Lost dog happily reunited with family after being found 200 miles from home

Sassy the Pomeranian was found 200 miles from her Florida home.
 By 
Mia Johnson
 on 

Being lost is a scary feeling, but imagine if you were a lost doggo away from your family.

Though it must have been terrifying, one brave pet stayed strong while away from home for five months.

A police officer from the Pembroke Pines Police Department in Florida found a lost little Pomeranian on the side of the road earlier this month. The dog, Sassy, wasn't just just a block or two away from home; she was about 200 miles away from home.

In January, 6-year-old Sassy had been out enjoying the day in her family's backyard with her other doggy siblings, according to the Miami Herald. Sassy's owner Barbara Dawson called all of them inside after 15 minutes, but Sassy was nowhere to be found.

"We believe somebody jumped the fence and got her," said Dawson told the Miami Herald.

After Sassy went missing, the family started an immediate search for its lost pet. They put up lost dog signs around the neighborhood and posted on social media in hopes of finding her.

After a long five months, Pembroke Pines Officer William Higuita found Sassy in "good health," according to a media release from the department's Facebook page.

"When [the cop] found the dog, he told me she was a happy-go-lucky little dog going, 'Pick me up! I’m owned by somebody,'" Dawson told the Miami Herald.

The Facebook post stressed that stories like these illustrate the importance of tagging and microchipping pets, as that's how the officers were able to identify the dog.

Sassy finally came home on June 17, joining her family and her Pomeranian siblings.

"I was so happy I cried," the owner said in a WSVN Miami story. "It was unbelievable, but I never gave up hope."

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Mia Johnson

Mia Johnson was a web culture intern for Mashable. She's a Chicago native and Missouri School of Journalism graduate. She has a background in online, TV, and magazine journalism.

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