Original Article: https://blog.theanimalrescuesite.greatergood.com/microchipped-pets-reunited/

Here at the Animal Rescue Site, we love a good reunion story, particularly when missing pets makes it back to their families safe and sound. But as you may have noticed, all the best homecoming tales usually have one thing in common–microchips, which play a critical role in reuniting lost, missing, or stolen pets with their families, sometimes months, years, or decades after they disappeared!

June is National Microchip Month

Microchips are so key, in fact, that they’ve earned an entire month to highlight their pivotal role in modern pet ownership! Now we celebrate National Microchip Month in June to highlight the pivotal role microchips play in finding long-lost pets, especially when chip contact details are kept up-to-date. You never know when your beloved pet might go missing, but microchips can help bring your missing fur family back home. Read on for 8 heartwarming reunion stories that wouldn’t have happened without a microchip!

Ritz

Ritz was missing for 16 years before somebody found a presumedly stray cat with a serious limp and brought him to the vet for euthanasia. Thankfully, the vet scanned Ritz for a microchip first, revealing contact information for Ritz’s owners, who were thrilled to welcome their long-lost cat home after nearly 2 decades!

Rex

Rex was stolen when he was just a puppy, but thankfully not before the Yorkie got microchipped. This stroke of genius paved the way for Rex’s eventual reunion, although it wouldn’t take place for 11 more years.

“Warner Bros., Paramount, Disney & Universal Studios may we have your attention please?“ the Stoughton Police Department wrote on Facebook after officers found the microchipped dog running loose in Boston. “You have never created a movie with this type of incredible ending.”

Tiny

Tiny’s family was distraught when the 10-year-old chihuahua disappeared from her yard in Polk County, Florida. Owner Sophia Burgess plastered her neighborhood and social media with missing dog fliers and photos, but to no avail. Soon Tiny had been missing for 3 months. But then one day, a graying Chihuahua fitting Tiny’s description was found 67 miles away at Clearwater Beach. Nobody knows how the 4-pound pup traveled all this way on her own, but her microchip helped bring her home.

Merlin

Merlin was one of the hundreds of animals trapped when wildfires tore through Superior, Colorado. When rescuers found him meowing for help from a neighbor’s porch, Merlin was so badly burned rescuers couldn’t even tell what color he used to be.

But back at the hospital, the 9-year-old cat received emergency treatment while rescuers used Merlin’s microchip to find his owner. “Anyone who doesn’t think microchips work or are worth it needs to use this as an example,” rescuers explained on Facebook. “This kitty was burned beyond recognition so we couldn’t tell if it was orange, brown, black etc. The chip helped identify him despite the other factors.”

Roxie

Roxie was snatched from her family’s front yard when she was just a puppy. It would be almost 5 years before the French bulldog was reunited with her owner, Shona MacLeod, who had wisely outfitted her adorable pup with a microchip!

Zoey

When Zoey first went missing, her owner, Michelle, was distraught. The California woman looked everywhere for the missing dog, but as the days turned into months, and then years, Michelle gradually lost hope of ever seeing Zoey again. But then one day 12 years later, animal control found the long-long stray and brought her to the shelter. Lo and behold, it was Zoey, whose microchip helped bring the missing dog back home.

Russ

There’s no doubt that Russ is a lucky dog. After getting spooked and running away on a camping trip to Lake Tahoe, the California dog survived both a wildfire and a freak snowstorm before he was finally rescued. But some of Russ’s luck stemmed from his owner’s decision to get his dog microchipped, which helped Russ reunite with his owner months after these misadventures began. “This guy is something else right here,” said Russ’s owner, Ricardo Rodriquez, who lived hundreds of miles away from where the dog was rescued. “He’s been through it all.”

Marley

Marley’s family was heartbroken when their black cat slipped out of her harness on a walk and disappeared. But 9 years later, the missing cat’s owner, Katie, got a very surprising call. Not only had Marley been rescued and brought to a shelter where she was scanned, but the missing cat rejoined her family just in time for Christmas! “It’s taken 10 years to get her home,” Katie said. “I just hope she lives a bit longer to appreciate home comforts with her family again – what a Christmas miracle!”

Did we miss one of your favorite reunion stories? Let us know in the comments!

Source: The Animal Rescue Site Blog