Miracle: After 11 years apart, the dog is reunited with his family (Photo: Reproduction/Facebook)
A woman from Hertfordshire, UK couldn’t believe her luck when she was reunited with her lost dog who disappeared over a decade ago.
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According to the New York Post, Liz Eldridge, 51, an employee of Britain’s National Health Service, originally bought the dog, a border terrier named Missie, as a birthday present for her son Oscar.
However, in February 2011, Missie disappeared from her Hertfordshire home. The tormented owner spent the next eight years driving across the country looking for possible leads to find her beloved dog, but to no avail.
The family lost hope and thought the dog had been stolen. However, her luck changed last week when she was told Missie had been found and traced back to her via a microchip identification implant.
Since the puppy disappeared shortly after purchase, Missie’s microchip still had the breeder’s name on it. A person found the missing dog and turned it over to the animal welfare service, who contacted its original owner.
“It was a mixture of pure joy but also sadness as Missie was in such a terrible condition. She was obviously constantly used for breeding and was very nervous and shy. We believe she was held in chains and beaten. Every time I tried to put a collar on her, she got really scared,” Eldridge told the New York Post.
However, Missie blends in well with her owners and gradually learns to trust people again. Eldridge takes this opportunity to advise all pet owners to have their dogs microchipped.
“I hadn’t been able to change the creator’s details to mine, so there were some complications. In the end we did it, but I want this to serve as a lesson for all owners to remember to update their pet’s details. It only takes a few minutes but it’s vital and could mean the difference between finding your pet or losing it forever,” she added to Metro.co.uk.