When Maile Trist checked her email last week, she opened up a message she assumed was a prank. Her beloved dog, a senior Chihuahua named Jazzy, was at the Cowley County Humane Society after being found wandering around a nearby rock quarry.
The email didn’t make sense to Trist because Jazzy had passed away two years ago.
Maile Trist
When Trist first met Jazzy at San Diego Humane Society four years ago, she ignored the “Do not pet” sign on her cage. Somehow she knew they’d have a connection.
“I came across my gorgeous girl, I stuck my hand in the cage, and she automatically walked right up to me, tail wagging, and put her head in my hand,” Trist told The Dodo. “I started crying because I had found my dog!”
Two years passed, and Trist moved from California to Kansas. Overwhelmed with the move and a new full-time job, she felt she didn’t have enough time to give to Jazzy. So she asked a dog-loving couple she was friendly with to watch her pup until she got settled.
However, when Trist tried to get back in touch with the couple, they ignored her calls and deleted their social media accounts. She couldn’t find them anywhere. Then, six months later, Trist’s fiancé managed to track them down and asked for Jazzy back.
“The lady told him she had died three months prior,” Trist said. “About a year and half went by, and lots and lots of grieving. I felt horrible for ever giving her to them because I thought I wasn’t there for her last moments.”
Trist thought she’d never see her beloved dog again, but luckily, Jazzy had a microchip. And when she got the news that Jazzy had been located, she dropped everything to be with her dog again.
“I automatically headed home from my job and got in the car and headed to her,” Trist said. “I was crying on and off the whole way there, which was almost a three-hour drive. I couldn’t believe she was still alive and I had no idea how she ended up that far away, but in those moments, I did not care.”
When Trist arrived at the shelter, and watched Jazzy walk towards her again, she couldn’t hold back her tears.
Watch their touching reunion here:
Jazzy recognized her mom immediately, and her little tail started wagging uncontrollably.
“She kind of went to sniff around, but came right back to me and gave me even more kisses,” Trist said. “She would not leave my lap or my arms the whole car ride home, either.”
Now, Jazzy is home and the little dog is not letting her mom out of her sight ever again.
“She’s been so, so happy ever since and she will not leave my side or let me go anywhere without her,” Trist said. “And I feel the same way!”
What exactly happened to the senior dog remains a mystery, but what’s important is that she’s safe and ready to spend her golden years in comfort, surrounded by her loving family.
“She’s a little more white than she was from the last time I saw her, and her hips are a little more sore,” Trist said, “but she’s still the same old lady she was before, and I’m so glad she stayed loving through these last two years.”