Thursday, March 28, 2024

The long road home

Posted

A tip from a microchip helped solve a 5-year-old dog-napping case, paving the way for “Missy” to be reunited with her owners.

Help from the Hood County community is needed, though.

The black-and-white Shih Tzu was found running free in Hood County, but it turns out that her owners, John and Debra, live in Hazel Park, Michigan.

STOLEN FIVE YEARS AGO

They had reported her stolen five years ago.

Sgt. Kelly McNab often receives help from animal-loving volunteers to transport dogs and cats to various rescue organizations, but those trips aren’t nearly the distance that Missy needs to travel.

Hazel Park is a 1,264-mile drive up I-30 – a drive of about 19 hours.

McNab is asking for help either with transport or with donations to fund Missy’s trip home.

Tracking down Missy’s owners took some detective work by Hood County Animal Control.

McNab said that the dog was microchipped but the phone number associated with the listed owner was no longer in service.

Animal Control Officer Kaleigh Greer located one of Debra’s nieces on Facebook and reached out to her. The niece then reached out to her aunt.

Debra phoned Animal Control on Friday, shocked that her long-lost Missy had been found.

“They really want their dog back,” McNab said. “So we’re trying to figure out how to get the dog back up to Michigan to be reunited” with her owners.

Anyone willing to help can contact Animal Control at 817-573-4277.

kcruz@hcnews.com | 817-573-7066, ext. 258