February 19, 2026, Seward Folly

Shelli McDowell and Katja Mocnik at the Seward Animal Shelter had some good news this past week. 

A lost black lab, which was found running loose downtown 7 months ago, was reunited with its owner this past weekend. But his owners weren’t from Seward, they were from Homer- which now makes sense to Shelli McDowell, who thought it was strange no one in Seward ever claimed him. He was given the name Max, but his real name is Barkley. He was from Homer, and it turns out no one (except maybe Barkley) knows how he ended up hundreds of miles away from home.  

Barkley actually had two names in Seward. He was adopted out and renamed Ozzy for a span, but returned to the shelter. Three names in seven months might have confused the canine but he sure knew his original owners when they appeared.

Barkley owes a debt to social media. The animal shelter in Homer posted a “Have you seen this Dog?” Katja was scrolling through Facebook and saw the post. She figured it had to be this dog. He was very “barky” and had a notch in his ear that was predominant. 

Katja contacted Homer and sent pictures back and forth. They came over last Sunday, and it was a match. He immediately came running over to the owners and jumped into their laps. McDowell said, “He was so happy.” And Barkley’s dog friend came along for the happy reunion, which made it all the more special for the found dog. 

The second piece of good news this week was that Cosmo (the worldly cat) was adopted over the weekend. 

Kudos to the Seward Animal Shelter for the sharp detective work!