Pictured are Sven, a 7-year-old German Shepherd, and owner Bryonna Ford. Sven went missing back in October and his body was discovered Sunday. Submitted photo

The story of Sven and his owner, Bryonna Ford, had reached people all over the area during the last few months.

The 7-year-old German Shepherd, locally trained for search-and-rescue, went missing back in the fall from the Ashville and Sugar Grove, Pa. areas. His body was discovered on Sunday not far from home.

“Sven went missing on October 5, 2022, completely vanished with no sign of him anywhere,” Ford told The Post-Journal. “Search efforts were exceeded to the maximum. There were thousands of flyers posted, and spread everywhere across Chautauqua and Warren County in hopes to get the word out that he was missing. His story reached radio stations, newspapers, and live broadcast news to spread the word that he was missing to every place and person we could think of.”

Ford and her family had their story posted on hundreds of missing pet pages on Facebook. People from all over the county had been keeping an eye out for him over the last four months, helping the family in their search, or just by watching for posts online.

“I had thousands, if not more, people searching with me online and in person in effort to locate him,” Ford said. “We ran multiple grid searches of the property, state lands, Amish communities with no sign of him anywhere. With the most unsettling pain in my heart, he was found on Feb. 12, after four long months of endless search efforts. It hurts that I didn’t find him sooner, but we finally have our closure that he is home, and at rest.”

Ford said the support she and her family have received from the community means a lot, so much so that she could not find the words.

“I cannot simply put into words how much every single person involved helped,” Ford said. “There is not a ‘thank you’ big enough to express my gratitude to the community and Facebook community for their help.”

Ford had Sven since she was 15, and together they trained as a search and rescue team in Cherry Grove, Pa. Ford is also a student at Jamestown Community College and works part-time at a dental office.

“German Shepherds tend to be a ‘one person’ dog and I was most definitely his person,” Ford said. “We did everything together, you name it, we did it. When Sven was a year old, I was introduced to the Cherry Grove K-9 search and rescue team. They are a team who works to find missing people. I was so intrigued and inspired by them, that I decided to train Sven with them. He later on became certified to find missing people, and he was so good at it. He loved going to work. We have been a part of the Cherry Grove K-9 search and rescue team for six years now, and it was by far one of the best decisions I ever made.”

When he was not working, Ford said Sven loved to play and just be a dog.

“Besides working, Sven loved to play with rocks, lounge on the couch and steal unlimited amounts of snacks,” Ford said. “He will truly be missed by so many people. He touched so many lives. He will forever hold a place in my heart. May he rest easy.”