OCALA, Fl. (WSVN) — A beloved family member finally returned home after winding up lost over 1,000 miles away from Florida. After a few months away from his home in Ocala, 13-year-old Apollo, a shih tzu mix, was reacquainting himself with everything he missed. He greeted his cousin Milo, made s ure all of his favorite toys were safe and accounted for, and checked in with the Josey family’s 1-year-old daughter, who learned to crawl since he vanished. Apollo also got to meet Nicholas Josey Jr., who was born while he was gone. “I can’t wait for those two to get acclimated with one another,” said Nicholas Josey, Apollo’s owner. Apollo’s family said he originally disappeared in April. Surveillance video from their residence caught someone in a white car stop, pick him up and drive off. Authorities in Ocala say they didn’t have evidence of a crime at the time of the incident but his family never gave up their search efforts. Months since then, the family got a call from an animal shelter in Long Island, NY, saying they identified Apollo, who was wearing a name tag with “Yuri” on it, as their missing pet. “We actually found a picture of Apollo from Tuesday,” said Josey. It’s unclear how Apollo wound up crossing numerous state lines and ending up in New York City. Once workers at the New York-based shelter scanned his microchip, they immediately contacted the owners. “That is my dog. I’m 1,000% sure that is Apollo Franklin Josey,” said Josey. After verifying he was the correct owner, Josey flew up to New York to bring back his family’s missing member on Friday. “I had no doubt the whole time he’ll make it back home. It’s just mind-blowing that he was all the way in New York, so that’s just like he went to New York City, he went to New York before any of us,” said Josey’s husband. In light of the recent development, authorities now say if any new information points to criminal intent, deputies would investigate further. Now that Apollo is back where he belongs, everyone in the family is just happy to be back together again. “We’ll do a party,” said Josey. As part of the celebration, the family is planning to throw a big birthday bash when Apollo turns 14 in August. ...read more read less