Valley family's dog, missing for over seven years, found in Alabama

It's the news one valley family never expected, when they received a call that the family dog, who had been missing for over seven years, has been located, almost 2,000 miles away from home.

Imagine not knowing what happened to a loved one, and not knowing where they went, what they were up to. That was the reality for the Sisamouth family for over seven years, when their little Shih Tzu puppy, Teddy, disappeared.

"No, we never thought we'd see him again, you know?" said Lay Sisamouth. "We kinda gave up hope after seven, eight years of being lost."

Hope was lost, however, until the other day, when the Sisamouths received a phone call they never thought would be made.

Teddy is alive, but in a place called Phenix City, Alabama.

Lay said he was overcome with emotion, and called his wife and kids to tell them the good news.

"As you can see, we're very excited," said Lay. "My mother-in-law came over this morning, just to see how things were going. Everybody has just been trying to help us out. They knew that Teddy was just part of the family."

So how did Teddy end up 1,806 miles away from home? In a Facebook post, Lay's wife, Melissa explained that Teddy was scooped up by a military family. After moving around the country, they ended up in Phenix City, and gave Teddy to a extended family member when they could no longer take care of him.

Then, teddy ended up at an animal shelter, with an embedded microchip still registered to the Sisamouth family. In the coming week, the whole family is planning a roadtrip to Alabama to get Teddy.

Even though he's got a few more gray hairs, to the Sisamouths, he'll always be their little Teddy.

"That's what our main plan is right now, just to get him back home to us, spend the rest of his time with us."

The family said they have loved ones in Alabama, so they're excited to make the trip to get Teddy.