A West Omaha family thought its beloved 7-year-old black lab was lost after she ran away a few months ago.
Quincy Bell says his dog, Macy sneaked out an open back door while everyone was at work. When he and his mom returned home and realized their dog was missing, they searched for Macy around their neighborhood, but had no luck.
"I panicked. I think I felt my heart go down all the way to my feet," says Darla Bell.
Quincy reached out to the Humane Society to see if anyone had taken Macy in, but nobody had. He also posted pictures of Macy on social media and the Lost Pets of Omaha Facebook page.
As time passed, the hope of finding Macy began to vanish.
"Towards the end of May, I started putting some things away - her food, toys, some other items. I thought of donating them to relatives who had dogs, but I didn't. I didn't get to that point yet," says Darla.
"There was another post on Lost Pets of Omaha that a dog had been lost for about three months. That's how much time I was giving Macy. I was going to give her three months and if she didn't come, that's when I was going to give up hope," says Quincy.
The family was worried Macy would run into coyotes or cross a busy highway.
"When I was looking for Macy near the highways, I saw a sheriff pulled over and I asked him if he could keep an eye out for her. He said yes, but then he said it was a busy highway, and asked me if I had checked the ditches and stuff. That's when I stopped looking for my dog," says Quincy.
But after fifty days, their luck changed.
"Friday I got a call with a voicemail from the person who found my dog called and I really thought it was a joke. I did not believe them," says Quincy.
Darla spoke to the woman and began describing Macy. The white spot on her chest, the small ears - everything seemed to match. The family began getting hopeful and drove near 204th and Cornhusker, nearly six miles away from their house, hoping the found dog was their missing family member.
"We pulled up. Of course our eyes were right on her. Soon as my son was driving and as soon as he opened that car door, she was right there and jumped in the car," says Darla.
Macy's finder says she found the black lab near the busy highway, watching the cars speed by.
"She looked fine. And I was shocked. She didn't look skinny, she didn't look dirty, she had a little odor," says Darla.
"We're just thrilled. Our hearts were finally, finally happy again."
