent those weeks walking seven miles every day handing out flyers and asking strangers for help.
“Let your eyes be mine and look out for Bam Bam for me, please. I beg of you to help me,” Santiago pleaded during interviews with local news. And the community listened.
Thousands joined the search, sharing posts across the world and donating more than $20,000 through GoFundMe to help. “Chicagoland people, please keep an eye out for Bam Bam,” Pasalich urged at the time. Quoting Mister Rogers’ mom, she added, “When there are scary things in the news to ‘look for the helpers.’ Let’s be helpers!”
The helpers showed up, everywhere. Billboards went up. Flyers covered Chicago neighborhoods. Even PETA jumped in, offering $5,000 toward a $6,000 reward.
And then, on August 20, came the call everyone was waiting for.
Former police officer John Garrido, who runs the Garrido Stray Rescue Foundation, received word that two unnamed people had dropped off a dachshund at the 16th District Chicago Police Department. At first, no one realized this was the dog that had captured hearts around the world.
But once a microchip scan confirmed the truth, Garrido knew he was looking at the most famous dachshund in Chicago. “The entire city has been searching for this dog,” he said. “He is safe and sound. … I am told it was a happy reunion.”
The foundation quickly shared the update on Facebook with a reminder that “Microchips save lives! Please microchip your pets! Great work [to the] 16th District Chicago Police Department and all the volunteers that worked so hard to bring Bam Bam home. Team work makes the dream work!”
And teamwork is exactly what brought Angel and Bam Bam back together.
“This is the greatest news!” one Chicagoan wrote after the reunion was announced. Another commented, “This has reached Greece. It’s 5 a.m. and I’m crying for these two.”
Even PETA marked the moment with a special update: “The billboards reminding everyone of our $5,000 reward for Bam Bam’s return will now thank everyone who came together to hand out flyers, contribute to the reward, and pound the pavement in search of this beloved little dog.”
In celebration, the organization also sent a “Welcome Home” basket filled with toys and treats, writing: “Working for this reunion brought out the best in the community, and it reminds us all to never be silent, as speaking up when an animal is in danger can save a life.”
For Angel and Bam Bam, it’s the end of a long journey, and the beginning of many more days together, side by side, in the city that refused to stop looking.
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