Dancer/Fern, a terrier mix

This story shows that with microchipping, a reunion with a lost pet is possible even after most of the pet's life has probably passed by. Who knows if the person that took this dog in when he first ran away ever tried to find the dog's owner or get him scanned for a microchip. But when he -- apparently -- ran away this time, the recent finder did so. Enjoy the story.

Dog reunited with family after 8 years
Wednesday, May 6, 2009
By CLARA TUMA / KVUE News

AUSTIN, Texas -- When an energetic little pup named Dancer ran away from her South Austin home eight years ago, she left the Murphy family devastated.

Alison Murphy made calls and put out fliers. She even offered a $500 reward for the terrier mix, but Dancer -- who was wearing two ID tags -- was nowhere to be found. That is, until last week, when Murphy got a surprise call from the Humane Society in New Braunfels.

"They said, 'Do you recall a little white dog?' I said, 'Dancer?' and she's like, 'You remember?'"

And now, Dancer (who no longer recognizes her name and instead responds to the name "Fern") is back home -- eight years after running away.

"This like this just don't really happen," Murphy said. "It's just kind of weird."

A musician in New Braunfels found the dog running around his neighborhood and took her home last week. He kept her a few days, and then went to the Humane Society to see if the dog had a microchip, and perhaps, an owner. She had both, though she hadn't seen her owners in eight years.

"She looks the same," Murphy said. "She's just a little more gray."

How the dog spent the last eight years is a mystery, but she's in good physical shape so Murphy doesn't think Dancer/Fern was a stray.

"Her teeth are in great shape," she said. "She just doesn't look like she's been on the streets for 11 years. Somebody's been taking care of her." The dog isn't malnourished and didn't have fleas, which Murphy takes as further evidence someone was caring for the dog.

She says she's taking Dancer/Fern to obedience school as soon as possible.

Murphy said the dog bolted out the door of a pet store, where she stopped to buy a new collar and leash on the way from being reunited. It took an hour and more than a dozen good Samaritans to re-capture the frightened dog.

"It's just wonderful to have her back," Murphy said. "She's older now and she's a little more mellow than she was, of course, as a younger dog, but she still likes to go for walks first thing in the morning. And she likes to cuddle at night. She's still the same old girl."

Murphy says she's always believed in putting a microchip in her pets, and now is even more convinced how useful the chips can be.

She's even had a microchip put in her pet ferret, just in case.

Source: http://www.khou.com/news/state/stories/khou090506_tnt_lost-dog.24cf21a0.html