Man comes to Phenix City to reunite with dog that vanished 7 years ago

Your dog has gone missing. You’ve made the calls, put out fliers, staked out the neighborhood. You’re sure he’ll turn up. But the days tick away — and with them, your hope to be reunited.

It’s a nightmare for a pet owner, and it’s what happened to the Sisamouth family in Phoenix, Ariz., more than seven years ago. Their dog, a little Shih Tzu puppy named Teddy, just disappeared one night.

“We never thought we’d see him again, you know?” Lay Sisamouth told Fox 10. “We kinda gave up hope after seven, eight years of being lost.”

When Teddy vanished, their son, Shawn, was in third grade, Lay’s wife, Melissa, said on Facebook. Now, he’s in 10th grade. It’s a long time to hold out hope for finding a lost pet.

But suddenly, a call came in from an animal shelter nearly 1,800 miles away in Phenix City. Teddy had been found, alive, well and ready to come home — more than seven years later.

“I wasn’t expecting to hear that he was missing his dog,” Christina Cameron, from the Russell County Animal Shelter, said on Friday. “I was expecting to hear that he gave the dog away.”

She told the couple that a military family had apparently picked up Teddy and traveled around the country with him. Somehow they wound up near Phenix City. Eventually the military family couldn’t take care of him anymore, so they left him with a family member. When that family member got sick, Teddy was taken to the Russell County Animal Shelter, where they discovered a microchip.

That led to a phone call, which Melissa said the family never expected “in a million years.” He’d finally been found.

Lay flew from Arizona to bring the dog back home.

On Friday, Lay scooped up Teddy and through tears whispered, “What’s up, buddy? Do you remember me?”

“I can’t believe its been all these years and he’s still around,” he told the Ledger-Enquirer.

He recorded the event for their Facebook friends.

“Bringing him back, it’s all joy,” he said. “The boys are all waiting. We just wanted him back for Christmas.”

Teddy needs veterinary care and a good grooming, but was full of energy. He’ll be home for the weekend.

“I wish he could me tell his stories,” Lay said, hugging Teddy. “Where’d you go, huh?”

This story was originally published December 15, 2017 at 5:29 PM with the headline "Man comes to Phenix City to reunite with dog that vanished 7 years ago."