SAN DIEGO (FOX 5/KUSI) — A San Diego family has finally been reunited with their fur baby after the terrier mix went missing over seven months ago. But that’s not all to the story, she was found more than 2,000 miles away in Michigan.
Chihuahua-Terrier mix, Mishka, was at her dad’s auto shop in July 2023 when she went missing. The dog’s owners, Mehrad Houman and his family, live in San Diego.
When his wife, Elizabeth, and their daughter got the call she went missing, they told FOX 5/KUSI they immediately flew back from their vacation in Minneapolis and started putting up flyers. They said they never expected her to be missing for so long as she is microchipped and has a collar with the family’s phone number on it.
“We never gave up hope,” Elizabeth Houman said.
They never did give up hope. Mishka remained missing for over seven months before turning up thousands of miles away… in Detroit, Michigan.
“I put up over a thousand flyers within a few months. I put a flyer on my back windshield just to put it out there. I wore her leash, so if I saw her I would grab her and put her in my car. It was one of the most horrifying things knowing someone took her with identification and disregarded us and our family. It was really hard,” Elizabeth said.
The family got the call last Thursday early in the morning that their dog was found. So, instead of enjoying their planned vacation in Minneapolis nearly a year after her disappearance, Mehrad dropped everything and drove from Minnesota all night to Michigan to pick up their beloved family pet.
The family says she was found on the street with no collar; her microchip the only reason the family saw her again.
The Associated Press reports veterinarian Nancy Pillsbury examined 3-year-old Mishka, gave her a rabies shot, and cleared her to travel back home to California.
The family said they are very grateful to have her home and are extremely thankful for the good Samaritan that found her, but say she seems to have separation anxiety and related PTSD, weighs much less than before and is very tired.
“We’re never going to let her go again,” Elizabeth said.
The family also thanked the Grosse Pointe Animal Adoption Society for providing her a collar, leash, carrier, a vet visit, and even papers for Mishka to fly home.
The family says they intend to contact the police in San Diego in an effort to find out who took Mishka.
“We really want to figure out who took Mishka, and how she got to Detroit, Michigan from San Diego,” Elizabeth said.
The Associated Press contributed to this report