MEMPHIS, Tenn. (WREG) – An image of a teen reunited with his dog captivated the hearts of millions. The photo did the exact same thing for a Mississippi woman, but for a different reason.
A 17-year-old, who is not being named by Nexstar, surrendered his dog Jada to an animal shelter. He told the shelter he was living under a bridge, and said he was having trouble providing for her needs. He wasn’t able to watch her while he left his tent to search for work.
With the community’s help, the shelter was able to reunite Jada with her owner. Officials who helped find him said he had a place to stay and was able to take Jada back.
A woman contacted Nexstar’s WREG after she saw the story on the news. She identified herself as his mother, and said it had been a year since she had seen her son. She said she reported him missing last summer to police in Senatobia, Mississippi.
“I started crying,” she said. “I wish he would come home. I want to see him. I’m not mad at him. I just want him in my house. I want him to be here with me.”
His mother claims he ran away after she grounded him for misbehavior.
“He didn’t think he should have to be grounded for something he had done,” she said. “He thought he was grown and he could do it on his own. The fact that he thought he had to run away breaks my heart.”
Officials said the teen had a place to stay when he was reunited with his dog Friday. However, they did not say why he has not been brought home to his mother, who claims to have full custody.
“I don’t care about the past. I just want my baby, and anybody should understand that when they lose a child and he’s still alive and he can come back at any time, but instead of bringing him back to me, they put him with some strangers,” she said.
WREG reached out to Senatobia Police for an update on the investigation and has not heard back.