A woman desperate to find her missing dog called law enforcement after allegedly finding her beloved pet locked in a bedroom of her ex-boyfriend’s house.

Melissa Shive had been looking for Nevaeh, her Lab-pitbull mix, since November, when her ex-boyfriend claimed he had given the dog away after their breakup.

With the help of an investigator from the El Paso County Sheriff’s Office, she was reunited with the 3-year-old pooch last week after being separated for nine long months, and her ex-boyfriend now faces misdemeanor theft and domestic violence charges.

According to a statement from the Sheriff’s Office, deputies recovered Nevaeh on Thursday from the home of 25-year-old Noah Seaborn.

“She did the right thing and instead of taking the dog and making matters more tense, she called me and we were able to send deputies to get the dog back,” said Sheriff’s Sgt. Cy Gillespie, one of the leading investigators on the case. “Everything indicates [Seaborn] knew where the dog was the whole time we were searching for it.”

Nevaeh went missing shortly after Shive and Seaborn separated and she agreed to share time with the dog.

The agreement had been going smoothly until the end of November, when Seaborn told Shive he had given Nevaeh to a family in Breckenridge, according to court documents.

Shive contacted the Sheriff’s Office and filed a complaint, drove to Breckenridge and put up fliers, sent emails to area residents and sent out a pet Amber Alert.

When deputies contacted Seaborn, he admitted that his intention was to keep the dog away from Shive permanently and refused to give Nevaeh back, the arrest affidavit stated.

Seaborn was arrested Nov. 29 on suspicion of theft and domestic violence, but would not reveal the dog’s location to deputies.

“The leads in the case had gone cold and I was able to prove the theft, but couldn’t produce the property,” Gillespie said.

Gillespie said Shive smoothed over her relationship with Seaborn for several months until he allowed her back into his house Thursday.

After she found Nevaeh, deputies had probable cause to enter Seaborn’s home and recover the animal, Gillespie said.

For Gillespie, seeing Nevaeh’s case through to the end was his obligation as a law enforcement officer and as a dog owner.

“If we have the opportunity to recover any stolen property, we will do everything we can,” Gillespie said. “We have an obligation to give the case as much closure as we can.

“From the perspective of a dog owner, I wasn’t just recovering property: This was comparable to kidnapping because this dog is her baby. I have pets as well; I understand the bond that people have with them.”

Seaborn pleaded not guilty to the theft and domestic violence charges and will appear at the El Paso County courthouse on Sept. 3 when his jury trial is scheduled to begin, records show.

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