There’s never enough “happily ever after” stories about lost dogs being reunited with their owners are there? Today, a 13-year-old Shih Tzu is on his way home from a New York shelter back to his beloved family in Florida.
In Ocala, Florida, a family has been making travel arrangements in preparation for an emotional reunion with their elderly dog after he was found in a New York animal shelter more than a 1,000 miles away. A relative living near the Long Island shelter will pick Apollo up and transport him to John F. Kennedy International Airport where one of his owner’s and Apollo will be flying home to Florida.
Back in the first week of April, the family’s 13-year-old Shih Tzu slipped out of the family’s yard through an open gate. Surveillance video showed a person in a white SUV stop and pick him up from the side of a nearby road.
On April 25, Vera Josey, Apollo’s owner, posted photos on her Facebook page asking anyone who spotted Apollo or the woman alleged to have taken the dog to return him:
Dog got out of fence was picked up by lady in small white SUV. Pictures of our MISSING dog and video clips of lady picking up our dog. I’m assuming she thought since he was across the road he belonged to the people across the street. Please reach out if you have seen our dog or have our dog.
The woman in the white SUV never returned Apollo to his rightful owners. The family contacted Marion County Sheriff’s Office and after a brief investigation never charged anyone stating that no crime had been committed because the individual who picked up the dog in the white vehicle had made an attempt to return him.
The family never stopped looking for Apollo. They made posters, offered a reward and hoped someone would come forward to help them be reunited with their dog.
Two months later, Apollo was brought into a Long Island shelter. Shelter staff scanned his microchip, which immediately supplied the information about his registered family. When brought into the shelter, the dog had a different name tag reading identifying him as Yuri.
And today, Apollo is on his way home. His family can’t wait to introducing Apollo to their newborn son.
Welcome home Apollo.
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