When Utah Jazz player Kelly Olynyk and his spouse, Jackie Olynyk, spotted a seemingly lost gray dog wandering in a San Antonio fast-food parking lot on Christmas Day, they had no idea they were staring at a dog who had gone missing four years ago.
Per The Washington Post, Kelly and his wife were driving around San Antonio looking for a place to have lunch when they saw the mixed-breed dog. Concerned about the canine, they pulled over to check whether she had an ID tag. Kelly said as soon as they opened their doors, the pup “suddenly jumped in, right into Jackie’s lap.”
It was then that the Olynyks— who own two Dachshunds — put their lunch plans aside and embarked on a mission to locate the dog’s owner. Even though they found all local animal shelters closed, the animal-loving couple didn’t give up.
Couple faces major setback finding missing dog owner
After failing to find a tag on the dog, the Olynyks drove to an emergency vet, where they were told the pup – identified as Harley – had a microchip.
Since the phone number on the microchip wasn’t going through, the couple drove to the listed address. Unfortunately, they discovered Harley’s owner had relocated four years ago, and someone else lived there.
Despite the setback, the Olynyks carried on with their search. They used the owner’s contact details to dig online and try to trace her on social media. “She hadn’t responded, so we were emailing her employer and asking her friends on social media to call us,” Jackie stated.
Later in the day, Jackie received a text from her friend, who told her a San Antonio resident had offered to take in Harley for the night as they waited for the shelters to re-open the next day. Since she wasn’t home at the time, the resident requested Jackie to leave the pup in her backyard. “We got there and put her in the backyard, but when we drove off, we turned around after like 30 seconds because I was feeling bad and started crying,” Jackie narrated.
Owner of dog missing for 4 years finally found
When the Olynyks returned to the backyard, Harley was nowhere to be seen. But as soon as Jackie opened the car door, there stood the dog, who jumped onto her lap— again.
“Kelly knew then we had to keep trying or we were going to have to keep her,” Jackie shared. Moments later, Jackie got another call. This time, it was Harley’s real owner. “When I talked to her, I didn’t mention the dog’s name, but she did,” an overjoyed Jackie said. “That’s how we knew we’d found the right person.”
The reunion was nothing short of heartwarming. Kelly said the dog jumped into her owner’s arms when she saw her. Jackie further confirmed this, adding, “Harley recognized her right away and was giving her kisses.”
