Long Island man and his dog Winston help find people's missing pets

SAYVILLE, N.Y. -- He's 20 pounds of determination and steadfast on finding missing pets.

Four-year-old Winston, a long-haired Dachshund, and his dog dad, Teddy Henn, are some of Long Island's best pet detectives, with a success rate of about 90 percent.

"He was born to find lost dogs," said Teddy Henn of Long Island Lost Dog Search and Rescue.

Henn told CBS2's John Dias he and Winston are part of Missing Angels-Long Island and completed training through the Missing Animal Response Network.

By using scent articles, Winston tracks the missing pets location, and if the animal isn't easy to get to right away, Henn then lays traps and watches them on surveillance cameras.

"We have to sit nearby and in our cars and watch the cameras, and we can sit there all night," said Henn.

Henn says it's not always fast. Each case is different.

"One took three months, one took five months," said Henn.

But when the pets and the families are reunited, it's all worth it.

The two have been working together for more than three years and have brought home more than 300 missing pets.

Most recently, they reunited Lake Ronkonkoma resident Ken Staufenberg with his puppy after she was on the loose for two days.

"Just the fact that that little dog could trace her to where he did," said Staufenberg. "I really truly believe it was a miracle."

A wonderful thing about this non-profit is they do it free of charge. They only collect donations, whatever you can afford.

And what makes this dynamic duo extra special is that Winston was once an abandoned then lost dog himself, and found by Henn when he was a puppy and had no place to call home.

"He spent the first six months of his life lost in the woods and now here he is finding lost dogs," said Henn.  

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