California Veteran’s Dog Found in Texas 9 Months After Going Missing

We hear stories from time to time about owners being reunited with missing pets sometimes hundreds of miles from home, but this one is especially poignant.

San Diego resident and U.S. Marine veteran Alexandra Melnick received a tip that her service dog, a German Shepherd named Kai, was found in Texas.

The San Diego Tribune reports that the dog went missing or, according to detectives, was stolen from Melnick's backyard around Thanksgiving last year. The veteran received a tip last week that her dog was at a home in Aubrey, Texas, about an hour north of Dallas.

Alexandria flew to Texas, went to the home and confirmed to police that it was in fact her dog.

Law enforcement seized the dog from the home. After a hearing Wednesday morning to determine ownership, Kai was released into Melnick's care.

Alexandra Melnick left the Marine Corps in 2013 and said she bought Kai at 12 weeks old, training him to wake her up from nightmares, help ease her insomnia and act as her boundary protector. Melnick returned from service with a traumatic brain injury and post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). She was devastated when Kai went missing and endeavored to find him, whatever the cost.

We're glad they've been reunited.