A reunion years in the making

Charlie Sue the 6-year-old service dog has gone from north of Harrington Beach State Park to her home just east of Pittsburgh in a week, closing a mysterious  and gut-wrenching two-year saga for her family.

The reunion took place Saturday morning at the Wisconsin Humane Society Ozaukee Campus in Saukville. Her family drove more than nine hours from their Saltsburg, Penn., home through the night to pick up their beloved boxer.

Charlie Sue jumped up and gave kisses to owners Carry Ann Armstrong, her husband Jason Hopkins and their 16-year-old daughter Kenzie Vogel, only leaving them momentarily to meet other people in the lobby while keeping an eye on a cat in a nearby room.

“It’s definitely bittersweet. It’s very emotional,” Armstrong said.

The family, which includes four teenage children, has been missing Charlie Sue since she was stolen on July 23, 2024, Armstrong said. Charlie Sue is a trained service dog for Kenzie’s twin sister, who has epilepsy.

The family didn’t have any information on where the dog had gone.

“It’s been two years since she was stolen and our family has been heartbroken ever since,” Armstrong said.

Charlie Sue and the folder with her health records were taken while Armstrong and Hopkins were at work.

“It wasn’t until we received a call from a Humane Society in Wisconsin that it dawned on me that when Charlie went missing a new ‘friend’ of mine had moved to Wisconsin a few days after Charlie came up missing,” she said.

A Good Samaritan taking an evening walk found Charlie Sue without a leash or collar along Silver Beach Road in the Town of Belgium on July 26. Without a fuss, she put the easygoing dog in her garage and contacted her neighbor, a client of Cedar Grove Veterinary Clinic. The client took Charlie Sue to the clinic.

Veterinarian Diane Dommer, who took over the case Sunday morning, called the Harrington Beach campground to see if someone lost her and posted a photo of her on the clinic’s Facebook page.

It was Charlie Sue’s microchip that led Dommer to the dog’s Pennsylvania family.

“At first I thought it was a prank phone call,” Armstrong said. “The only thing I can think about now is how lucky I am that even though Charlie was gone I kept her microchip up-to-date with phone numbers and addresses.”

Dommer took Charlie Sue to the Saukville campus of the Wisconsin Humane Society.

Not long after reuniting with her family, Charlie Sue laid on her side on the floor next to Armstrong at the shelter.

“She is a belly rub girl,” she said.

Dommer was grateful and knew a little of what the family was going through. She lost one of her dogs for three days once before being reunited.

“I cannot imagine what Carry Ann and her family felt for two years, and am thrilled that I was able to be a part of all of this,” she said.

Dommer made sure the family didn’t leave without a taste of Wisconsin. She gave them a backpack filled with cheese and edible cookie dough tubs from Cedar Valley Cheese.

For Wisconsin Humane Society Vice President of Marketing and Communications Angela Speed, this was the second-longest journey she has seen someone travel to be reunified with their pet. Someone once came from Alaska.

“We’re so grateful to Dr. Diane Dommer for her early intervention and care of Charlie Sue,” Speed said, also lauding microchips, which the facility offers for $25 at vaccine clinics.

Charlie Sue has rejoined the family’s pack of seven dogs and 14 cats on their 33-acre parcel.

“We made it home she is very excited to be home with lots of land to roam,” Armstrong said. “She is in the process of figuring out where she fits in when it comes to the pack, but seems to be settling well.”