“She cried on the porch as I took him back”: Texas woman reunites with her long-lost dog after learning he’d been kept by a lonely stranger for five months

Author image for Laurent Shinar
Laurent Shinar • Writer and Editor
Aug 2, 2025 2:00 PM EDT

Losing your pawdorable pupper is no simple thing to deal with. At first, you still have some sort of strung out hope, it is what keeps you going while you put up posters and post on social media hoping to find a helping hand. Then comes worry and grief when nothing is happening. And finally at some point, that unfortunately you have to decide on, you have to come to terms with the situation and what may or may not have happened to your darling doggo.

Which is exactly what the poor dog momma featured in this story had to do. Only to then find out, five months after her doggo's disappearance, that he is alive and well and being cared for by someone else who let their loneliness get the better of their moral compass. And so after that long emotional process, this dog momma had to pick herself up once more to gather strength to fight to get her pupper home. What a woman she is.
 

Subscribe to our weekly newsletter to start your Caturday with the funniest felines on the internet!

Advertisement
  • 01
    5 months ago my husband and I were moving into a new apartment. We took my dog to stay with my grandpa for a week or two while we moved so that my dog didn't get in the way. He's a pitbull/
    via hawtp0ckets
  • 02
    chocolate lab mix and has a lot of energy. My grandpa has a huge plot of land and I thought my dog would enjoy that as a little vacation while we moved.
    via hawtp0ckets
  • 03
    A day after my dog had been at my grandpa's, my dog got out. We think he pushed open the back door. My grandpa felt awful and we called every vet office nearby and even let the police station know and gave them a picture. They said they'd
    via hawtp0ckets
  • 04
    keep an eye out for him. This is a SMALL town in Texas. I don't even know if the population is more than 200 people.
    via hawtp0ckets
  • 05
    Fast forward 5 months. I thought my dog got ran over by a car and that's why no one had turned him into any shelters. He had tags on him and is microchipped so I figured that if someone had picked him up, we would know. My phone number
    via hawtp0ckets

  • Wow, what a harrowing beginning to this story. In the middle of absolute nowhere to lose your beloved best bud is just heartbreaking. At least in the city there are other people who might be kind enough to help and return your lost pupper. But it is rather tough to translate lost dog posters for every animal living in the area…

  • 06
    and name is on his tag, even. Yesterday I received a call from a vet office in this town. They told me an old lady had picked my dog up FIVE MONTHS ago.
    via hawtp0ckets
  • 07
    P
    via hawtp0ckets
  • 08
    She has been taking him in for regular check-ups and even got him his shots. Yesterday when she brought my dog into the vet, they felt the microchip on his neck and decided to scan it. They found my information on it and called me.
    via hawtp0ckets
  • 09
    Well, this morning I spoke with the lady. Let's just say her name is Tina. She is old, probably in her 70's. I let her know that I was happy she had my dog and that he was not dead or had been run over. She was not happy
    via hawtp0ckets
  • 10
    to speak with me. I asked her if I could come pick him up and the first thing she says is, "I just spent $165 on his shots!". I let her know that I was sorry, I know she had formed a relationship with him, but he was my dog. I adopted
    via hawtp0ckets
  • 11
    him when he was a disgusting looking pit bull at the pound that no one wanted. He was malnourished and I formed a bond with him getting his health back. She then started telling me that her mother had just died and she had no one else in the world. I,
    via hawtp0ckets

  • Well, this is awkward. The person who ‘adopted’ this doggo certainly does not seem to be level-headed in any way. Which is pretty much the last thing you want when someone needs to voluntarily give you back your doggo. We can only hope she sees some sense and calms down with her demands.

  • 12
    again, apologized about her mother and thanked her for taking care of him. She gave me her address and said I could pick him up but also said she needs me to pay for all the food for these past 5 months. I'm a little upset
    via hawtp0ckets
  • 13
    she found a dog and didn't call the number on his caller or have him checked for a microchip in the event that he somehow lost his collar.
    via hawtp0ckets
  • 14
    My dog got out, someone found him and never turned him in. It's been five months and I was finally contacted. She wants money for his bills and food before giving him to me. Should I pay her back? I don't think this old lady is trying to scam me. But my
    via hawtp0ckets
  • 15
    husband says that something seems odd. I also am not sure if she can keep my dog from me until I pay her.
    via hawtp0ckets
  • 16
    Edit: She doesn't want just $165 now. She wants $165 for his shots yesterday, $100 for "medication" (wouldn't specify what), $100 for the first check-up he had, and $250 for food for the past 5 months. So she wants around $615.
    via hawtp0ckets
  • 17
    Update: Hey all. Here is my original post. I got some requests for an update since I went and picked up my pup today. Words can't even describe what it was like to see him after 5 months.
    via hawtp0ckets
  • 18
    When my grandfather and I got there, my pup and the old lady were sitting on the porch together. She was crying as I came up.
    via hawtp0ckets
  • 19
    She told me a little about herself. She lives on $600 a month out in the country by herself and her mom passed away 4 weeks ago. I let her know how sorry I was. I told her that I would still be taking my dog, but I wrote her for a check for $200. That
    via hawtp0ckets
  • 20
    will cover the shots she paid for. If the vet can fax me the other bills tomorrow I will pay her for those as well. I would have had to get them next month anyways, so not really a loss and I know the money helped her.
    via hawtp0ckets
  • 21
    I asked her about the day that she found him and he was still on my grandfather's property when he was found. He had crawled through barbed wire, probably to go exploring. She said he had some wire stuck to him and had scratches on him. She took him to the
    via hawtp0ckets
  • 22
    vet and told them she found him- so it sounds like they never did the microchip check like the should have at first. But all is well. We also made a deal that I'm going to drive her to a shelter so she can have a
    via hawtp0ckets
  • 23
    sweet dog "just like mine". I let her know I could help her train one, or come over whenever she needs. She's welcome to visit my dog if she ever needs to. She said we can come over and use her yard anytime and that if I ever need a dogsitter I can drop him off.
    via hawtp0ckets

Check out our Instagram for more hilarious animal content!

Love our stuff? Shop for some of our pawsome merch here.

Tags

months dogs cry woman long took learning reunited stranger reddit story dog story texas back lonely lost Dog Rescue
Scroll Down For The Next Article