This dog was kidnapped, abandoned and lived like a stray, five years later it's back with its owners (VIDEO)

This dog was stolen from his family and rehomed twice 600 miles away from home. It was then abandoned on the streets by its heartless owner and had to live outside like a stray.

Pure luck, as well as a microchip, led the pup back to its special humans five years later. Despite all this time apart, both the family and the dog couldn’t be happier.

Stolen and abandoned

A German Shepherd puppy, Sheba, was stolen out of the front yard in Baytown, Texas, in 2018. Pet owner Stephanie Malmstrom was shocked when she looked at her home surveillance video and saw a white truck pull up and scoop the pet up.

Despite the Moore-Malmstrom family’s efforts, they couldn’t locate their dog or the culprits.

No one knew at the time that the pooch had been taken to the Texas panhandle and eventually adopted.

Sheba spent four and a half years with an unknown family. As they had decided to relocate, they rehomed the pup.

Shortly after getting the dog, her new owners didn't seem to want to care for her anymore and heartlessly abandoned her.

Sheba was living on the streets, being looked after by a local teen, when an animal control officer found her and checked her microchip, The Dodo reports.

‘I thought it was a prank’

Stephanie Moore-Malmstrom couldn’t believe her eyes when she got a text telling her that her dog, Sheba, had been found in a town more than 600 miles away.

She said:

My initial thought was, ‘Where’s my million dollars and my cruise? Somebody’s scamming me.'

Even though the police officer identified Sheba via her microchip, the woman was still sceptical. But as soon as she saw Sheba through a FaceTime call, even though the pup was five years older, she knew for sure that it was her dog.

The pup’s owner commented:

I was like, ‘Oh my God, you have my dog, you have our baby.'

‘I experienced every emotion’

Thanks to the help of Pilots N Paws, an organization dedicated to saving animals by flying them back to their families or to no-kill shelters, Sheba was soon in the air, heading home.

As she stepped off the plane, the whole family was amazed to see their beloved pup after such a long separation. The pooch ran to them, thrilled to see Moore-Malmstrom’s daughters.

Moore-Malmstrom described the reunion:

I experienced every emotion that you could begin to imagine. Sheba could not get to my girls quick enough.

Finally safe with her family, Sheba enjoyed being showered with love. Though they’ve spent so many years apart, they’ll have the rest of their lives to make up for the lost time.

Read more:

⋙ This senior dog was dumped in a shelter to die but instead found her 'fountain of youth'

⋙ These bonded inseparable dogs were abandoned and are now looking for a new home

⋙ Rescue’s agony as they find an abandoned terrified dog in their car park first thing in the morning