Dog-gone heartwarming Christmas tale

Local resident Joe Hebel had been looking for a family to adopt for the Christmas holidays when one practically fell in his lap. It happened when one of Hebel’s beloved dogs went missing. Across town and days later, the Lansang family found little Leo and gave him back. Now it’s Hebel’s turn to give back to the family that helped save the day.
Hebel, a dog lover, lives behind Pharmaca, in a house just off Third Street West with three dogs – two of his own and one he watches for his mother, who is undergoing treatment for stage-three breast cancer. The dogs are Sam, his mother’s 12-year-old Maltese mix, Baci, a tiny one-year-old Shitzsu, and Leo, an adorable white Maltese who is six. It was Leo who got lost.
After getting ready for work one morning, Hebel opened his kitchen door and put the dogs in the garage. Little did he know that the big, outside garage door had accidentally been left open. When he went outside to get in his car he realized what had happened and, looking for the dogs he found that one, little Leo, was gone.
“I couldn’t believe that one of my dogs was missing,” said Hebel. “Being single, my dogs are like family to me. I immediately called into work and stayed home to begin searching.”
Hebel searched all day for his lost dog with the help of neighbors and friends. Unfortunately, the night before, he had taken off Leo’s collar to groom him and forgotten to put it back on. “Without his collar, there would be no way for someone to know where he lived,” said Hebel. “He is microchipped but that only works if someone finds him and takes him to the police station or Pets Lifeline. I was really worried.”
Friday quickly dragged into Saturday as Hebel put signs up along West Napa Street and throughout his neighborhood. Soon, his anxiety turned to fear that he might never see Leo again. But what Hebel didn’t know was that Leo was safe and sound with another local family who had found him.
Lucena Lansang found Leo cold, dirty and looking for help at the other end of West Napa. The little dog had travelled almost the entire length in a very short span of time. She picked him up, took him home and she and her family took care of him until they could find his owner.
Lansang lives with her husband, Amador and four children in a tiny house on Riverside Drive. Three of the children, Amador Jr., Crystal, and Apol, attend Sonoma Valley High School. Another son, Angel, is just five. The family took the little dog in, kept him well fed, gave him a t-shirt to wear and even let him sleep in bed with them. But it wasn’t until Sunday that Luz was able to walk back to West Napa Street to see if there were any signs seeking a lost dog. It was then she found Hebel’s number and made the call.
“I was just ecstatic,” said Hebel. “It had been the worst 48 hours of my life and to get that call changed everything.”
Now reunited with Leo, Hebel has rewarded the family for their efforts. “I was more than happy to pay them the reward money,” said Hebel. “Luz worked really hard to take care of Leo and then to walk all the way back to look for the signs. They deserve to be recognized for all that they’ve done.”
To that end, Hebel has taken the family under his wing bringing them Christmas gifts and necessary household items. Among the presents, a bright red “big boy” bike for Angel, and a new mattress for the girls, Crystal and Apol, for the bed they share.
“This is a wonderful family,” said Hebel. “The father, Amador, works hard to support all of them with his job at Gramma’s Pizza. They have no car, no health insurance. This is the season of giving and it’s the least I can do for a family that works so hard at everything.”