A San Diego ‘miracle dog’ has been found months later in suburban Michigan

After eight months of searching for their lost dog, a San Diego family has been reunited with their canine best friend after she turned up 2,000 miles away in suburban Michigan.

The dog’s mysterious cross-country journey started last July, when Elizabeth Houman posted to Facebook that her family’s beloved terrier mix, Mishka, went missing from an auto shop where her husband works.

“We will do anything to get our baby back,” Houman said on her post offering a cash reward to find their pup. “We believe someone has taken her because she is chipped.”

Mishka, a 3-year-old street dog the Houmans adopted from Mexico, was prone to wander around the neighborhood, but she was usually returned in a matter of minutes by a neighbor. After two days of Mishka being missing, Houman knew this was more serious.

Houman never lost hope she said over a Zoom call Friday. She continued the search, passed out hundreds of missing dog fliers to the neighborhood and her sister even flew out to help canvas local encampments where they advertised the cash reward.

There were no leads to Mishka’s whereabouts until last week when Houman received a call from the Grosse Pointe Animal Adoption Society in Harper Woods, Mich. Officers there picked up Mishka — police say a resident described her as an “amiable and social” stray dog — and took the long lost pet to their local pet adoption agency.

“It is not uncommon for our police officers to be called for lost or stray animals, but we have never encountered a situation where the dog traveled 2,000 miles,” said Jason Hammerle, director of public safety for Harper Woods police.

Coincidentally, the Houmans were going to be traveling to the Midwest to visit family in Minneapolis when they received the call that their pet had been found. Houman said when they landed around midnight last week, her husband immediately drove 10 hours to reunite with their dog.

“When [my husband] picked her up, she started jumping in her cage,” said Houman. “She knew exactly who he was.”

The Grosse Pointe Animal Adoption Society credited the reunion to a smooth pass off between Harper Woods police and their facility and that Mishka had been microchipped so they could find the Houmans.

“This is a tale that Hollywood would love to tell,” the Grosse Pointe Animal Adoption Society said on their Facebook page where they recapped the happy series of events in a video. “The synergy between a municipality and it’s local animal shelter shines brightly.”

The Houmans were surprised that Mishka appeared no worse for the wear after months of being gone, although they said she’s suffering from some separation anxiety.

With Mishka back, Houman said the family has been cleared by the vet to fly with her back home to San Diego. Once back in California, Houman wants to share the magic of their pup with others.

“I was planning to get her certified to go to children’s hospitals because she’s so loving and caring,” Houman said. While she spoke, Houman’s 5-year-old daughter was flicking Mishka’s ears and bear hugging her while the pet remained unfazed.

“She can put up with a lot. She’s never once growled at Lily, snipped — nothing,” Houman said. “She’s just the most sweetest and special dog ever.”