A family whose dog has been missing for almost five years has been reunited with them this week, after they were found hundreds of miles away. KTRK reported on the surprising saga of Sheba, a German Shepherd, who disappeared from her owners in 2017. This week, the beloved dog’s family received text messages saying she had been found. “I was like, ‘No way’,” said Stephanie Malmstrom of Baytown, Texas. “It’s crazy. Like I won $1 million and a cruise too.” “We were all crying,” Malstrom added. “Me and my girls were just boohooing.” Read on to learn more about this incredible journey.
Mysteriously, Sheba wasn’t found a few blocks away – she was spotted over 600 miles away in Borger, Texas, a town in the state’s panhandle. An animal control officer saw the dog on the street and noticed that he was acting differently. “Her behavior just showed me that she’s not a normal dog that runs loose,” said Jared Harper, who doesn’t know who Sheba had or how she ended up so far from home.
Sheba’s family knows she was robbed. In 2017, the family’s home surveillance system captured dognappers sweeping her from their yard, where she was sleeping. “She runs out onto the porch, they pick her up, walk in the back of the truck, load her up and take off,” Malmstrom said.
Since finding the dog, Harper has shared photos and made video calls with Sheba’s owners. The family has not yet been reunited, but they say it will be in a few days. The Malmstroms are working with organizations to bring Sheba home. “We had steak night once a week,” Malmstrom said. “Dad cooks the best steaks, so we’ve already planned a steak night when she gets home.”
Sheba isn’t the only beloved family dog who was reunited with his owners recently after being missing for years and presumed gone for good.
In February, a dog named Zoey was reunited with her Californian family after being missing for 12 years. The dog was abandoned in San Joaquin County and reported to authorities by a citizen who feared she looked old and sick. A cop who responded discovered that Zoey had a microchip and was reported missing in 2010. ‘I certainly didn’t expect this to happen so I’m really excited,’ the owner said by Zoey, Michelle. “She was completely in shock,” the officer said. The dog had been missing since he was six months old.
In 2020, a Houston family found their Yorkie named Remington who had gone missing 14 years earlier. The pup simply disappeared from the family’s yard, and they had no idea what had happened to it. “We know it was stolen. Maybe a hawk grabbed it and it flew away. We’ll never know.” says Aaron Webster, the owner of the dog. Remy was found wandering 60 miles away and microchipped the family. “If I could ask for anything, it would be to have 24 hours to talk to Remington about what’s been going on all this time,” Webster said.