Tiny Pooch Found 3 Months Later, 68 Miles Away After Disappearing

CLEARWATER, FL — If only animals could talk. Clearwater police said that's most likely the only way the mystery would be solved surrounding the discovery of a little dog from Bartow, Florida, in Clearwater three months after she disappeared.

Police said it's unlikely that Tiny, a 10-year-old Chihuahua who weighs just 4 pounds, walked 68 miles from her home in Bartow to Clearwater, no matter how badly she wanted to romp on the beach.

The tiny dog disappeared from her family's back yard in Polk County in September.

Sophia Burgess and her family were frantic to find the little dog they'd raised from a pup. They posted flyers around town and online social media pleas for her return.

But after three months passed, and they'd received no responses, they despaired of ever seeing their precious little dog again.

Then, a couple weeks ago, the hopes of the two Burgess children were reignited when 15-year-old Jaliyah Burgess had a dream that Tiny came home.

Her dream proved prophetic. Just after Christmas, Clearwater Police Officer Ryan Kenna found a timid, tiny dog near Tower 1 on Clearwater Beach. He took the pooch to Pinellas County Animal Control, where animal care staff discovered a chip in the dog originating from Polk County.

Sophia Burgess received a phone call giving her the good news on the evening of Dec. 30. Unfortunately, animal control was closed for the next three days due to the New Year's holiday.

Sophia Burgess said she was on pins and needles all weekend at the prospect of reuniting with Tiny. She decided not to share the news with her two children in case there had been a mix-up and the dog Kenna found turned out not to be Tiny after all.

"It was hard," she said. “I had to hold it in all weekend."

On Monday morning, Burgess, accompanied by her husband, eagerly waited for when Pinellas County Animal Services reopened after the holiday.

"As soon as I saw the dog, I knew right way it was Tiny," she said.

“They were so thankful and so excited,” said Jenna Wiese, who works at animal control. “You could feel the gratitude.”

The Burgess children were astounded when Sophia Burgess walked into their home cradling Tiny in her arms.

“They cried like babies,” Burgess said.

Jaliyah Burgess, who had dreamed of Tiny's return, called it a holiday miracle, and Sophia Burgess had to agree. There was no other explanation of how the little dog traveled 68 miles from home only to be found by a caring police officer.

“I wish I had the answer to all of those questions,” Burgess said. “I’ve never even been to Clearwater.”

Kenna said it was rewarding to play a role in the family's joyful reunion.

“It’s great knowing that a family was reunited with their four-legged loved one,” he said, concurring that a bit of holiday magic may have played a role. “It was the perfect time of year, just after Christmas and starting off the New Year on a better page for this family.”

He and fellow officers can only speculate that the tiny pooch somehow hitchhiked with an unsuspecting driver, or was grabbed from the family's yard, brought to Clearwater and escaped her captors.

"We'll probably never know," Kenna said.