A Pennsylvania dog has been reunited with her family 10 years after going missing and having been declared dead.
In 2008, Debra Suierveld’s children where playing with their black lab mix, one-year-old Abby, outside their Apollo, Pennsylvania home, when the dog ran off, never to be seen again.
The Suiervelds searched for Abby, but after being unable to find her, eventually declared the dog dead.
But, on January 30, Abby returned from the dead.
Debra Suierveld and her long-lost dog Abby have been reunited after 10 years apart. Abby went missing in 2008 and was believed dead until she turned up on a porch eight miles away
That day, Suierveld received a call from the Animal Protectors of Allegheny Valley, who told her that they’d found her dog.
Suierveld assumed it was a mistake since she happened to have her two dogs with her at the time. She was then told the dog they’d found was named Abby.
‘I didn’t even know what to say,’ Suierveld told Trib Live, adding that she and her family had ‘mourned’ for Abby when they thought she was dead.
Earlier that day, Abby had turned up on Judy Spiering’s porch in Lower Burrell, Pennsylvania, about eight miles away from where the Suivervelds live and where she went missing.
Abby, back in her old home, still responds to her name and remembers old commands
Animal rescuers were able to identify Abby based on information in the microchip that Suierveld had been implanted in her neck many years ago
Animal Protectors medical manager Jody Berisko (pictured) said Abby appeared to have been well taken care of during her mysterious 10 year absence
Spiering, who noted that the dog was thirsty and ‘seemed friendly,’ called the police, who then notified Animal Protectors, which brought the dog into the shelter that afternoon.
Abby was identified based on information in her HomeAgain microchip that the Suiervelds had implanted in her neck many years ago.
Animal Protectors medical manager Jody Berisko told Trib Live that it was clear that Abby was ‘very well taken care of’ during the 10 years that she had gone missing, based on the fact that she is happy, in good shape and at a healthy weight.
‘Never give up, that’s my message,’ Suierveld told ABC6. ‘Never think people are out of your life because they can always come back in dog form.’
Abby was initially rescued from a humane society to be Suierveld’s daughter’s pet.
When Suierveld called her now 22-year-old daughter to tell her the good news, ‘She cried.’
Amazingly, Abby still responds to her name and the commands that Suierveld taught her despite all the years apart.
‘We thought she had passed away,’ Suierveld told KDKA. ‘It feels like a part of my kids’ childhood is back, part of our family is back. It’s pretty awesome.’
It is unknown who was taking care of Abby while she was missing – there have not yet been any reports about a missing dog in the area.