A family in San Antonio, Texas, were finally reunited with their long-lost dog last month—an incredible six years after it went missing from their home.
King, a 15-year-old chihuahua, actually turned up in Florida but was identified and reunited with his loving owners all thanks to a microchip.
DaNae recalled the night: “It was raining. So, I just bought him a new collar, so I didn’t put the collar on because I didn’t want him to get dirty, and then when the other two dogs came in, he wasn’t with them, and we just haven’t seen him since.”
Both mother and daughter were heartbroken and spent many months trying to find King. They posted his picture on social media and even offered a reward, but he had simply disappeared.
“It turns into a year, turns into two years, but we always had his picture on the phone,” said Debi.
On Debi’s birthday however, they received the call that they had been hoping for all that time.
Over 1,000 miles away in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, staff at Humane Society of Broward County, a local animal shelter, said a woman had surrendered King to them. They said she couldn’t take care of him, having kept him for the last six months.
The staff checked King for a microchip, and it didn’t take long to identify the owner, locate them, and call the Vazquezes.
“They said ‘King,’ and I was like ‘What!? King in Fort Lauderdale!?’ He’s having a life, you know,” Debi said.
With no available flights until later in the week, the mother-daughter duo didn’t waste any time. Instead of waiting, they drove almost 20 hours to reunite with their lost King.
“I’m not gonna wait that long!” Debi said.
How King ended up in south Florida and what he’s seen over the last six years remains unknown. Now that he’s heading home though, he’s in for some special treatment.
“He looks very sad, very skinny to me, but so happy to have him back in our family where he belongs,” Debi said.
“Microchip your dog!” DaNae told WSVN.
The Vazquezes were certainly happy that King had been chipped; without it, he would never have made it home.
“We are thinking maybe the dog that passed away brought him to us,” said Debi.
