MIAMI – A South Florida family who was told their dog had died four years ago are now overjoyed after the dog turned up at a local shelter.
The dog is terminally ill, and the family wants to know where she has been all this time.
There were hugs and tears when Albania Sagarra and her dog Sugar were reunited.
Sagarra never thought she would see her maltipoo again.
“I’m just very happy and soaking up every moment with Sugar because this is like a resurrection I would have never imagined,” she said.
In 2021, the pup slipped out while in a Miami neighborhood.
A desperate search and a $1,000 reward offer resulted in nothing, except a tale that Sugar was killed.
Sagarra said a man called the number on the flyer and had an interesting story for the family.
“He said that he witnessed her get run over by a car going about 70 to 80 miles an hour,” said Sagarra.
The family was crushed, as their sweet Sugar was dead.
Except she wasn’t.
“I looked at her and I couldn’t even believe it was her, because for four years we thought she was dead,” said Sagarra.
They were puzzled by the story from the random man four years ago, and now Sagarra fears Sugar may have been abducted and neglected.
Their playful, mischievous pup is now a different dog. She is very sick and underweight.
“She has stage four heart disease and stage four kidney disease along with a million other things,” said Sagarra.
They don’t know how long they have with Sugar – it could be weeks or months – but she will spend her last days surrounded by a family who loves her.
“She’s back where she belongs and I’m happy that at least the remainder of her days she’ll be with her family,” said Sagarra.
The family wants to know who left Sugar at the shelter. They said she was just left outside of the building.
They plan to look into that very soon, but for now, they’re focusing on nursing her back to better health.