Buddy, black lab

Dog Missing Since 2007 Reunited With Owners After 7 Years
by Sara Gates, The Huffington Post
04/10/2014

Welcome home, Buddy!

A black Labrador retriever who went missing during the 2007 California wildfires has finally found his way home. The dog was reunited with his owners in San Diego on April 1 thanks a $10 microchip the family had implanted in the pup as a precaution, according to Fox 5.

Another Happy Tale for the otherwise dreadful MONDAY!!!

Mr. Hartman had his dog "Buddy" microchipped and neutered in 2005 after he was impounded after he escaped from the yard one day.

In 2007 the devestating fires that burned through San Diego County left Mr. Hartman and his family without a home. Mr. Hartman called the Department and updated his contact information and notified us that Buddy was displaced after the fires and they were looking for him.

Seven years later, Buddy comes to the shelter on Gaines Street. When we scanned him for the microchip and called Mr. Hartman right away. The family was absolutely estatic that he was found!!

Mr. Hartman and his wife have since moved to Oklahoma but were in San Diego visiting their son when they got the call. Coincidence or fate?

April 1, 2014, Mr. Hartman and his wife picked up 10 year old Buddy and they left San Diego to head back to Oklahoma. A $10 microchip made it all happen!

John Hartman and his wife, who have since moved to Oklahoma, were visiting their son in the southern California city earlier this month when they received an unusual call from the county's Department of Animal Services. A passerby reportedly found the Lab wandering near Imperial Beach and brought him into a local animal shelter. When workers scanned the dog's microchip they realized the lost pup belonged to the Hartmans and had been missing for nearly seven years.

"We’ve reunited animals from across the country and even the world with their owners, but seven years is one of the longest time periods we were able to reunite a pet and its owner," Dan DeSousa, deputy director of San Diego's Department of Animal Services, told County News Center.

The Hartmans, who lost their home in the wildfires, weren't sure what happened to Buddy after the blaze. Though someone initially found the pup at the time, he escaped and was last seen in the area of Imperial Beach in late 2007. It seems Buddy found a new home, and may have gotten loose when he was spotted on March 28.

San Diego, California News Station - KFMB Channel 8 - cbs8.com

"He's in really good health. Whoever had him took really good care of him," Hartman told CBS 8.

Earlier this month, another Labrador who went missing shortly before Hurricane Sandy was reunited with his family after 17 months.

Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/04/10/dog-reunited-with-owners-7-years-missing_n_5127079.html