In July 2018, Manhattan Beach dentist Brian Withers was hanging out on his front lawn with his best friend Luke, a seven-pound Maltese mix pup, when the unthinkable happened.

Withers told KNX reporter Nataly Tavidian he took his eyes off of Luke for 30 seconds, and the next thing he knew, Luke was gone.

“It does only take that long for something bad to happen,” Withers said.

Withers hired private investigators to track Luke down, but their only lead was two kids at a nearby cafe who said they saw someone walk off with Luke, and “That just didn’t have a whole lot of traction.”

“That’s probably the loneliest feeling there is in the world,” Withers said, as he recalled hanging ‘missing’ posters of his best friend while everyone around was staring at him.

Withers said he believes Luke was roaming the streets for what must have been a long time, where he lost his vision and hearing. Though how Luke ended up on the streets and for how long is a bit of a mystery, Withers said he knows what got him home.

A loving family in Watts found Luke, nursed him back to health, checked his microchip, and, after five long years, the two are back together.

Original Article