BURLINGTON, N.C. — A Burlington family was reunited with their dog that had been missing for 10 months. The Mashburn's Dog 'Abby' hadn't been seen since last year, then yesterday Abby returned home.
Today, we found out how this long overdue reunion came together months later.
"That day (the day Abby went missing), we were gone, and my son just let her out for a minute, and he just went in the house for a minute. He came back and she was gone, had a collar, with a name a tag, and everything on it", Harry Mashburn told us.
For the last 14 years, Abby has been a part of the Mashburn family, until one day, she just up and disappeared.
"It was heartbreaking for me and my son, but it was worse on my wife. She's had bad health for years and years and this was her companion. She wasn't a caring dog or anything, but she was her companion, for the last 10 months she's been down. I'm talking really really down", exclaimed Mashburn.
That is until yesterday when an unfamiliar woman, brought in a familiar dog to 'Pawesome Canine Dog Grooming' in Burlington, and owner Shelby Murray knew something suspicious was going on.
"I wasn't aware she was missing honestly. His wife is terminally ill, and I figured something happened with her, and that's why I hadn't heard from him in a while. So when everything happened yesterday I called him to check on Abby just to make sure I wasn't losing my mind and I had the right dog."
And that she did, so now Harry, his wife, and Abby are one big happy family once again.
"I'm overjoyed for two reasons, one to have her back, but second because I knew it was going to help my wife. She's been depressed for the last 10 months, she's been very very depressed", Mashburn explains.