Six months ago, during Hurricane Ida, a man and his dog parted ways unexpectedly. They evacuated their Louisiana home while waiting for the natural disaster to pass. Harrison Sibley tried to keep things as normal as possible for his three-legged German Shepherd mix named Bear. But the change of environment was a lot for the 10-year-old dog to handle.
While on a hike, Bear disappeared. He was nowhere to be found, so Sibley later returned home without him. It took months of dedication, but eventually, Sibley found his missing friend and was able to hug him once again.
A Tragic Disappearing Act
During the hurricane in September 2021, Sibley and Bear left Louisiana to stay with a friend in Tennessee. When the duo went hiking, Bear took off out of the blue. Sibley searched for a long time, but he couldn’t find his furry friend. He ended up having no choice but to return home without Bear.
Of course, leaving Tennessee didn’t stop Sibley from searching. He created a Facebook group called “Bring Bear Home,” where he could connect with people from Tennessee who were on the lookout for Bear. Sibley also traveled back and forth several times.
“I came up to Tennessee four times since then, I drove three, flew once,” Sibley said.
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There were no sightings of Bear until January when he appeared on a couple’s security camera footage. A couple named Rebecca and Craig helped by setting up a humane trap for him. Jimi Holscher also helped by using a drone to search for Bear.
“I’ve never used my drone to find a dog. But I heard he was three-legged, and it touched me,” Holscher said.
Hard Work Pays Off
During one of Holscher’s drone sightings, Sibley came to help. But even when Sibley came close to Bear, the dog was so scared that he ran. He had been alone for so long that he was extremely confused. But once he realized that he had seen his human, he kept circling back to the same place.
Shortly after, Bear was captured in a large trap set up by Rebecca and Craig. It was around 3 am, but Sibley still drove there as soon as he heard the news. After six months apart, he was eager to embrace his furry friend again.
“It’s been six months of just growth, trying to grow as a person. You know, going through all the pain and I was just blessed enough to get him back and grow through all of it. So I’m just happy to have him again in my arms, you know. I’m just thanking God that everything has gone back to normal,” said Sibley.
Now, Bear has had time to relax and get back into his routine. It’s hard to imagine where he’s been all that time, but it’s a miracle that he’s finally back with his loving human.
H/T: people.com
Featured Image: Facebook
