FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – A family in Southwest Ranches was reunited with their dog Saturday after the German shepherd, which was stolen two years ago, was found in Colorado.
The Peterson family's 4-month-old female German shepherd puppy, Cedar, was stolen from their property. The thieves who stole Cedar opened the family's front gate and took her but left all the other dogs.
The family searched for weeks, hired a pet detective and posted flyers, hoping someone would bring Cedar back.
"The kids were crushed," Doug Peterson said.
Then, last month, a county marshal in Hugo, Colorado, found a dog in a ditch. Ceder's microchip was traced back to the Davie office of Dr. Kimberly Balasky, who implanted the chip when Cedar was a puppy.
The family received a call in late March that authorities had found Cedar, although they are still unsure how she ended up there.
Several organizations -- including Wings of Rescue, Cloud Nine Rescue Flights and the Human Society of Broward County -- helped get Cedar back to South Florida, reuniting her with the family early Saturday afternoon at Fort Lauderdale Executive Airport.
"I don’t think dogs forget. They are not much different than humans when you get down to it," Peterson said.