A Billings woman was reunited this week with her 13-year-old bulldog after she was stolen from her yard in 2017.
Crystal Kerr said she had been searching for her canine companion, Georgette, for three years with no luck.
On Sunday, Kerr's luck turned around when Georgette was dropped off at Help for Homeless Pets animal shelter in Billings.
“I had gotten a call from the director that there was a 13-year-old bulldog coming in… My first reaction was her eyes,” Ashley Burling, director of shelter operations, said Tuesday.
It's a situation that workers at the animal shelter often see, and they want more people to understand the necessary steps to reunite a missing pet with its owner.
Burling decided to post the bulldog as adoptable on the shelter’s Facebook page right away to quickly find her a home and eliminate any stress that could be put on the 13-year-old dog from being in the shelter.
People quickly responded to the post, inquiring on the shelter's adoption policy and commenting on Georgette's beauty.
“Everyone starts commenting… 'I think we found the owner,'” said Burling.
To Burling’s surprise, Kerr, the owner of Georgette, commented on the post, saying, “This is my dog she was stolen from me. Contact me ASAP.”
When Kerr, who declined an interview request, arrived at the shelter, Georgette, who had previously been aggressive and nervous, immediately went quiet and started wagging her tail.
"Crystal goes into the kennel and sits on the floor and Georgette immediately crawls into her lap tail wagging… It was amazing to see,” said Burling.
It isn't clear whether the dog was stolen or simply ran away, but Burling reminds pet owners to keep looking.
"When you lose an animal, it is important to never give up looking for your pets," Burling said.
To find a lost pet, Burling advised checking local lost pet Facebook groups and the local shelter's pages.
