A California stroke victim has been reunited with his beloved husky, 18 months after a woman found the dog on the street and tried to register him as his own.
David Guindon, of San Bernardino, got Zeus in 2014 following a devastating stroke and heart attack in 2012 that left him unable to walk on his own.
The husky helps Guindon navigate around his home in his motorized wheelchair.
‘If I want to go outside I just tell him, “Open the door.” He’d flip it open for me,’ Guindon said to ABC7 Los Angeles. ‘[He would] hold it open long enough so I could get towards it and get out.’
After nearly a year and a half, Zeus and Guindon were finally reunited this week
David Guindon of San Bernardino, California, lost his beloved service dog Zeus in 2016
Zeus somehow ran through the front door of Guindon’s home in May of 2016.
Despite the fact that Zeus was fitted with a microchip, no one could find him.
A year and a half after Zeus’ disappearance, Guindon got a call from the microchip company saying they had found him, but a woman was trying to register him as her own through.
The microchip company wouldn’t identify the woman, but said she lived an hour away in Lake Elisnore, California.
Zeus, a husky, helped Guindon get around his home after he suffered a stroke that rendered him unable to walk
Zeus, pictured here as a puppy, was found via microchip after running away in 2016 – but the woman who discovered him on the street initially refused to give him back
Zeus turned up in Lake Elisnore, California, nearly an hour away from his home in San Bernardino
The woman who had Zeus originally refused to give up ownership of Zeus.
Then Wednesday night, she returned him to a shelter, clearing the way for Guindon to get his pal back.
Guindon said that Zeus’ looked a little thin when they were reunited, but he’s glad to have his dog back in his life.
‘I’m glad she finally did the right thing, and I thank you,’ he said. ‘It’s like my child. I mean he’s my family member,’ Guindon said.
Guindon says he bought Zeus a GPS collar to avoid this situation in the future.
Guindon got Zeus a GPS collar after their reunion to avoid losing him again