MEMPHIS, Tenn. (WREG) — A Mississippi mother broke down into tears when she saw a news story about a homeless boy who was struggling to care for his dog. It turned out that boy was her missing son.
A 17-year-old, whose name will be withheld by Nexstar, surrendered his dog, Jada to an animal shelter after he had trouble providing for its needs while living under a bridge.
In the news report, the boy said he wasn’t able to watch the dog while he left his tent in search of work.
Things took a turn when a woman contacted Nexstar’s WREG after she saw the story on the news. She identified herself as the boy’s mother and said it had been one year since the last time she saw her son. She said she reported him missing last summer to police in Senatobia, Mississippi.
“I started crying,” she said. “I wish he would come home. I want to see him. I’m not mad at him. I just want him in my house. I want him to be here with me.”
The boy’s mother claimed he ran away after she grounded him for misbehavior.
“He didn’t think he should have to be grounded for something he had done,” she said. “He thought he was grown and he could do it on his own. The fact that he thought he had to run away breaks my heart.”
After the story aired, the community gathered together to help return the dog to the boy. The shelter was able to reunite Jada with her owner and officials said the boy said had a place to stay his dog was reunited.
However, officials did not say why the boy has not been brought home to his mother, who claims to have full custody.
“I don’t care about the past. I just want my baby, and anybody should understand that when they lose a child and he’s still alive and he can come back at any time, but instead of bringing him back to me, they put him with some strangers,” she said.
WREG reached out to Senatobia Police for an update on the investigation but has not heard back.
