MIAMI-DADE COUNTY, Fla. — A South Florida pet owner was recently reunited with her dog after a decade apart, all thanks to a microchip.
That dog, Buttercup, got loose with her doggy sister 10 years ago.
Her owner looked everywhere, but Buttercup was nowhere to be found. Her sister was found hit by a car shortly after the dogs went missing, so it was assumed that Buttercup may have passed away the same way.
Then came last week, when a law enforcement officer was working in the Homestead area and found Buttercup limping and roaming around.
The only reason they were able to identify Buttercup, who officials said is now 15 years old, and bring her back to her owner, not just a shelter, was because they read her microchip that she received back in 2011.
“Due to her age and maybe the shock and the time they spent apart, it wasn’t an immediate recognition of, ‘Wow, you’re my family, you’re the person from 10 years ago that has cared for me,’” said Gabriella Dominguez of Miami-Dade Animal Services. “It was just more of like, ‘OK, I’m happy to be in a home settling in.’ And then after the fact, it was like, ‘Oh, you’re my family, this is somewhat familiar, I remember this.’”
Miami-Dade Animal Services said this serves as an example of the importance of microchipping your pet.
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