A Southern California woman said it was nothing short of a miracle when her dog, who had been missing for five years, was found alive and returned home to her.
Michelle Bluestone adopted Lola, a Schnauzer mix who was 3 years old, from a shelter in 2018.
The two remained inseparable until one day in 2021, Lola somehow slipped through the backyard fence of her Reseda home and never returned.
“It was the worst time of my life,” Bluestone told KTLA’s Chris Wolfe. “I went through so much stress. I spent weeks and months looking for her, putting up flyers everywhere. She was microchipped, so I was waiting for a phone call that someone had found her.”
Michelle Bluestone was reunited with her dog, Lola, five years after the Schnauzer mix went missing in Reseda. (KTLA)
Michelle Bluestone was reunited with her dog, Lola, five years after the Schnauzer mix went missing in Reseda. (KTLA)
Michelle Bluestone was reunited with her dog, Lola, five years after the Schnauzer mix went missing in Reseda. (KTLA)
Michelle Bluestone was reunited with her dog, Lola, five years after the Schnauzer mix went missing in Reseda. (KTLA)
Lola is seen in a family photo before she went missing. (Michelle Bluestone)
Michelle Bluestone was reunited with her dog, Lola, five years after the Schnauzer mix went missing in Reseda. (KTLA)
That phone call never came. Devastated, Bluestone believed Lola had passed away.
In the years that followed, Bluestone eventually got married, moved to Simi Valley and adopted a new dog named Sunny. Never forgetting the heartbreak of Lola’s disappearance, Bluestone said she was beyond shocked when she received a call in February 2026, telling her that Lola had been found alive.
A staff member at an animal shelter in Echo Park told Bluestone that someone had found Lola on the side of the road and turned her over to the police, who contacted the shelter.
“They said, ‘We have your dog Lola here,’ and I was in such shock, I couldn’t believe it,” Bluestone recalled. “I wasn’t even processing the fact that my dog could be there.”
Though Lola had 11 rotted teeth that needed extraction and had overgrown nails, Bluestone said her overall condition was surprisingly good, especially considering she had been living on her own for so long.
Though she was a bit timid at first, Lola eventually made a full recovery and is back to her old ways, enjoying her days at home with the new members of her family.
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