A Pennsylvania family found a dog that went missing four years ago, thanks to the help of a pet detective.
Stephanie Swire was on vacation with her family in Virginia when she received a frantic phone call from hundreds of miles away. Their six-year-old yellow lab mix escaped from his pet sitter.
Jax was nowhere to be found, and that was four years ago.
“We were devastated,” Swire said. “I didn’t know how to tell my kids that their dog was gone.”
At first, a few tips rolled in. But days turned into months, months turned into years, and the Dallas Township family lost hope that Jax was still alive.
“We basically mourned him,” Swire said. “We mourned the loss of our dog. He was a family member, not just a dog.”
She said what happened next is nothing short of a miracle.
Someone spotted a dog that matched the description of Jax, and a photo made its way to Tracey Morgan-Chopick with Luzerne County Pet Recovery Services.
Tracey is like a real-life Ace Ventura — a pet detective on a mission to reunite lost furry friends with their humans.
She was able to catch Jax in a trap, and after more than 1,400 days of wandering in the woods, the now 1—year-old Jax is finally home.
Jax even met a new member of the family—baby Johnny.
“Lots of tears,” Morgan-Chopick said. “And it’s wonderful to get a family back together.”
Jax lost a few pounds, and he has a few more white hairs now, but Swire said the moment she knew it was her dog, is when he jumped up on his favorite spot on the couch.