ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — UPDATE: Last Friday, Jason Gell, owner of "Mahi" the Rottweiler, threw a welcome home party for his dog. He now realizes the canine is not the correct dog. Click here for the updated story.
Original Story:
It was a reunion that was months in the making.
Mahi, a 1-year-old Rottweiler, and his owner Jason Gell are back together after the pup went missing for nearly three months.
"I woke up, I'll never forget, its 6:08 a.m. and both doors are shut and I am looking under the pool table, under the dining room table, in the kitchen, all over the place, I can't find him. He's just gone," Gell said.
Gell said a Lyft driver was seen on his neighbor's Ring security camera picking the dog up late at night last November.
"The Lyft driver dropped somebody off, comes around the culdesac and sees him, stops and he coaches him to come over, jumps in the back seat and he's gone," said Gell.
Gell said he contacted Lyft, local authorities and shared the missing dog on social media to get a lead on where the dog could be.
"The story went everywhere. People online were really trying to help. It's been incredible. The media, people, radio stations, its been so crazy," said Gell.
Gell said he got the best phone call from his mother Tuesday. She told him Mahi was found.
He was in Las Vegas at the time and caught a red-eye to get back to Tampa Bay and see Mahi in person.
"I don't have enough hugs kisses handshakes and money to give back to these people for what they've given me back," said Gell.
As a way to thank those who took the time to search for Mahi, Gell hosted a welcome home party at Ferg’s Sports Bar and Dog Park and invited anyone who wanted to see and say "hello" to Mahi in person.
"It was tough not having him around over the holidays. But, it's amazing to have him home and safe," Gell said.
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