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Stolen Dog Found 600 Miles From Home After 5 Years Is Back To The Good Life

Written by: Stephanie Maguire
Stephanie Maguire is a writer for iHeartdogs.com. She loves animals so much that she started her own pet-sitting business in 2017, and goes out of her way to point-out and pet every single dog she sees.Read more
| Published on August 8, 2022

Despite their security camera capturing it all, a family’s German Shepherd named Sheba was stolen right out of their backyard. At the time, they did everything they could to find her.

Since this happened five years ago, they never thought they’d see their sweet girl again. But now, Sheba has been found — a shocking 600 miles from home. 

Sheba now
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Five years ago, Sheba was one of five dogs in a string of dognappings who was stolen straight out of a backyard or a backseat in Baytown, Texas. Sheba’s parents had let her out into their backyard to do her business and then went to visit with a nearby neighbor who lived just behind them. 

Her family was there for less than an hour, but it was long enough for thieves to sneak in and steal her out of their backyard. 

“You see a truck slowly creeping by and stop. She’s such a loving animal. She went right to him, thinking she was going to go for a ride. She runs from underneath the porch, they scoop her up, walk around the back side of the truck, load her up and take off,” said Stephanie Malmstrom, Sheba’s mom.

Camera Footage
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Since the incident had occurred within view of their surveillance cameras, they saw exactly what happened. But seeing their sweet girl get stolen didn’t offer any help in tracking her down. They searched, put up flyers, and even offered a $1,000 reward, but she was never found.

Now it’s been five long years, and their sweet Sheba has finally been found! It was more than 600 miles away, in Texas’s panhandle, where an animal control officer spotted Sheba walking down the street. 

“The animal control officer scanned the animal and determined that she did indeed have a chip. He looked up the owner’s information in the microchip database and contacted the owner. Much to his surprise, the owner stated the animal was stolen from Baytown, TX,” read a news statement.

Sheba
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Luckily, Sheba has a microchip, and once it was scanned, the authorities were able to contact her family. Though, there still haven’t been any clues as to who had Sheba and why she was wandering alone on the street.

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Sheba’s family was shocked to receive that call, but they’re feeling beyond blessed that their sweet girl is back in their arms. This lucky girl was treated to a ride on a private plane courtesy of Pilots N Paws.

The Malmstroms made sure Sheba’s homecoming was extra special with a backyard pool party and her very own homemade steak!

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Steak night was a once-a-week tradition before Sheba went missing, and the family is grateful to finally resume their special routine.