Houston family reunited with dog that was stolen almost a decade ago

HOUSTON - A sweet little dog named Demi was found last week in Highlands.

How she ended up over an hour away from her home is anyone's guess.

Sisters-in-law Melinda and Rene Griggs found the down-on-her-luck dog.

"Well I felt sorry for her immediately because she was in such bad shape," said Melinda. "She was matted up she had all kinds of stickers on her she could barely walk."

"You couldn't see her little paws because of the thick matting," Rene said.

The pair got the dog groomed and discovered she was chipped.

"We didn't want her to be returned and be neglected," Melinda said.

"We knew that someone loved her to chip her," said Rene.

On Monday, Melinda talked to Jacqueline Nixon.

"Did I ever think we would see her again? No," Nixon said

Nixon says someone stole Demi back in 2011 when the pup was just four months old.

Nixon did all she could to find Demi from creating a Facebook page and searching social media for stolen dogs and dogs for sale.

After almost a decade, Nixon got one of those I-can't-believe-it phone calls.

"I said Demi and she ran to me and I just burst into tears," Nixon said. "It was unbelievable."

No one knows what the last 9 years were like for Demi. But now it doesn't matter.

"She's come full circle," Rene said. "She started her life with them and she will end her life with them."