She had escaped from a backyard.
When Richard Moneck’s dog got loose in Florida more than a year ago, he gave up hope that he’d ever see her again.
Moneck said the dog, “Relay,” escaped from his dad’s backyard in West Palm Beach in February of 2016. Despite hours of searching, they couldn’t find her.
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“We went to the gas station, and we figured we’d ask them if they had footage of her walking on the sidewalk, and they did,” Moneck said. “Some guy we saw on camera whistled for the dog to come over and that was the last I had seen her ever.”
Moneck, 18, had Relay for two years before her disappearance. She was a stray dog who his family took in and he said losing her was hard.
“I was devastated," Moneck said. "I cried."
But as fate would have it, the 4-year-old German shepherd-mix turned up on Tuesday — in New York.
Relay was reportedly turned over to Bobbi and the Strays Animal Rescue in Freeport on Long Island. After employees at the rescue scanned for her microchip, they contacted Moneck’s dad.
"I thought it was a scam at first," Moneck said. "I thought, 'Why would my dog be up in New York?’ I thought it was far-fetched."
But when the rescue organization texted a picture of Relay to the family, they knew employees at rescue were for real.
“I was really shocked,” Moneck said. “I doubt she walked all the way up there. Whoever took her brought the dog to a shelter.”
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However it happened, Moneck said he’s just blessed to have his beloved pup back again.
The pair will be reunited soon. A family friend is helping take care of the dog in New York until then.
“I’m feeling really relieved. I’d never thought I’d see the dog again. And now she’s coming back to me and I feel really happy,” Moneck added.
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