Current:Home > MyA dog went missing in San Diego. She was found more than 2,000 miles away in Detroit. -EquityExchange
A dog went missing in San Diego. She was found more than 2,000 miles away in Detroit.
View
Date:2025-04-12 02:05:38
A dog that went missing in San Diego over the summer was reunited with her owner after she was found more than 2,300 miles away in a Detroit suburb.
"This is a tale that Hollywood would love to tell," the Grosse Pointe Animal Adoption Society wrote in a post about the reunion.
In a video, the group said it quickly discovered that a stray dog picked up by police in Harper Woods, Michigan, has been missing from her "forever home" since July.
The dog, a terrier mix named Mishka, was Elizabeth Houman's beloved family pet.
"My daughter and I were traveling for a month out of town, and Mishka went everywhere with me. She's definitely a mama's girl," Houman told USA TODAY. "So my husband would bring her to his mechanic shop for company and she got out and he thinks that she was looking for me."
Houman said Mishka, who is microchipped and wore a collar with the couple's phone number, had gotten out before but had returned within minutes.
For two weeks, the couple − hopeful Mishka would be found − didn't tell their then 4-year-old daughter that she was missing. Houman said they instead told her that the dog was at the vet getting checked out until they eventually had to come clean.
Houman believes Mishka was most likely taken.
"It was the most horrifying thing to go through that someone intentionally took your dog and kept it for themselves. I was so worried about her well-being − if she was being treated kindly and not neglected," Houman said.
She then got to work searching for the pup. Houman said her sister flew out from Minneapolis to help her post over 1,000 flyers of Mishka.
“We will do anything to get our baby back,” Elizabeth Houman said in a Facebook post in July.
Houman left no stone unturned. She had a flyer placed on the back of her car, she posted on social media sites, and she even paid for a premium plan with the pet recovery service Home Again.
"I always carried her leash with me in the front seat of the car. And then I wore her leash in case I saw her on the street," she said.
Owner drives 12 hours to get Mishka back
Houman said the family was getting ready to fly to Minneapolis to celebrate Easter when they received a call that Mishka was found.
"I just started sobbing for like 10 minutes on the phone and can't thank the team at the shelter. They've been so amazing," she said.
After landing in Minneapolis late Thursday night, Houman said they were planning on figuring out a plan to get Mishka the next morning, but her husband couldn't wait.
"He took off in the middle of the night and drove. It was actually a 12-hour drive to outside of Detroit, Michigan," Houman said. "He drove all night on no sleep, just adrenaline and energy drinks."
Mishka immediately recognized him and began jumping up and down in her cage, Houman said.
He drove Mishka back to Minneapolis to be reunited with the rest of the family before they all got on a flight home.
"She was sitting in the backseat. He pulled up to my mom's house. We started running. We were calling to her and then she jumped into the front seat and basically tried to jump out of the window," Houman said of the moment she and her daughter were reunited with Mishka.
Mishka settling back in at home
According to the Grosse Pointe Animal Adoption Society, Mishka was identified thanks to a microchip.
Mishka was checked out by a vet before flying home, and Houman said she was thankfully healthy.
However, after several months away from home, the pup was tired and a lot thinner.
"She's definitely suffering from PTSD. So whenever I leave the house she whines and barks and cries and she's never done that before," Houman said.
Houman said she plans to get Mishka certified so she could go to children's hospitals and nursing homes.
"She's such a friendly dog. I mean, that's why someone took her: She's so sweet and will snuggle with you. I just want to share the love that she's giving out to other people, especially people that need it," Houman said.
veryGood! (9535)
Related
- 'Squid Game' without subtitles? Duolingo, Netflix encourage fans to learn Korean
- Man shot to death, woman clinging to life after being stabbed multiple times in Atlanta home
- Lawsuit says Georgia’s lieutenant governor should be disqualified for acting as Trump elector
- What is dark, chilly and short? The winter solstice, and it's around the corner
- Travis Hunter, the 2
- Anthony Edwards addresses text messages allegedly of him telling woman to 'get a abortion'
- James McCaffrey, voice actor of 'Max Payne' games and 'Rescue Me' star, dies at 65
- 4 years in prison for Nikola Corp founder for defrauding investors on claims of zero-emission trucks
- A South Texas lawmaker’s 15
- Trial set for North Dakota’s pursuit of costs for policing Dakota Access pipeline protests
Ranking
- How to watch the 'Blue Bloods' Season 14 finale: Final episode premiere date, cast
- Feel alone? Check out these quotes on what it’s been like to be human in 2023
- Five-star quarterback recruit Dylan Raiola flips commitment from Georgia to Nebraska
- Biden’s push for Ukraine aid stalls in Senate as negotiations over border restrictions drag on
- 'Survivor' 47 finale, part one recap: 2 players were sent home. Who's left in the game?
- Hong Kong court begins Day 2 of activist publisher Jimmy Lai’s trial
- Jonathan Majors dropped by Marvel Studios after being found guilty of assaulting ex-girlfriend
- Purdue back at No. 1 in the USA TODAY Sports men's college basketball poll
Recommendation
Rylee Arnold Shares a Long
Best Clutter-Free Gifts for the People Who Don't Want More Stuff Around
The best movies and TV of 2023, picked for you by NPR critics
Australian jury records first conviction of foreign interference against a Chinese agent
Person accused of accosting Rep. Nancy Mace at Capitol pleads not guilty to assault charge
Parenting advice YouTuber Ruby Franke of Utah set to take plea agreement in child abuse case
Federal judge orders new murder trial for Black man in Mississippi over role of race in picking jury
Celine Dion Has Lost Control of Muscles Amid Stiff-Person Syndrome Battle