"Always hope," the dog's owner said.
It took 12 years, but a beloved family dog is back home.
Dutchess, the toy fox terrier that went missing from its South Florida home back in 2007, was found shivering and hungry under a shed over 1,000 miles away in Pittsburgh, according to the Associated Press.
Her human, Katheryn Strang, lives in Boca Raton, Florida, and drove the 1,130 miles to reunite with her long-lost family member. Workers at the Humane Animal Rescue were able to contact Strang because of a microchip on the 14-year-old dog.
Strang says the dog got loose because her son accidentally opened their door one day after school. At the time, the family lived near a busy Orlando street, and they figured someone had scooped her up.
All the while, Strang continued to check local shelters. She also kept paying the annual fee on the microchip and continued to update her contact information.
“Always hope. It’s like $15 a year. I wasn’t gonna give up hope for that,” she said.
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