9:48 AM, Oct. 26, 2011
A Jack Russell terrier lost since July is on his way home to Tennessee, thanks to a chip implant and a volunteer from the Michigan Humane Society.
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| More photos of Petey are at: http://news.yahoo.com/tenn-dog-missing-3-months-turns-mich-124713722.html |
His 73-year-old owner, Jim Arrighi, has been searching for him since the dog wandered away from his yard July 28 in Erin, Tenn., Arrighi's stepdaughter, Tyanne Morrison, 54, said today.
"He’s tickled to death," Morrison said about her stepfather, who lives in a house the other side of Muster Ground Creek from her, in a county west of Nashville with a population of 7,000 people. "We’ve hunted and hunted everywhere. He’s had pictures put in the paper. We put posters up everywhere. We rode around on four wheelers in the area, so we knew he wasn’t hit by a car."
Arrighi's wife of 37 years, Juanita, 77, died Oct. 12, so he believes she helped Petey return home, Morrison said.
"That’s what he thinks -- he truly thinks that," Morrison said. "A lot of people think that. They think she was looking over him
Nancy Greiser of Wayne, an MHS foster parent and volunteer since 2009, was leaving today to drive Petey back home.
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| Petie back home |
She was one of 76 volunteers who offered to drive Petey home -- and she was the one that said she could leave immediately, spokesman Kevin Hatman said.
"How can you not have your heartstrings tugged?" said Greiser, in between Petey jumping for treats she held out in front of her in the yard of the Rochester Hills humane society facility. Greiser's been volunteering with the Michigan Humane Society's Berman Center for Animal Care in Westland since she retired from teaching medical billing and coding at an adult education facility about two years ago. She and her friend expect to make the 10-hour trip today, and they'll stay overnight at a bed-and-breakfast in Erin, Tenn., that offered them free accomodations.
The reunion is scheduled to take place at 9 a.m. at Arrighi's house in Tennesee, or 10 a.m. in our time zone.
"I said nobody can cry when we show up," Greiser said.
Petey's family thinks he could have been stolen outside a nearby restaurant by a passerby. No one truly knows how Petey made the nearly 600 mile trek from Erin to Rochester Hills. But when Petey was brought to the Michigan Humane Society's Rochester Hills Center for Animal Care, workers there identified him when they scanned him and discovered Petey was implanted with a $70 microchip.
| Aaron Jerome a customer service representative and animal care technician at the Rochester Hills Michigan Humane Society plays with Petey, the 4-year-old Jack Russell Terrier today. Petey will be reunited with his owner Jack Arrighi of Erin, Tenn. Watch the video at: http://bcove.me/fbav6xd7 |
"This story put a smile on the faces of our entire adoption center team," said Marcelena Mace, shelter manager at the MHS Rochester Hills Center for Animal Care. "It's wonderful when we see microchip reunions, including those that seem like miracles. It really proves that no matter how far your pet may travel, a microchip can help him find his way home!"
He's expected to get quite a reception at Arrighi's home, Morrison said. Petey's been on the news as far away as Nashville, so his reunion is expected to be the talk of the town on Thursday.
"We were going to meet them in Cincinnati, but they offered to bring him all the way," Morrison said. "It’s just really nice of them."
Source: http://www.freep.com/article/20111026/NEWS06/111026012/Dog-from-Tennessee-turns-up-Michigan-back-yard?odyssey=tab|topnews|text|FRONTPAGE
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Video here
Another version of the story is at: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/10/26/jim-arrighi-lost-dog-tennessee-found-michigan_n_1032653.html?ncid=edlinkusaolp00000003
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Follow-up after Petie returned home: http://www.detnews.com/article/20111027/METRO/110270463/1409/Missing-terrier-Petie-reunited-with-owner-in-Tennessee
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