If only dogs could talk to us. Then, we could find out what they are thinking or what their pasts were like. But most importantly, lost dogs could tell us all about their adventures.
Sam the lost Lab and Husky mix, traveled 823 miles for nearly 5 years before finding his way home. He got lost in Georgia and somehow ended up all the way in Ohio! When his dad heard that the pup was found, he couldn’t believe it. Now, Sam is happy to be home, but he probably wishes he could share his incredible story.
The Adventure of a Lifetime
Michael Joy lost Sam in the summer of 2016 when they lived in Fort Benning, Georgia. Joy and his family later moved to Tennessee. By then, they assumed they would never see Sam again.
Joy had two other dogs when Sam disappeared. One was Sam’s best friend, so when he passed away, Joy started thinking about Sam all over again. To honor their missing pup, the family brought a new dog home and named him Sam. But little did they know, that name choice was about to get confusing.
When Joy got a call from City Dogs Cleveland in Ohio not long after, he was incredibly confused. He hadn’t been to Ohio recently, but somehow, Sam had traveled over 800 miles to get there.
“When I first got the phone call I was like ‘I don’t know what you’re talking about. I’ve never been to Ohio. Are you sure he’s my dog? Can you describe him?’ And she said he has light brown hair and I was like ‘Wait a second. You can’t be talking about the same Sam,’” Joy said.
Sam is Home At Last!
City Dogs Cleveland received Sam after the police found him as a stray. They performed a medical assessment on him, vaccinated him, and then checked his microchip. Sure enough, he had a family. After hearing Joy’s situation, the shelter even offered to extend their typical hold time for dogs. But it wasn’t necessary. Joy and his family hopped in the car the next morning and drove 8 hours to get Sam.
The shelter recorded the moment Sam reunited with his family. At first, he didn’t seem to recognize them. But once he smelled Joy and heard his voice, he perked up. And, of course, the family was overly emotional too.
“The second I saw him it was a rush of emotion,” Joy said. “My wife and daughter were crying. Me, I don’t show emotion too well. I was a medic for 20 years and I saw a lot of stuff. But seeing him I almost teared up. I was so happy to see him.”
It didn’t take Sam long to adjust to his dad’s new home. The family said that it’s almost as if Sam never left. Although now the family has two dogs with the same name, so that’s a confusing situation that they’ll need to figure out. But it’s a miracle that the original Sam is home, so they plan to spoil him for the rest of his life. If only we could know where he was all those years!
Watch the Reunion Video Here:
H/T: cleveland.com
Featured Image: The Joy Family
Toledo, United States.
