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NATCHEZ — Perhaps no one will ever know how Marylin, a pure-bred English bulldog who had been missed by her owner in Houston, Texas for more than a year, came to be in Natchez.

Marylin was found a long way away from home.

Her mom drove more than 5 hours from Houston, Texas to the Natchez Police Department Tuesday to bring Marylin home just in time for Thanksgiving.

Natchez Animal Control Officer Ashley Sanders said the Natchez Adams County Humane Society called her on Nov. 12 for help with a dog they didn’t have a spot for, which is often the case as the shelter becomes overfull. Except this story had a happy ending, Sanders said.

As it turns out, “It was a pure-bred English bulldog and she was microchipped,” Sanders said.

However, the phone number on the chip was not correct.

They began to search for Marylin’s owner by her owner’s name on social media. A week later, Mary Griffith was found.

Marylin had vanished from her yard in Houston in July 2023, Griffith said.

“She has gotten out before but our whole neighborhood knows she’s ours,” Griffith said. “We looked everywhere for her, posted everywhere for her and nobody knew where she was. I’d lost hope, thinking someone stole her and I’d never get her back.”

When she got the message from Ashley with Natchez Animal Control asking if she bred English bulldogs, Griffith said she knew right away someone had found Marylin. Then she learned Marylin was in Mississippi and was shocked, she said.

“I was like, ‘Where?’ Girl, you traveled out of Texas! I’ve never traveled out of Texas until now.”

The pair were reunited Tuesday at Natchez Police Department, much to Marylin’s delight and to the joy of her owner, who at one point thought she’d never see her again.

“She never got off our minds while she was gone,” Griffith said. “Every once in a while, a random Facebook memory of her would pop up and it was a sad feeling.”

As Griffith hugged her “Mer-Mer,” Marylin’s short tail wagged happily. Watch a video of this happy reunion above.

Marylin appeared to have had puppies and was missing patches of fur since she last saw her mom, but had since been fixed by Spay Neuter Natchez and is otherwise healthy.

“I’m just hoping whoever had her all this time didn’t mistreat her. It looks like she had been used for puppies,” Griffith said. “Since I got her back, she hasn’t been able to stop staring at me, like she is afraid to fall asleep. Maybe she thinks I’ll disappear if she does.”

Griffith said Marylin never had puppies while she was with her.

“I can’t imagine what she’s been through but she’s finally going home,” Sanders said.

Griffith said she looks forward to the reunion of Marylin and her six children, and husband, who all love her. Marylin was Griffith’s birthday present three years ago.

“She will be four on July 14, which is my birthday, too,” she said. “I’d been looking for a while and found her and knew right away she was meant to be my dog. Now she has made her way back to me.”