‘Baytown to Borger’: Stolen dog found nearly 5 years later, 600 miles away

BORGER, Texas (KFDA) - From Baytown to Borger, a long-lost German Shepard has been missing for nearly five years and is about to be reunited with its Texas family.

Sheba, the German Shepard was found in Borger on Monday, more than 600 miles away from Baytown.

The Malstrom family lost Sheba, when the dog when she was 2-years-old, back in 2018.

It was part of a dog-napping spree in the Baytown area, when a total of five dogs were taken in a two-month time frame.

“You see them scoop her up and then they walk around to the back off the truck, put her in the back and take off. Everybody with a white ford truck with black rims was a suspect, we searched diligently for years, we never lost hope, but after two or three years, it’s kind of like maybe she’s gone,” said Stephanie Malstrom, Sheba’s owner.

Stephanie was in disbelief when she received this text message, Monday afternoon.

“I’m like ‘yeah right, I won a cruise too and a million dollars,’ you know somebody’s scamming me and how terrible of a scam you’re pulling at my heart strings that you found my German Shepard that’s been missing for five years,” said Malstrom.

Borger Animal Control Officer Jared Harper found Sheba while he was on patrol and scanned her for a microchip, taking her back to the shelter to find out who her owners were.

“I opened up my door, she immediately jumped into my lap and across over to the passenger side of my truck. I saw a dog and I was gonna help the dog no matter what and once everything started rolling and I talked to her and found out what happened, I was like alright we need to get this dog home, as soon as possible,” said Harper.

Sheba’s journey back home to Baytown near Houston is currently in the works.

“We have a network of private pilots that fly the small planes and they are a part of the Pilot and Paws program, so I have a group that I work with all over the U.S. I’m in the process of contacting a couple of them to help, it will be a two-leg flight because Houston is a long way and we will get her home,” said Brenda Walsh, founder of Friends of Texas Panhandle Shelter Pets.

Walsh hopes for Sheba to fly home sometime this week and will post updates on Facebook.

The Malstrom family is ready to welcome Sheba home with a steak dinner and is also excited to introduce her to their 3-year-old son who was born, while Sheba was missing.

The family is still trying to piece together how Sheba ended up in Borger. They recently learned someone in Fritch adopted her a few years back and renamed her Maggie.

The Fritch owner ended up moving a few weeks ago and rehomed her and then she ended up in Borger.

After a long journey and thanks to Harper, Sheba will finally reunite with her Baytown family.

Copyright 2022 KFDA. All rights reserved.