One of the saddest things that can happen to a person is losing a beloved pet. Most people who lose pets always hope to be reunited, and for this army vet, he was reunited with his furry friend nearly five years later, 823 miles away from where he went lost.
When getting ready for a family vacation, Michael Joy had the unexpected happen.
In 2016, army vet Michael Joy and his family were taking off on a road trip until the unexpected happened and all three of their dogs got loose. Fortunately, two came back; however, Sam, the newest addition to the clan, a lab mix only four months old, went missing.
Joy went looking for his dog everywhere and called all the shelters but to no avail. Joy told WTSP what he said to his wife:
“I told my wife, hey, I’m gonna find this dog… I never stopped, I always, I even still follow the shelters’ pages just in case he would’ve shown up.”
However, as time passed, the family moved from Georgia due to his job with the army.
As the years went by, the family moved from Fort Benning, Georgia, to Fort Campbell, Kentucky. However, Joy never gave up hope that he would find Sam and traveled back in forth between the two states, hoping he would find him.
Sadly, one of the other two dogs that the Joy family owned passed away in December, which only made the loss of Sam hit harder. As Joy recalled,
“My other dog died and they were really close, it was the last thing that tied me to him.”
However, a phone call would change the Joy family’s life.
Joy got a phone call from a number he didn’t recognize, and thankfully he answered the unknown number. Normally, Joy doesn’t answer unknown phone numbers, but this call was from City Dogs Cleveland.
As Joy answered the phone, the lady on the other line said words Joy has been waiting to hear for literal years,
“We have your dog!”
Joy’s response is exactly what you would expect in a situation like this,
“‘No, you don’t. All four of my dogs are here!’ She goes, ‘We have Sam.’ In the back of my mind I’m going, ‘This can’t be the same Sam! This is Ohio!'”
However, as the lady described Sam to Michael Joy, he knew it was Sam he lost years before and immediately picked him up.
Living in Clarksville, Joy took the eight-hour drive to go pick up his beloved companion.
Where Sam was found was more than 800 miles away from where he originally got lost, and it is a miracle he was found safely. The rescue was able to find Joy as the owner when they checked Sam for a microchip, and they were luckily able to get ahold of him.
The rescue extended the pickup day to a week because of the long-distance the family had to travel, but it was not needed; the family headed to Ohio the next morning. Joy said this about his reunion with his old pal,
The second I saw him it was a rush of emotion, my wife and daughter were crying. Me, I don’t show emotion too well. I was a medic for 20 years and I saw a lot of stuff. But seeing him I almost teared up. I was so happy to see him.
When the pair were reunited, Joy had a new look and was nervous Sam wouldn’t recognize him.
Considering four years had passed since Joy had last seen Sam, he looked a little different. Over the four years, he had grown out his hair and his beard. Sam was a tad confused by his dad’s new look, but after hearing his voice and giving him a good sniff, he knew it was his long-lost owner.
Sam couldn’t stop jumping and wagging his tail excitedly, and although it took him a little bit to adjust back, Sam is the affectionate, calm, and well-behaved dog he was four years ago. As Joy puts it,
“He was attached to my hip and he’s still attached to my hip right now.”
The moral of this story, according to Joy, is to get your beloved animal microchipped.
If it hadn’t been for microchipping, Sam and Joy probably never would have been reunited, and so Joy tells everyone that, no matter what kind of pet, they have to get it microchipped. This unlikely but beautiful story is sure to lighten up anybody’s day.
Check out this heartwarming reunion for yourself down below!
Please SHARE this with your friends and family.
Get tissues ready for this one…Sam was dropped off by police who found him. Kennel staff scanned & found a #microchip then contacted the number on file. Turns out, Sam was missing for 4 YEARS, from Georgia! His owner drove 8hrs to get Sam in an emotional #reunion.☺#happyending pic.twitter.com/kGtaeN4iX1
— City Dogs Cleveland (@CityDogsCLE) April 15, 2021
