“Such short little lives our pets have to spend with us, and they spend most of it waiting for us to come home each day.” – John Grogan
You go home, and your pet dog wags its tail, so happy to see you. These dogs tirelessly wait for you each day, hoping to see you as soon as you walk through that door.
But with their short lives, do you ever wonder if a dog would still recognize you after many years?
It was February 2014 when a playful pitbull puppy decided it was fun to explore farther into the woods.
Betsy Dehaan, the owner of Harley, turned them out to go to the bathroom.
In just a few minutes, Harley was gone.
They tried looking for him and handed out posters in case someone saw him, but there was no news.
Harley was just a few years old. He was just starting to create memories with Betsy in their Lee County home.
“We searched and cruised and looked and put up posters and sent out the “wanted”, you know, “missing pet” and just never stopped looking for him,” Betsy recalled.
They were worried because if someone found him, they would have tracked them down since he was already micro-chipped. Weeks turned to months, and years passed by.
They never heard of Harley again.
Eight years later, present day, Angie Bray and her friend were strolling on Barto Boulevard in San Carlos Park when they noticed a dog that was really malnourished and had overgrown nails.
“I didn’t realize how bad it was until I actually got the dog,” Bray said when she took Harley.
According to the kind-hearted woman, the first thing she noticed about Harley was that he was really sweet.
“The dog was so sweet, super well behaved. Seemed as happy as can be. Aside from being really skinny. He had some really overgrown nails,” Bray told CBS.
Bray immediately took the dog to Cypress Lake Animal Hospital and Lee County Domestic Animal Services.
Because of his microchip, Bray and the others found who his owner was.
Now, Betsy no longer lived in Lee County. She had already moved to Gainesville, Florida.
Betsy received a text on Saturday. She didn’t really get excited because she thought it was a scam. After all, it had been eight long years.
That Saturday morning, she was talking about how sweet and amazing Harley was. She remembered him but had already lost hope.
It had been so long, much longer that the time they spent together. Was it really possible for her dog to still remember her?
“And I got the text. And you know, you think Google always picks up on your advertisement?? Haha, I’m like, this is a scam. This is not real,” Betsy recalled.
When she verified it was indeed her pet, Harley, she rushed and drove over 1,100 miles from Missouri to Lee County.
Her heart was racing, and her eyes filled with tears. She felt sorry for not trying harder. Betsy was afraid that Harley wouldn’t recognize her anymore.
All of her worries washed away when they saw each other.
Harley, even though weak and malnourished, ran towards Betsy. He hugged her, and she hugged her back.
It was pure love.
Harley looked different. He was old and weak because of the hardships he had experienced, but he still had the same love for Betsy, even after 8 long years.
Betsy promised her dog that he will never go hungry again.
Watch the beautiful reunion below.
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