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A Struthers man was reunited with his dog Tuesday after it had been missing for four days.
“For the last four days, I’ve just been completely lost,” said Sam Vona.
He was playing fetch with his dog Gannon Saturday afternoon when the unexpected happened.
“I had thrown the ball, he just kept going, never even brought the ball back,” said Vona. “I can only see a few feet in front of me, and by the time I got my shoes on and went, he was gone.”
Gannon is a very specially trained dog.
“He’s my eyes,” Vona said. “I’m blind. A few years back, I was involved in an accident. I was shot five times in the head. That’s what caused me to be blind.”
So Vona and his parents began to place posters around town asking for help, and on Tuesday it paid off. A man found the German Shepherd nearly four miles from the Vona’s home near the intersection of State Route 224 and Clingan Road in Poland.
“The gentlemen, his name was Sammy DeToro,” said Vona. “brought the dog here. He(Gannon) jumped up on me and almost knocked me completely backwards.”
Sam fears that foul play might be involved. Gannon is specially trained and has never run off before.
“He wears a harness on him, and he guides me,” said Vona. “He’s very intelligent. He knows when to stop at stop signs. He knows how to stop at cross walks.”
When the dog was found, his special collar identifying him as a seeing-eye dog had been removed leaving Vona to further suspect someone had taken his four-legged friend.
But now he’s just happy Gannon is back home and very thankful for everyone’s help.