Nothing is more satisfying than being reunited with your beloved dog. Anyone who has lost a pet dog knows this. For this family from Baytown Texas, the reunion was especially heartwarming because Sheba, their beloved German Shepherd, had to wait for them for four years.
Sheba’s owner, Stephanie Moore Malmstrom, told Daily Paws, “It’s like she never left. We’re so blessed to have her back.”
Sheba disappeared in January 2018 while she was visiting her neighbor. When the family returned and discovered she wasn’t longer dozing out beneath the patio or answering their calls, they realized something was wrong.
Sheba wasn’t just missing; she had been stolen. After searching through security footage day and night, and placing flyers, the family remembered to look at their security footage. The family reported the dog’s theft to the microchip business and kept looking, but as the years went by, it became increasingly difficult to hold out hope that their stolen canine would return home.
Moore Malmstrom was shocked when she received two missed calls and text messages in August claiming that Sheba had been found. She initially believed it to be a con—someone trying to profit off her love for her missing pet. However, when she called the number, Jerry Harper, an animal control officer, told her that he had indeed located her stolen dog—600 miles away in a place called Borger.
Moore Malmstrom did not believe Moore Malmstrom, despite her excitement and fear about another heartbreak. She requested images of Sheba’s face, paws, and anything else that could help her identify the animal. However, Moore Malmstrom and her husband weren’t certain it was Sheba until they FaceTimed Harper the following day and recalled they had given Sheba an identity tattoo.
“After that, I was like, ‘This is her! Y’all have my dog—y’all have my baby!’ I was ready to get in the car and go.” she says.
The family had a week to wait for Sheba to be transported home by a volunteer organization. Sheba was 12 hours (24 total) away.).
Moore Malmstrom claims, “That was the longest seven days of my life.”
Moore Malmstrom was worried Sheba wouldn’t remember her after all these decades, but Sheba immediately recognized her family when she stepped off the plane.
Moore Malmstrom claims, “She was pulling at the leash and couldn’t get to us fast enough. And for us—it was just emotional. Excitement is an exaggeration. There was a missing piece of our family for four and a half years, and now we’re whole again.”
Sheba hasn’t skipped a beat even though the family has grown to include a rescue pit bull named Poppy and a young kid named Mason since she went missing. Even though she’s moving a little more slowly these days, she still enjoys spending time with her family, playing outside, and sharing cheese sticks with Mason, her new favorite youngster.
Moore Malmstrom describes “Sheba is amazing—a once-in-a-lifetime dog. We’re so blessed to have her back. If anybody takes anything away from our story, it’s microchip your animals, and don’t lose hope if they’re lost or stolen because there are happy endings.”
