Missing Dog Turns Up 7 Years Later, Halfway Across the Country

Mike Nuanes was at home in Denver with his girlfriend and their 4 dogs when he received a phone call that absolutely shocked him.

The call was from the Fulton Country Animal Shelter in Atlanta. The woman on the other end of the line said, “We’ve got a dog here that’s yours.”

That was impossible, Mike thought, all 4 of his dogs were happily playing in the backyard, safe and sound at home. Surely, the caller must be mistaken.

“When she asked, ‘Is his name Jordan?’ That’s when my jaw hit the ground,” Nuanes told WMAZ 13.

You see, the last time Mike saw his Shih Tzu, Jordan, the dog was just a puppy. He and his late wife had left home for a walk. When they returned, Jordan was gone. That was nearly 7 years ago!

After looking far and wide for their pup and never having found him, the couple gave up their search. Mike always speculated that Jordan had been snatched from the backyard while they were away.

“Being the optimist that I am, when they called me I thought, ‘Well, I know he didn’t walk to Atlanta, so somebody must have been taking care of him all these years,” he said.

According to the animal shelter, he was brought in last week by a dog lover that had found him as a stray. Little Jordan was, sadly, in pretty bad shape when he arrived. Grossly underweight, he tipped the scales at only 5 pounds. A dog his age and breed should be 10 to 12 pounds, at least. He was covered in fleas and missing patches of hair.

When the shelter scanned for a microchip, they found a match – all the way in Denver.

It only took a second for Mike to book a flight. He packed a new collar and leash, food, bowls, and a carrier and headed to Atlanta to be reunited with his long-lost love.

And, the tearful reunion was caught on video: