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Dog missing from California home since July found in Michigan

Mishka, a terrier mix, had run off from her home in San Diego, and a shelter found her roaming the streets in suburban Detroit last week.
Dog missing from California home since July found in Michigan
Posted at 9:41 PM, Apr 04, 2024
and last updated 2024-04-04 21:41:33-04

No, this isn't a storyline for another "Homeward Bound" remake — but it could be.

The most recent "Incredible Journey" film, released by Disney in 1993, followed two dogs and a cat through the California wilderness as they tried to get back to their parents, who the animals mistakenly believed had abandoned them away from home.

But in this real-life story that also began in California, the animal did the abandoning, and her "Incredible Journey" back to her family covers a bit more of the country than just one state.

In fact, Mishka, a terrier mix living with her family in San Diego, had traveled more than double the distance of the entire state of California when she was finally found 2,343 miles away from home, roaming the streets of suburban Detroit.

Last week, Harper Woods Police picked up a dog they didn't yet know was Mishka after a "concerned" resident called reporting the stray, and then they dropped the pup off at Grosse Pointe Animal Adoption Society, the shelter said in a Facebook video. 

After scanning her microchip, GPAAS realized Mishka was far away from home, and they contacted her awaiting family, whose information was on the chip, the group said. 

Mishka's family told a San Diego lost pets Facebook page back in July that their terrier went missing after potentially wandering off from her dad's work to look for her other paw-rent — being a "mommy's girl," the post said. 

But in the end, it was the pup's pop who made his own journey to get Mishka back home. 

In a turn of fate, Mishka's family was spending the Easter holiday in Minneapolis, just a few states away and only around 690 miles instead of thousands. So Mishka's dad, Mehrad Houman, drove the 10 hours to Detroit to pick up their lost family member, drove all the way back to Minneapolis and then flew back to San Diego with the entire group, Mishka included this time.

To ensure she was ready to fly though, a Harper Woods veterinarian checked out the far-traveled furry friend before she truly went "Homeward Bound."

"This is a tale that Hollywood would love to tell," GPAAS said on Facebook alongside an adorable video of the family reunion. 

Surely Mishka's story would be one for the big screen if she could only retell it, but the shelter stressed the happy ending wouldn't have been made possible without a few key plotlines, particularly that the Houmans had Mishka microchipped. 

SEE MORE: Dog missing for 10 years reunites with family who 'never lost hope'

Recently, another reunion 10 years in the making was made possible by a pet's microchip. In that Disney-esque story, a Florida family lost their dog Cleo in 2014 but never gave up hope, continuing to update her microchip over the years even after moving. Then in March, a shelter scanned the Cockapoo's chip and found her family, who drove five hours to get her back.


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