In 2016, Michael Joy experienced every dog owner’s worst fear: his three beloved dogs ran off and vanished.
While two of the dogs eventually made their way back home, Sam, a 4-month-old Lab mix, was still missing. Despite tirelessly checking every nearby shelter, there was no sign of Sam.
“I told my wife, ‘I’m going to find this dog,'” Michael recalled. “I kept monitoring the shelters’ websites, just in case Sam showed up. I never gave up.”
Michael and his family eventually moved to Kentucky, but he never stopped believing that Sam was alive and safe. He often returned to their old home in Georgia, hoping to find Sam there.
Nearly five years passed without any sign of Sam.
Then one day, Michael received a call from City Dogs Cleveland.
“They told me, ‘We have Sam,’ and I thought, ‘This can’t possibly be the same Sam!’” Michael recalled.
“It’s Ohio, after all! That’s practically on the way to Michigan.”
I inquired, “Can you describe him for me?” and then asked, “Where are you located, and when can I come to pick him up?” She replied, “He’s a lighter-haired dog.”
After undergoing a medical examination at the shelter, Sam was scanned and found to have a microchip. This led them to trace him back to the Joys.
Then, one day, Michael received a call from City Dogs Cleveland.
On that same day, he embarked on an eight-hour journey to Ohio, hopeful that Sam would still recognize him. Over the years, both Michael and Sam had experienced significant changes.
You can see the excitement on my face as we reach the top and prepare to bring Sam out. Michael exclaimed, “I felt like a kid on Christmas morning!”
Sam mirrored Michael’s enthusiasm, bouncing around his dad and wagging his tail excitedly.
Get ready for an emotional moment. Sam was found by the police, who brought him to a kennel. The staff scanned him for a microchip and called the registered number. Remarkably, Sam had been missing from Georgia for four years! His owner made an eight-hour journey to bring him home, leading to a heartfelt reunion.
— Cleveland’s City Dogs April 15, 2021 (@CityDogsCLE)
It’s safe to say that Michael will be keeping a close eye on Sam for the foreseeable future.
