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Mother, Son Reunite With South Florida Dog Missing For Months

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MIAMI (CBSMiami) -- It's the dog-napping case that caught the attention of the Southwest Ranches community and now it's come to a conclusion.

Freda, the pure bred boxer, had been missing since May.

But after a mother and son found her wandering, she has been reunited with her owner.

"I contribute it to the power of prayer, love, hope, never give up," said Carolyn Reily.

A private investigator told CBS4, the two spotted Freda wandering the streets in Minneola, Florida, just west of Orlando.

The son wanted to keep her but the mother wanted to make sure she didn't belong to anyone else, so she took her to the vet.

Related: Dognapping Gets Attention Of 40 Florida Families

That's where they found out Freda had a chip so they called her owner Rod Espinosa, building the path to their reunion, months after she went missing.

Freda's disappearance came at time when there was a flourish of dog-nappings in Southwest Ranches.

Freda disappeared from Spring Water Farms where about 40 families board their horses. She had gotten out and was about two blocks from the farm when witnesses said she was picked up by a man in a truck  in May. 

Ranch owners said, "The whole lesson here is if you care about your dog get them micro chipped."

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