An emotional reunion for one family that never gave up on their missing dog, even two years later.
Kathleen Juhasz now lives in Hamilton, but was in Windsor when she believes someone took her five-month-old puppy Shiner from her backyard.
As BlackburnNews.com was first to report, Juhasz found out just this week he was up for adoption at the Windsor/Essex County Humane Society through a friend.
"I was in shock at first and then I got extremely excited. This can't even be happening," she tells BlackburnNews.com in a telephone interview.
"I didn't think it was true. I thought I was dreaming. I sometimes look at him and I'm like 'you're really here. You're really back.'"
All hope was never lost -- the family kept his original bed, collar and leash. Her children Kaylyn, Nyla and Lincoln wanted a new dog, but Juhasz says she never got over Shiner.
The family recently came back from a trip to Niagara Falls when they got a text and picture of Shiner. Twenty minutes later they made the decision to travel from Hamilton to Windsor the very next day.
Shiner was returned to his family two years after going missing. (Photo courtesy Windsor/Essex County Humane Society)
Juhasz says she'll never forget being reunited with her pooch.
"He kind of just stared at us for a minute and then was like, nothing, there was no reaction at first. We just kind of all looked at each other," she says. "I mean I was ecstatic. But he was just staring and all of a sudden his tail just started going crazy."
Shiner appears to be adjusting to his new life with three young kids, almost like he never left the family.
"He loves to cuddle, he loves to give kisses. The first night we had him he was going around ... so he would kiss them, come back and kiss me," she says. "He would lay on them, come back and lay on me. He's just a nice, nice dog."
The humane society told Juhasz he was picked up in February as a stray.
