‘The surprise of a lifetime’: Dog missing from Texas for 7 years found in Orange County

ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. — Seven years ago, a 5-year-old pup named Jazzy got spooked by fireworks in Texas and ran away.

Her family searched and searched for her, but Jazzy never came home. Until now.

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Seven years later — states away in Florida — officers responded to a call about an abandoned dog in an Orange County hotel room. She had a bad case of arthritis and could barely walk.

Orange County Animal Services workers scanned the dog for a microchip, and it linked back to Jazzy and her family in Texas.

Read: Missing dog in Florida reunited with owner after 8 years

“When we called them, we gave them the surprise of a lifetime,” shelter officials said.

The shelter told Kerry, Jazzy’s owner, about her health issues and current condition, and Kerry jumped on a plane to Florida. The pair were reunited after seven years apart on Saturday.

“We don’t know how Jazzy wound up here in Orlando, or what her life has been like. But after seven years, Jazzy was finally going home,” the shelter said.

Read: ‘Trying to be a good citizen’: Woman fined $500 after taking lost dog to Lake County Animal Shelter

The shelter said it was a tearful reunion as Jazzy, now 12, came to life at the sound of Kerry’s voice and Kerry regaled shelter workers with stories about Jazzy.

“She licked his hand again and again, and inched her body as close as she could to him,” the shelter said. “After all those years, her heart still remembered, and was finally whole.”

Read: ‘My baby is coming home’: Cat missing from Maine since 2015 found in Central Florida

See photos of their reunion below.

Photos: Dog missing for 7 years from Texas found in Orange County, reunited with owner

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Jazzy Jazzy and her owner, Kerry, were reunited after seven years apart on Saturday. (Orange County Animal Services)

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