Parker the Pit Bull went for a walk in the West Michigan woods, and didn't come back. Until now.

After missing for months in the wilds of West Michigan, a man's best buddy was reunited with his Texas family on Tuesday.

Jennifer Hysell of Dallas, Texas, was visiting family in Bangor, Michigan, in late July for her father's funeral, and her pit bull companion, Parker, was with her.

Parker got loose and wandered off when Hysell was living in a camper on her family's property.

Hysell had to return to Texas after searching for the remaining days she had in Michigan.

"From the beginning, my family and everyone was informed, and we posted on Facebook," she said.

Every day, they communicated with Van Buren County Animal Control and sent e-mails outlining their pet pooch's characteristics.

Jenny Loyd of South Haven heard about it and joined a group of nearly a dozen others in a desperate search for Parker.

"As a southern dog, he has no idea about Michigan winters, so that was our main concern," Loyd told WWMT in Kalamazoo.

Parker was spotted wandering behind the Old Village Market in South Haven by Loyd in late November.

"I wasn't sure if it was really Parker at first, and I was like, 'Is this the dog we're looking for?' Because pit bulls don't generally have a bushy tail like him, I asked Jennifer in our private Facebook group if she could email me photos of his tail. I needed to be sure this was Parker and that I wasn't wasting her time "she stated

Parker was only seen on trail cameras and through foot tracks on the ground in the weeks that followed.

Parker was tracked down by a group of people who formed a Facebook page called "Parker's Markers."

Parker was trapped in a Missy trap on Dec. 11 after a four-month and 11-mile trek, utilizing an invisible laser beam to lock the door.

The fact that she would be reunited with her furry friend was enough to motivate Hysell to make the 15-hour journey.

"I don't know how you acquired the adrenaline, but it's just going through your body because I knew the wait was over." All of this anguish, all of this trying to figure out if he was harmed, if he was dead or living. "What counts is that he's safe, and now that he's returning home, he's not terrified anymore," she said.

Parker was living at Jassy's Grooming in Sodus Township until his family reunion, where Hysell and Loyd eventually met the party of searchers.

Hysell is grateful to each and every one of them that assisted her after meeting them all.

"The army that came together, and not all of them knew each other, but they came together because of Parker the Marker, as we call him," Loyd added.

 

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