Viewer finds lost dog while watching Local 2 after seven months

The original owner of the dog used shot records and photos to retrieve him from his new family

ANGLETON, Texas – Rex the yellow lab is running free at home in Angleton again, but it took a long, mysterious seven-month journey to reunite him with his owner.

When he went missing one night in February his owner Blake Peltier and a network of family and friends did all they could to find the 6-year-old pooch.

They put up signs, posted on social media, and responded to every call regarding a missing dog.

"I would drop everything and run as fast as I could and get there before that dog got away," said Peltier.

When the leads went cold, Blake's father Bob, who is also Rex's fishing buddy, says he resorted to prayer.

"This is the part that really breaks me up," said the senior Peltier. "Two weeks after I prayed for this dog we got a miracle. He showed up on TV"

In fact, Rex showed up on Local 2 News.

Last month the coast guard found the boat of a deceased fisherman floating in the West Bay of Galveston. On the boat were the man's belongings -- and what authorities thought was the man's yellow lab.

Blake Peltier says he was watching Local 2 when he saw the dog. Right away his family knew it was Rex because of a distinct marking. It was a scar across Rex's nose that he had received as a younger dog, trying to defend the family against a German Shepherd.

After contacting authorities and eventually a lawyer, Blake used shot records and photos to retrieve Rex from the fisherman's family. He was reunited with his dog on Monday.

"When he got in he knew it was me and he licked me on the cheek you know, and held his head back and you knew he was happy to see me," said Blake Peltier. "I feel like he's just, we were meant to be. Like soul mates."

A judge gave Blake Peltier custody of Rex and to put the issue to rest the family voluntarily contacted the University of California-Davis to conduct a DNA test to prove Rex is their dog.

On Wednesday they're going to take samples from several of Rex's offspring from the only litter he sired. Results are expected back in eight to 10 days.


About the Author:

Emmy Award-winning anchor, husband, dad, German Shepherd owner, Crossfitter, Game of Thrones junkie, chupacabra hunter.