Touching reunion of blind man's missing support dog

A 14-YEAR-OLD emotional support dog named Bam Bam was reunited with his owner on Tuesday night, two months after the dog was reported stolen from his backyard in Chicago.

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The theft prompted a massive citywide search, a police investigation and a fundraiser that amassed more than $20 000 (R358 000).

Bam Bam's owner Angel Santiago, who has glaucoma and is legally blind, said the 10 weeks that Bam Bam was gone were particularly hard because his dog is key to his independence. The two have been companions for more than a decade.

“T slept next to him last night,” Santiago told The Washington Post on Wednesday after Bam Bam was back home. “I didn’t want him to think I had walked away.”

After Bam Bam went missing, Santiago said he would walk for miles a day, calling his dog’s name and passing out fliers. When neighbours heard him calling for Bam Bam, they jumped in to help Santiago file a police report and spread the word.

“People would come up to me and ask me why I was screaming ‘Bam Bam’,” he said. “When I told them what was happening, they would help me.”

Santiago said Bam Bam was grabbed by two people who came into his yard and made off with him on June 5 while the dog was out for an early morning bathroom break. Santiago said he never lost hope or stopped searching for Bam Bam.

“Bam Bam was out there,” Santiago said.