ANN ARBOR (WWJ) - A beloved golden retriever belonging to the Kappa Delta sorority at the University of Michigan had a tearful reunion with her family after the dog was lost for nearly four months.
House director and pet owner Cindy Steinhauer told MLive that the dog, a 5-year-old golden retriever named Peach, went missing over Thanksgiving after the animal bolted through the front door of a friend's house on Ann Arbor's west side.
"She was staying with a friend... because I went to Florida, and she has really bad separation anxiety — she doesn’t like to be out of my sight,” Steinhauer said.
Peach was able to make her escape not 48 hours after her was dropped of for her stay.
"I think it was because she was trying to find me,” Steinhauer told MLive. “You know, she didn’t see me in that house, she wasn’t familiar with that house."
In the four months since, Steinhauer and members of the sorority desperately searched for Peach, passing out fliers, posting on social media and following up on potential sightings -- but the dog remained missing.
The women started a GoFundMe that raised over $1,000 to fund their serach efforts.
“The whole campus was looking for her,” Steinhauer said. “The frats sent their pledges out overnight to look for my dog. Every sorority and fraternity on campus was looking for my dog. There were posters everywhere, people talking about her all over campus. And then when it got onto Nextdoor ... and all those other pet sites, I felt like the whole city was looking for her.”
But it wasn't until last week that a resident in northwest Ann Arbor reached out to Steinhauer to say their neighbor found a dog that appeared to match Peach's description.
Steinhauer drove out to the home and when she arrived, she immediately knew the dog was hers.
"When I was in the driveway and I locked my car, you know it makes that little beep sound," the director said. "[The dog] was inside the house... and she started barking because she knew it was me, and I knew it was her.”
Peach jumped into Steinhauer's arms the moment she was able to open the door.
"The people that caught her were crying,” Steinhauer said. “And it was just tears all around.”
Steinhauer said the dog's journey for the last few months remains a mystery, especially because where Peach was found was only three miles from the home she escaped at near Stadium and Pauline boulevards over Thanksgiving break.
Steinhauer suspects Peach was taken in by someone over the winter months.
The people who discovered the dog live close to Ann Arbor's Bird Hills Nature Area -- neighbors told Steinhauer that they found Peach trapped in a hole.
“The people, their house backs up to these woods, and they heard a bunch of ruckus back there, and the lady sent her husband back there to find out what was making so much noise." Steinhauer added.
Peach's rescuers then called a neighbor who remembered seeing a post about the missing dog on Nextdoor and called Steinhauer.
The rest, is history.
“It’s incredible,” Steinhauer said of the story. “It’s so inspiring to know that so many people were trying to help me and help her.”
Peach is now safe, with only a few minor cuts and bumps from her time away, at the sorority house on Tappan Avenue off Hill Street near the UM campus. Steinhauer said when the dog walked through the door, the other members of the sorority tearfully welcomed her home.
Steinhauer, an Indiana native, said she grew up in the shadow of the University of Notre Dame, a rival of the Wolverines, but since making the move to Ann Arbor last year and seeing the community come together to help find Peach, she said she's never felt more loved.
“I’m just incredibly grateful to have her back and so are a lot of people — 39 girls live here," she added.
To stay up-to-date with Peach and her adventures at the Kappa Delta sorority house, follow her Instagram page @goldenpeachpie.