New York, New York - Many people who get a dog from an animal shelter will never know what its previous life was like. This was the case for Alexa Passarelli, who got her dog Joni in March 2021.

The animal shelter on Long Island in New York could only tell her that the dog originally came from Texas.

At least the young woman also received a few pieces of paper, including an old vet bill.

"All I had was a vet record for a vet that was very close to where I was," Passarelli told Newsweek in an interview this week, but she couldn't do much with the information.

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It wasn't until 2026 that she asked the right person the right question: "I showed my friend who works in rescue in Texas, and she told me that the name/number on the top of the page was who brought Joni into the vet."

The New Yorker then plucked up all her courage and tried her luck on the phone number provided, sending a text message.

Sure enough, someone who had once owned the furry friend answered on the other end. It turned out that Joni was called Cookie back then. But the former owner had more to tell.

According to him, the dog was a Christmas present at the time and was warmly welcomed by him and his family. But then fate struck in February 2021.

Texas was hit by an extreme cold snap, resulting in power outages, water shortages, and damaged homes.

Per the dog's previous owner, their lives were turned upside down due to severe damage to their home.

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They were no longer able to look after Cookie and then made the difficult decision to give her to an animal shelter.

Passarelli couldn't believe her eyes when the previous owner sent her several puppy photos of her beloved dog.

At the end of February, the young woman posted a video on Instagram.

It shows her crying tears of joy as she looks at the puppy pics for the first time. Aw!