Missing dog returns after six years

Wichita, Nov 29: Jeanie Flores did a double-take when she glanced out the window of her Wichita home this week. The brindle-colored Lab and chow mix outside looked like Bear, the family pet who disappeared in November 1997.
"Oh my God. I think that`s my dog!" she thought to herself.

She called the dog`s name. When he responded, she started bawling.

"I called my husband and said, `I really think this is Bear,`" she said.

Frank Flores rushed home and within seconds agreed with his wife`s assessment: Bear was home.

The dog`s whereabouts for the past six years and his surprise return two days before Thanksgiving remain a mystery.

A veterinarian examined Bear. Though his paws are red and sore in spots, apparently from pounding the pavement, he weighs only one pound less than he did when he disappeared. The vet told the family it appeared someone had taken care of the dog.

Frank Flores brought Bear home as a puppy on Aug. 28, 1990. Bear disappeared one month after the family`s October 1997 move to a new neighborhood.

"I waited up all night for him, and he never came home," Jeanie Flores said.

Because the family had just moved, the address on Bear`s identification collar hadn`t been changed. The family put up signs, called the shelter, put an ad in the paper. They drove around their old neighborhood, but they never found Bear.

Jeanie Flores called his return Tuesday a miracle.

"I feel like he must be here for a reason," she said.

Since returning, Bear has spent his time napping and getting reacquainted with the family, including a son who was not yet born when the dog disappeared.

Frank Flores said he wishes Bear could talk.

"Where was he? He hasn`t told us yet," he said. "We don`t know how rough a life he`s had."

Bureau Report