CLEVELAND, Ohio – Michael Joy never thought he’d see his beloved dog Sam again after he went missing in the summer of 2016 from Fort Benning, Ga. But nearly five years later, a recent phone call from more than 800 miles away in Cleveland would make that dream come true.
Michael Joy, a retired Army medic who now lives in Clarksville, Tenn., never quite got over the loss of Sam, a 6-year-old Labrador Retriever and Siberian Husky mix. He had two other dogs and when the second one died in December, he felt even more of a loss of Sam.
“My other dog died and they were really close,” Joy said. “It was the last thing that tied me to him.”
So two weeks later, he and his wife welcomed a new dog to the family and named him Sam.
But even with the new four-legged family member, the loss of Sam was still there. A few weeks ago Joy was reminiscing, showing his wife and kids pictures of his original Sam as a puppy. And just days later, a call from Cleveland changed everything.
“When I first got the phone call I was like ‘I don’t know what you’re talking about. I’ve never been to Ohio. Are you sure he’s my dog? Can you describe him?’ And she said he has light brown hair and I was like ‘Wait a second. You can’t be talking about the same Sam,’” Joy said.
On April 2, more than 800 miles away from the Army base where Sam went missing, Cleveland Division of Police found Sam as a stray and brought him to Cleveland’s Animal Care & Control, City Dogs Cleveland. Staff performed a medical assessment, vaccinated him, scanned him for a microchip and, upon learning who the owner is, contacted Joy.
Although City Dogs Cleveland offered to extend the typical hold time to one week so the Joy family could make the 8-hour drive, it wasn’t necessary. The next morning they were in the car headed north.
“The second I saw him it was a rush of emotion,” Joy said. “My wife and daughter were crying. Me, I don’t show emotion too well. I was a medic for 20 years and I saw a lot of stuff. But seeing him I almost teared up. I was so happy to see him.”
Although Sam didn’t recognize Joy right away, it didn’t take long. “Once he started smelling me and hearing my voice he was attached to my hip and he’s still attached to my hip right now,” Joy said.
“One of the best parts of our job at Cleveland Animal Care & Control is reuniting lost dogs with loving owners who have been looking for them,” kennel manager Michelle Harvanek said in a press release. “We take a lot of pride in our efforts to trace microchips right away and making several attempts to contact owners. We also place a huge emphasis on microchipping dogs. Every dog that leaves our care through adoption or return to owner is microchipped if they weren’t already.
“This is one of those very feel-good stories that make all of our hard work worth it.”
It took Sam about a day to adjust to being home with Joy again but he’s back to being the affectionate, calm and mild-mannered dog he was five years ago.
If your dog needs a microchip, you can contact Cleveland Animal Care & Control at 216-664-3069.