A Florida dog missing since she was a puppy was finally identified at 13, ending a 12-year disappearance that spanned nearly her entire life and 1,400 miles.
Sierra, a Husky, arrived at the Hernando County Sheriff’s Office Animal Services on April 8 as a stray, according to the agency.
When staff scanned Sierra for a microship, it led them to a man named Bryce, who told officials he’s spent the last 12 years searching for her after she disappeared when she was a puppy, the sheriff’s office said.
“He had last known her to be in New Mexico, and over time, he lost track of where she ended up,” the sheriff’s office wrote in a Facebook post. “He never stopped wondering what happened to her, but never imagined he would hear about her again… especially not from a shelter 1,400 miles away in Brooksville, Florida.”
Somehow, Sierra had made it from Midland, Texas to Brooksville, Florida, according to the sheriff’s office. By the time she arrived at animal services in Hernando County, she was “thin, missing patches fur” and her body was “showing the wear of time and hardship,” the agency wrote.
Before her return trip to Texas, Sierra received medical treatment from animal services staff, including medicated baths, daily walks and enrichment and “endless love” from staff and volunteers, according to the sheriff’s office.
Sierra and her owner were finally reunited after an eight-day journey, after volunteers from WeRateDogs, the social media account and foundation that helps animals with special medical needs, helped arrange her trip back to Texas, officials said.
Volunteers drove Sierra home, stopping at Best Western hotels along the way through a sponsorship from the hotel chain that provided free overnight stays.
Sierra’s reunion comes as shelters in Northeast Florida continue pushing microchipping through free community events.
In Jacksonville, the Jacksonville Humane Society and Duval County Animal Care and Protective Services have hosted multiple clinics this year offering microchips at no cost to pet owners.
