In the first two photos, Bruce is pictured as a puppy; at right, Bruce is pictured being reunited with his owner, Ashley Bowman. (Photos courtesy of Brittany Sever/Highland County Dog Pound)
In the first two photos, Bruce is pictured as a puppy; at right, Bruce is pictured being reunited with his owner, Ashley Bowman. (Photos courtesy of Brittany Sever/Highland County Dog Pound)
Wardens at the Highland County Dog Pound were recently able to arrange a reunion over two years in the making, as a dog missing since the winter of 2019-20 has returned to his family.

According to Highland County Dog Warden Brittany Sever, the dog, named Bruce, was just a puppy when he slipped out the door while his owners, Tony and Ashley Bowman, were carrying boxes out of their house as they prepared to move. The Bowman family drove around looking for the dog, but until this month, their attempts to find the dog have been unsuccessful.

Sever said that in February 2022, the dog wardens received a report that a dog had been dumped at a North Shore Drive business. The wardens tracked him for over a month before eventually capturing him in Greenfield — where the Bowman family originally lived — on March 7.

After another month and a half, the Bowmans happened to be checking the dog pound's Facebook page out of hope that they’d see their dog and discovered the picture of Bruce. They sent the wardens a message on May 5 saying they thought the dog pound might have their dog they lost two years before.

“A few years had passed, so they were iffy, but they sent pictures via Facebook Messenger to our warden page,” Sever said. “The dog matched the description totally.”

Sever said that not only did the puppy photos match the dog, but the reaction from Bruce erased any doubt.

“When he saw [Ashley], it was hard to deny it was her dog,” Sever said.

Sever added that the family said they had missed the dog and their “kids were upset that they hadn’t found him,” so the dog wardens were glad to reunite them.

“We love happy endings,” she said.