West Covina boy reunited with 2 lost puppies

WEST COVINA, Calif. (KABC) -- More than 24 long hours after Dodger and Buddha slipped out of their home in West Covina, they were reunited with their family.

The 4-month-old puppies mean a lot to 11-year-old David Vasquez.

"My son was diagnosed in 2012 with Alport's, which is a form of kidney failure. He wasn't able to have any pets due to his dialysis treatments," Justine Perez said.

David got a kidney transplant in December, and after he told his family all he wanted was a dog.

"Dogs have been a huge part of my life ever since I was five when I got my first dog," David said.

"As soon as the doctor gave us the OK, we went ahead and got them, Buddha and Dodger. We've seen the changes in just him opening up emotionally," Justine said.

When his two puppies went missing, David said he couldn't sleep.

"I was stressed. I couldn't even sleep at night, just thinking about that," David said.

The two puppies were seen by many people running through traffic before they ended up at the home of a Good Samaritan.

"They were just running, running. Everybody is trying to get them and they run to our house, and we just gave them water, and kept them, and waited," Yolanda Hernandez said.

She saw media reports about the missing dogs and immediately put in a call and reunited them with their very grateful family.

"I'm just so happy and relieved that they were found. I wish they'd never run away again," David said.