A Florida family reunited with its German shepherd after six years.
Family Reunites With Lost German Shepherd After 6 Years
A dog that was missing for six years recently reunited with her family after firefighters rescued her from a canal... 200 miles away from her home.
Earlier this year, Fort Lauderdale Fire Rescue shared on X that they had rescued a "sweet" German shepherd from a canal she had fallen into, alongside photos and a video of the rescue mission, plus footage of an expert tracing the dog's chip once she was safely on dry land in the firehouse.
Firefighters rescued a German shepherd from a canal in the Fort Lauderdale area.
Writing on X, the Fire Rescue said, "FLPD tracked down her owners - all the way in St Cloud, FL. They say they’re on the way to claim her!"
For those whose Florida geography is a little rusty, it's just under 200 miles from St. Cloud to Fort Lauderdale.
Speaking of the incident, Frank Guzman of the Fire Rescue told People, "Our crew from Engine 47 responded to the scene and safely removed her from the water. Luckily, she was standing on a ledge and only partially submerged, making the grab easy."
Firefighters were able to find Bella's family thanks to her microchip.
But the plot thickens exponentially from here. When the Nicholson family arrived to pick up their dog, named Bella, it became clear that their beloved pet had been missing for six years. In other words, this was no ordinary family reunion.
"[The family says] that a couple of years after adopting Bella, they suffered a house fire and had to move into a hotel," Guzman said. "Unable to bring the German shepherd, they gave her to a friend who, without permission, gave her away to an unknown person. They thought they had lost their dog for good. They then moved to central Florida where they live today."
Firefighters took care of Bella at the fire station until her family made it to pick her up.
The mother of the family, Lisa Nicholson, told People, "Hugging Bella again felt like our family was made whole again — like being reunited with a long-lost friend. We had a welcome party with a bunch of doggie treats and new toys. We gave her a steak and she loved it! She also got a new doggie bed."
The Nicholson family was over the moon to reunite with Bella after six years.
Perhaps even more incredibly — if that's possible — Nicholson told ABC News that her eldest daughter, 18-year-old Liberty, had just had a dream about Bella when they received the call that the dog had been found.
"I just said, 'This has got to be God here,' because … my daughter has a dream, and then all of a sudden the dog appears after about six years? Like, it's a dream come true," the mother-of-two said.