Fourteen year old Katie Rose is happy to be hugging her horse after more than a week without him.
"She has cried every day for the last
week, she has prayed that he was safe and not hurt," said Maria Rose about her daughter.
Katie and 'Spirit' have always shared a close bond. The teen was born with three defective heart valves and couldn't play regular sports.
"He's been with Katie since he was
three and took her through a lot of difficult times," says Karen Parham, the horse's owner.
'Spirit' became Katie's outlet, also helping her face her grandfather's death and her father's battle with cancer, but everything changed when the horse disappeared last Monday.
"I was afraid I lost him forever
because he's been with me through a lot," said Katie.
It was at Bussey Point where the
horse went missing, setting off a week long search and devastating the young
girl.
"This time instead of helping he became
the center of attention because we were all hurting," said Parham.
After days of searching, a lucky break from a group of campers.
"I heard a horse coming up and I looked
over and there was a horse with no rider," said Glen Lay, one of the campers who found the horse.
"I called my wife later and said 'Hey
you will never guess what I found,'" said Lay.
After a quick Internet search the family, finally reunited on Sunday with their beloved animal.
"I've been crying every time I talk
about 'Spirit' but today when I saw him it was different tears, it was tears of
joy," said Parham.
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