Woman Reunites With Missing Dog Thanks to Stranger Willing to Transport the Pup 500 Miles

The microchip did its job, but Stacey Staton Elam couldn’t get to her beloved Chris. That’s when Holly Stahl stepped up. By Austin Cannon April 13, 2022 Advertisement Pin FB More Tweet Email Send Text Message Print
black shaggy dog reunuited with his owner after being 600 miles away Credit: Eric Metz / Getty

It took a microchip, team work, and a stranger willing to drive hundreds of miles to get this black poodle mix back to his mom.

Little Chris escaped his north Alabama home back in February, slipping out of his leash while on a walk in Hayden, according to The News and Observer. Someone found him about a month later in Pender County, N.C., about 500 miles east. 

It's unclear how Chris, named for owner Stacey Staton Elam's late husband, got that far away in a relatively short amount of time, but the story wasn't over when he was brought into the Pender County Animal Shelter. The animal shelter had used Chris's microchip to find Elam's email address, but she couldn't get to him.

"I'm on disability, so (there) was no way I could get to North Carolina," Elam told the newspaper. 

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That's when Holly Stahl jumped in to help. After the shelter asked for assistance on Facebook, Stahl got then-shaggy Chris all spiffed up and drove him all the way to Elam, a nine-hour haul. 

"I could not let them be separated any longer and made the drive to Alabama," Stahl wrote on Facebook. "[I'm] blessed to have been able to help. It was absolutely heartwarming to reunite them!"

"When Holly arrived and Chris jumped into my arms, it was like we had never been apart," Elam told The News and Observer. "I was over the moon."

It had been tough to lose Chris, who'd helped her through "the most horrible" time after Elam's husband died. She felt like she'd lost a connection to her husband when he escaped. Fittingly, she was reunited with her dog around what would've been her wedding anniversary.

"I know my husband Chris had a hand in all of this," she told the newspaper.

If her story alone isn't enough, she also encouraged all pet owners to get their pets microchipped. You should listen to her! And make sure to keep their information updated.