5-year search for missing dog ends in happy reunion

BRASELTON, Ga — Dog owner Marcus Finster said he was celebrating graduating from college when he got a phone call that his missing dog had been found.

He said his family lost hope when his, then, 1-year-old boxer disappeared five years ago. Finster hoped that after a month and a half of searching, posting fliers and calling the vet, someone would locate her, but it never happened.

“Because she was chipped, we were hoping that somebody would bring her in and they would scan her,” said Finster.

Five years after her disappearance, Lily wound up at Best Friend Veterinary Hospital in Braselton, Georgia. Finster said he doesn’t know how she wound up over 200 miles away, but he believes that someone took Lily to breed her.

Finster said he just graduated with a bachelor’s degree in business administration, from Shorter University. As he was firing up the grill and celebrating with family, he got the call, Saturday, that Lily was found.

“They were so excited,” veterinary hospital manager Stacy Yarberry said. “The man teared up. He was like ‘Are you kidding me? My dog has been missing for five years!’ His wife started bawling in the background. They were so happy and so stunned.”

When Finster arrived to pick Lily up, employees said Lily immediately knew who her owners were and that she hadn’t been that excited since she got there.

“She was playful, but when I called her name, she just took off running to us,” Finster said.

After a client brought her in, employees checked Lily for a microchip and sure enough, the chip led them back to Finster an hour later.

Lily was in fairly good condition, according to Yarberry, but she was extremely underweight and had fleas and ticks.

Now that she’s home, Finster said it’s as if she never left.

“When she came home, she went straight to the kitchen to her water bowl. She knew exactly where she was,” said Finster. “It’s amazingly evident that dogs can remember that far.”

Now that Lily, 6-years-old, is finally home, Finster said his family couldn’t be happier and that his wife has already called three times Monday to see how she’s doing.

“We wish she could just tell us where she was,” Finster said as he was laughing.

WSBTV