Mikayla, huskey

Dog reunited with family two years after being stolen
By Todd Dunn, Video Journalist
Nov 30, 2011

LAFAYETTE, Tenn. - A Mid-State family was reunited with their family dog two years after it was stolen from their backyard thanks to the help of a Good Samaritan and a microchip.

"She was in a cage, in a big kennel and someone cut the lock and cut off her collar and she was just gone," recalled Alison Murphy.

Charlie Murphy added, "You don't know what to think, you think, ‘Why would someone take someone else's dog?' It is like kidnapping a kid almost, you know."

The family told Nashville's News 2 they purchased their white husky, Mikayla while living in Tampa, Florida and soon had their four-legged family member microchipped.

After Mikayla was stolen the family said they searched everywhere imaginable in an effort to locate their pet.

"We drove miles [and] many, many miles. [We] had friends help us driving and every time someone would see a husky they would stop and go back," Alison said.

After six months of searching the Murphy's gave up hope on finding Mikayla, however, on Wednesday the family received a phone call from the Macon County Hospital saying that a man had found the dog.

The man who found Mikayla said she was thin and underfed when he found her.

"He had her for six weeks and said yesterday he had a dream that he thought she might have a chip in her and [he] took her to the vet," Charlie said, adding, "He finally had time and they scanned her and sure enough that's when the hunt began."

The Murphys' said despite having Mikayla microchipped they had not updated the information when they moved to Tennessee.

The Macon County Hospital was able to contact the family since they had information on their other family pet.

"I actually called them and the gentleman answered the phone and said, ‘Oh my gosh. That is our dog,'" Cassie Dyer said.

The family said they are thrilled to be reconnected with their beloved dog.

"When we first saw her she came right over and was licking on us and laid down to rub her belly," Alison Murphy said.

Veterinarian officials remind pet owners of the importance of maintaining current information with microchip companies after moving or changing contact information.

Source: http://www.wkrn.com/story/16159537/dog-reunited-with-family-two-years-after-being-stolen
Video at: http://www.wkrn.com/story/16159537/dog-reunited-with-family-two-years-after-being-stolen?autoStart=true&topVideoCatNo=default&clipId=6503582

T-bone, staffordshire terrier

It's a doggone miracle: Family's shock as pet pooch stolen five years ago is found... riding a No.37 bus
Staffie T-Bone was found on the Birmingham City Centre to Solihull route; microchip scan enabled him to be returned to his long-lost owner
By Andy Dolan
29th November 2011

When Pat Oates's dog vanished from the driveway five years ago she soon gave up hope of seeing the pet again.

As the days went by without any sighting of seven-year-old T-Bone, Miss Oates concluded the Staffordshire bull terrier had been stolen.

So she was astonished and overjoyed to be told last week that the dog had been found five years on – riding on her local bus.

Rover's return: Pat Oates (pictured with relatives) was stunned when she received a call saying her beloved Staffordshire bull terrier, T-Bone, had been found riding the Birmingham City Centre to Solihull route

The bus driver took the animal to a local veterinary surgery, where staff were able to reunite Miss Oates with her long-lost pet, now aged 12, after scanning his microchip.

Yesterday Miss Oates, 48, a delivery driver, said: 'We couldn't believe it when we got the phone call. I thought the vet was winding me up. I broke down crying. I wanted to get there as soon as I could.

'He vanished from the driveway in 2006. We put up posters and made some appeals in the press, but didn't have any luck.

'T-Bone is like one of our children. When he went missing, I couldn't sleep - it was a nightmare. The whole family was upset.

'We're over the moon to have him back, we thought he was gone for good.'

The mother-of-three, who lives with partner Tony Wellington, 50, near Solihull, West Midlands, said it was a mystery how the dog came to be travelling on the number 37 bus, operated by Travel West Midlands. The bus travels between Birmingham City Centre and Solihull.

But she said it was no surprise he had been found on a bus, as the dog always enjoyed going on car journeys with the family.

She added: 'No one saw who T-Bone was with. We will try to see if there's CCTV on the bus, but the trouble is the person could claim they'd only just picked him up.'

Home again: Pat Oates, from Solihull, West Midlands is delighted to have T-Bone back. Right, she holds the poster after her pet went missing in 2006 - when she feared T-Bone had been stolen to order by a callous gang looking to use him as a ferocious weapon

Miss Oates said T-Bone had been neglected and was suffering with a cyst on his leg and hearing trouble.

'The vet said to let him settle in first, but he will need treatment in future. It's a small price to pay, we are just glad to have him back,' she said.

Miss Oates, who has daughter Kelly, 28, and sons Elliot, 18 and Matthew, 25, from a previous relationship, says she plans to spoil T-Bone rotten this year.

'We have bought him a collar, as he didn't have one. He likes squeaky toys and balls. He likes pigs trotters, so we will get him some for this year.'

After five years without a dog, the family were reunited with T-Bone just a month after Miss Oates bought Mr Wellington a new puppy, Wrinkle, also a Staffordshire bull terrier, as a 50th birthday present.

Leigh Fisher, of 608 Vets, in Birmingham, where the dog was taken by the bus driver, said the case illustrated how important it was for owners to get pets microchipped.

'It also highlights the importance of taking any stray animal to a vet to have them scanned before choosing to adopt them,' she said.

'There may be a worried owner out there somewhere praying for their pet's safe return.'

Pat Oates and T-Bone after being reunited. Pat still had the dog's leash, five years later

According to the Dogs Trust, since microchipping was first introduced in 1989, more than four million dogs and cats have been fitted with a device.

Source: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2067132/Dog-miracle-Familys-shock-pet-pooch-stolen-years-ago--37-bus.html?ito=feeds-newsxml

Lilly, yellow lab

Missing Vermilion dog reunited with owners
By Megan Rozsa, Morning Journal
Published: Tuesday, June 16, 2009

VERMILION — A yellow Labrador that had been missing since Friday was finally home yesterday with her rightful owners.

The 3-year-old dog, Lilly, was in the back of Greg Butchko's truck when he made a quick stop at Quaker Steak & Lube in Vermilion on Friday night. He was in the restaurant for 10 minutes and came out to find his dog missing.

The Butchko family made fliers and hung them around town, offering a $250 reward for her return. Butchko said companies in Lorain County raised the award gradually, making the total $1,000.

"The Lorain County residents came to bat completely," he said. "Everyone offered to add money toward the reward. The people were just so unbelievable."

Butchko said he finally got a call Sunday from Jim Riddell, a North Ridgeville city worker. Riddell said he was at Quaker Steak that night with some off-duty Lorain police officers. He saw Lilly in the truck, and he and the officers petted her.

Riddell told Butchko he saw a couple with a child waiting to pet the dog also. When Riddell saw the family's flier for the missing Lilly at an ice cream shop, he knew he remembered the family.

"I knew the girl from high school," Riddell said. "I did some research and drove out to her house to see if I could see the dog, but I couldn't."

Riddell called Butchko and gave him the location of the house.

"I drove to there around 8 a.m. (Monday) morning," Butchko said. "They were sitting in their garage. I introduced myself and said I was looking for a dog."

The couple acted like they didn't know what dog Butchko wanted, which struck him as funny since the announcement was all over the news, Butchko said.

"I told them that Quaker Steak had security video of them with the dog and they said, 'Oh, that dog!'" Butchko said. "They told me that she was walking around the parking lot without a collar on. He said they didn't even think to ask whose dog it was, they just put it in their car and left."

The couple went into the house to retrieve the dog, which was in the basement.

"She came running up those basement stairs and buried her head right in my chest," Butchko said. "My wife was standing there crying. Lilly knew it was us."

Butchko said he thanked the couple for taking care of her and took her home. He then called Riddell and thanked him for his help in finding Lilly.

"I thanked him up and down, and he refused to take a reward, but he said he would take a perch fishing trip," Butchko said laughing. Lilly's "with me all the time, she's with me now at work. She doesn't even like if I go in the bathroom. She sits outside the door."

Riddell said he didn't want the money because he thought he was just doing the right thing.

"I didn't know what kind of reward there was," he said. "I told him I didn't want any money, I just wanted to meet him and the dog. Money doesn't mean anything to me. I was just doing a good deed, and I thank God he got his dog back."

Source: http://www.morningjournal.com/articles/2009/06/16/news/mj1195460.txt?viewmode=fullstory

Marley, yorkie

Dog reunites with owner after mysterious journey
By Jennifer Musa, FOX 5 San Diego Reporter
May 7, 2010

SAN DIEGO— A San Diego dog that somehow ended up over 330 miles away from home in Fresno has been reunited with his owner, thanks to his microchip.

On April 1, 2010, Brianne Thom noticed that Marley had gone missing and did everything she could to find him.

"I put up signs everywhere. Nobody called. He had his collar on, so I knew if somebody good found him they would call," said Brianne Thom. "No one called. Weeks went by, I kept putting up fliers and they kept getting taken down."

A woman found Marley roaming around an apartment complex. The dog was taken to the Valley Animal Center in Fresno.

"She brings him in, and she says, 'I'm going to keep it if nobody claims it,'" said Bertha Rubi, a worker at Valley Animal Center. "I said, 'Well, let's scan it to see if it has a microchip.'"

The sweet tempered Yorkie mix had a chip, and Thom was contacted immediately. A month after Marley disappeared, Thom hopped in the car and drove six hours to Fresno to reclaim the dog she thought she'd never see again.

"Somebody sold him I guess," said Thom. "I don't know what else could have happened. I know he wouldn't walk. He's too small."

Thom adopted Marley six years ago from her aunt in Florida, and now that they are reunited they will be inseparable.



Source: http://www.fox5sandiego.com/news/kswb-dog-reunion,0,7749077.story