ST. GEORGE — A disabled veteran and his canine friend have been reunited.
Over three weeks ago, on Oct. 5, Kim Holt reported that her husband Sam New’s dog, a 2-year-old blue heeler, had gone missing on Oct. 1 in the area of Warner Valley south of Staheli Family Farm.
The dog, Shay, became lost on Oct. 1 when she jumped in the truck with New, as he was heading out to Warner Valley, where she then disappeared near the water intake tower south of Staheli Family in the Warner Valley area.
While the dog is not registered as a service animal, Holt told St. George News the dog serves as emotional support to her husband, a disabled veteran. The family used drones to search for the dog and sent out search teams in the area. They even left food and water and clothes that smelled like them in the area where she disappeared, but still could not find her.
Holt reached out to St. George News, she said, because she worried someone might have found her dog and didn’t know to whom she belonged, as Shay wasn’t wearing her collar and is not chipped
“I feel like possibly someone has her, and they just can’t find us,” Holt told St. George News in a previous interview.
On Oct. 15, Holt said they didn’t know what more they could do.
“We’ve checked everywhere and been all over social media,” she said. “No one seems to know anything.”
On Sunday morning, Holt sent a message to St. George News with good news.
After receiving a tip Saturday night that someone had seen their dog on the ridge trail in Warner Valley, they went out and searched but never found her. But on Sunday morning, New went back out to the area and found his dog.
“She’s super skinny,” Holt said. “He’s going to take her to the vet.”
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