Nala, the pet who has been a source of comfort to her heartbroken owner, is back home | News

SMYRNA, Ga - After an intense week of worry and frantic searching, Krissy Rankin has been reunited the loyal pet who has comforted her through the devastating loss of her fiancé.

Nala, a 95 pound Rhodesian Ridgeback, slipped through an open door at Krissy's Smyrna home on October 8th. Nala was a gift from Eric Shellenberger, a Navy SEAL who survived five tours of Iraq and Afghanistan, but died in a training accident in 2009.

She's my therapy," said Rankin while walking Nala around a Smyrna park. I did at times feel alone without her. Something was missing without her there, and now, this is how it should be."

Rankin searched day and night for her pet, placing flyers in neighborhoods near her home. One of the people who saw them was 11Alive viewer Joann Stiefel, who went to 11alive.com to read the entire story. "Once I went on and saw what the story was, I felt so badly for this girl," said Stiefel. "I can understand the connection. This was all she had from her fiancé. It meant the world to me to try to help her."

A week after Nala's disappearance, Stiefel heard barking and looked out of her kitchen window. She saw a brown dog near her back fence. When she offered a snack, Nala ran away. Stiefel called the number she'd seen on the flyers.

Krissy Rankin came running.

"It felt like a dream," said Rankin. "I got on my knees in the dirt and the muddy woods. I kept waiting for someone to play music, but it didn't happen."

Nala was taken to a veterinarian. Although she'd lost some weight during her week in the woods, Nala is otherwise perfectly healthy.

With so many people offering help, Rankin never lost faith that Nala would one day come home.
"I know I tried to fight what happened," Rankin said about the loss of her fiancé. "I eventually had to realize it was out of my hands. This time I knew there was still hope out there.
"I did at times feel alone without her," said Rankin. "I wasn't ready to give up."