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SEDONA, AZ (AZFamily) — A Sedona family has been reunited with their dog more than four years after he disappeared from a groomer’s shop.
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The dog, named Owl, vanished just before Christmas in 2021 after the family dropped him off at a groomer’s to be cleaned up for the holiday.
“Our pets are like family. In our home anyway. We love them like family,” said his owner, Linsey Frawley. “He went everywhere with us.”
Family launched years-long search
Frawley said she received a call from the groomer telling her Owl had run away.
“I said, ‘What are you talking about? Where is my dog?’ And she said, ‘He ran away,’” Frawley said.
The family searched for Owl for years.
“We made hundreds of thousands of posters. We had people putting them from Cottonwood Rimrock,” Frawley said.
As time passed without any sign of Owl, the family said they had to let go of hope.
“We just had to put it out of our head and in our heart that maybe he’s just in a better place now,” Frawley said.
Dog found three hours from home
Owl was found by Pinetop police and identified through his microchip. He had been wandering alone on the side of the road, three hours from home.
Mason Goodson, Linsey’s son, described the moment of reunion as surreal.
“It’s like if one of my dead relatives were to be sitting on my couch when I got home or something. It feels the same,” Goodson said.
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The reunion was bittersweet. Owl was severely matted, and his eyes and mouth were fused shut. He originally could not walk, see or hear.
“No animal should have to go through that,” Frawley said.
Owl is now running and spending time at the same park his family used to bring him to.
The family said only Owl knows what happened during the four years he was missing.
“He can’t talk and tell us,” Frawley said.
The family believes Owl could have been stolen from the groomer and spent years living with someone else.
Goodson said if the family finds out someone is responsible, they will go to the police. In the meantime, their focus is on Owl’s recovery, and helping him enjoy however many years he has left.
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