Michigan teen reunites with lost dog after 11 months
FLINT, MI -- Jake Free thought he lost a family member in summer 2021.
His pit bull, Vanessa, had gotten out of the backyard of Free’s Flint home while chasing a bag flying in the wind and never came back.
Vanessa’s left a few times, here and there, but normally she’s always back within an hour.
That’s how Free knew that something was off.
Free and his family started going around the neighborhood calling for Vanessa, asking the neighbors if they had seen the dog.
Days went by and they started posting “Lost Dog” flyers with a photo of Vanessa in a desperate attempt to find her.
However, the early morning and late night searches were to no avail.
That is until almost one year later.
Free’s mother saw a post on Facebook where someone had written about a lost dog and posted a picture.
It was hard to fathom at first because it had been over 10 and a half months since she left.
“I was like, ‘I cannot even believe what is happening right now.’ I was in disbelief,” Free said.
Someone had found her about 10 miles from Free’s house.
At the meet-up, it was clear to both parties that two lifelong friends were reunited that day.
Vanessa was brought outside and ran right up to Free. It was “like a movie,” the 18-year-old said.
“It was beautiful. All the emotions just exploded together: it was happiness, but also sadness because you are thinking about the beginning,” he said. “It was a lot of joy. ... It was like somebody came back to life.”
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There was a point after a couple months when Free started to lose hope.
He would always hope the best for Vanessa, but you start thinking the worst happened to her after time, Free said.
“We weren’t able to sleep,” Free said. “... At some point, we just had to let it go because you can’t search forever. At some point, you have to get back to your life.”
Free remembered getting Vanessa, 4, when she was a puppy and he was just 14 years old.
“You eat with them. You sit with them. She is just like another member of the family,” Free said. “We love her and she loves us.”
He now treats every moment with her as his last. This situation taught him to never take things for granted, he said.
Now that she’s home, Free said he’s making sure to give her more treats and lock the gates in the backyard.
“You take things for granted until you do not have it, whether it’s people or pets. You do not know how important something is in your life until you are missing it,” he said.
Read more at The Flint Journal:
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Energy company looks to bring $200M solar farm to northern Genesee County
Education community speaks out against possible closure of two Flint schools
Pavilion honoring 100 years at Perry Center constructed by current Grand Blanc students
15 small businesses receive total of $150K in ‘Moving Flint Forward’ grants
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