Shelter Scans Stray Dog's Microchip—Unprepared for the Call That Follows

Newsweek

a day ago

Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources.
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The moment a dog is reunited with his owner after a whole year apart has gone viral online, racking up over 1.2 million views.
The Facebook clip shared by Best Friends Animal Society, the national animal-welfare organization. It shows a dog being led into the Cleveland Animal Care and Control facility reception. Then, a man appears, and instantly the dog's tail starts to go crazy, and the canine races over to embrace him, licking his face and lapping up the love.
Kylie Betler, the shelter operations manager at CITY DOGS Cleveland, Ohio, told Newsweek that the dog was missing, but the owner had been in "constant contact" with them, so, when they picked the stray, they scanned for a microchip and called him right away.
Two screenshots from the viral video showing the man bending down to stroke his dog.
Two screenshots from the viral video showing the man bending down to stroke his dog.
Cleveland Animal Care & Control
An extract from the caption online reads: "[The staff] had no idea just how BIG the reunion they were about to facilitate was going to be.
"You see, this sweet boy had been missing for an entire year. His owner never gave up hope though. In the year, he continued to look for his best friend, both in person and online. So, when he received the phone call that his best friend had been found, he rushed over in disbelief."
The Animal Humane Society said an estimated 1 in 3 pets will go missing in their lifetime. This equals about 10 million missing pets each year in the U.S.
Betler said: "I'd like to stress that microchipping and licensing your animals is the best way to reunite them back home.
"You want to make sure your information is always up to date, if you move or change your phone number. If your animal is not microchipped, there are so many places out there that do it for low cost, including us at Cleveland Animal Care & Control."
Although the event took place a year ago, the video—posted on July 26—has already garnered over 75,000 likes and 3,600 comments.
One user wrote: "Thank God for microchips."
"It crossed my mind that not only was dad happy to see her, but the feelings of not knowing if she was alive or safe, it was a relief too," posted another.
A third commenter referred to it as the "perfect ending"; however, this isn't always the case for lost pets.
Based on the 2009 American Pet Products Association (APPA) pet population estimates and our own data, over the past five years, more than 10 million dogs went missing across the United States. Of those, approximately 763,763 were never found.
That breaks down to roughly 153,000 lost dogs remaining unfound each year nationwide.