Lola the dog reunites with her Simi Valley owner, after missing for 5 years

Michelle Bluestone got a call last month that she never expected to get: an animal shelter in Echo Park said they had her dog, Lola, and that she could come get her.

It had been five years since Lola escaped from her Reseda backyard. "One day I had her, and one day she went missing," Bluestone said.

She adopted Lola in 2018 from an animal shelter; at the time, the schnauzer mix was three years old.

After she escaped in 2021, Bluestone said she put up flyers, looked at shelters, and was hoping someone would call her, because Lola was microchipped. Weeks turned into months, and nothing.

"I just assumed that she was just not alive anymore, maybe she got hit by a car, maybe she got eaten by a coyote, I don't know."

Bluestone said she was very depressed, grieved the loss, and had to move on. She moved out of her parents' house, got married, moved to Simi Valley, and even got a new dog over the last five years.

Then, on Feb. 26, "I picked up the phone, they asked if this was Michelle, I said 'yes, this is she,' Lola didn't even cross my mind…and they said 'we have your dog Lola here.'"

Lola was dropped off at an Echo Park shelter, and they scanned her microchip and contacted Bluestone.

Her whereabouts all these years remain a mystery. Bluestone said she was a bit nappy, chunky, had severely overgrown nails and some bad teeth, but she had been eating

"She's still cuddly, she still likes to be held, belly rubs, you know, her tail wags, she makes these cute little sounds – she's very much the same dog."

Bluestone said she wishes Lola could talk and tell her where she's been all these years.

"Whoever had her kept her alive, but I don't think she was well taken care of … but thankfully, overall her health was ok, I'm very grateful for that," Bluestone said.