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Autistic Carmichael Boy Reunited With Missing Dog

CARMICHAEL (CBS13) — A little dog named Myleigh disappeared New Year's Eve. Tuesday the Carmichael family got the news they've been waiting for, that Myleigh had been found and turned into the shelter.

They didn't think they'd get the dog until Wednesday since normally the shelter is closed on Tuesdays.
But when CBS13 called, Sacramento County Animal Care was happy to meet us out at the shelter and reunite Myleigh with 6-year-old Brycen Kouza.

"I missed you too," Brycen said as Myleigh was released to him.

Brycen never thought he'd see Myleigh again.

"I was thinking she got taken away, or that she went to dog jail or that someone stole her," he told CBS13's Laura Cole during the reunion.

She took off New Year's Eve. The family thinks Myleigh jumped the fence. After three days of searching and dozens of posters posted, Brycen had almost given up.

"I just thought I'd never see her again," he said.

But his mother, Whitney Hanson, kept looking, and Tuesday she found Myleigh's picture on the Sacramento County Animal Care website.

"When I found her, like my whole body right now, it got hot and excited," she said.

That's because Myleigh isn't just any dog. She was Brycen's Christmas present three years ago after doctors diagnosed him with autism.

"She's a teacher for him for real every day," she said. "She definitely helps him so he's out playing more, he's more social, he has to take care of her."

So after missing his best friend fore several days, he's going to be keeping close tabs on her, but before he cuddles with her too much, he had one question for his mother.

"Mom, when is she going to have a bath again?"

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