After five years missing, Jezus Vigil and his family thought Azula was dead, or at least gone forever.

So he was thrilled, albeit a little confused, to get a phone call recently from Riverside County Department of Animal Services, telling him they had found his 7-year-old Siberian husky.

The 65-pound dog was found a month ago walking aimlessly down a road in a Riverside neighborhood, officials said. A good Samaritan brought Azula to the shelter, where she was identified from her microchip.

She was flown home to Vigil Wednesday.

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Inventor Lonnie Johnson stands with his Super Soaker water guns at JTEC Energy on Wednesday, Oct. 29, 2025, in Atlanta. Johnson, a former NASA engineer, is currently working on a new energy technology through his company’s JTEC device that turns thermal heat into usable energy. (Natrice Miller/AJC)