Dog stood by body of friend, reunited with family

A black Labrador retriever stands by yellow Lab that was hit in La Puente, California. The Los Angeles County Department of Animal Care and Control says the 2-year-old dog  appears to have been well cared for. AP

LOS ANGELES—A loyal Labrador retriever named Maggie, who was videotaped as she guarded the body of a yellow Lab hit and killed by a car in California, has been reunited with her family.

A passer-by noticed the street scene last week, put traffic cones around the dogs and took the video that touched hearts across the US.

Maggie’s family claimed her Monday. The name of the family was not released.

Dozens of people called or visited the Los Angeles County Department of Animal Care and Control shelter offering to adopt the dog. The passer-by was the first to fill out paperwork.

No one knows who the yellow Lab belonged to or where Maggie met him, said Capt. Aaron Reyes, deputy director of the department.

Maggie’s family wasn’t the first to show up at the shelter Monday claiming the dog belonged to them. But it was the first family to have papers to prove it and to call the dog Maggie.

Even though she was groggy from surgery, the dog responded immediately to her name and the family, Reyes said.