Her family accidentally left the front door open and he never came back.
An Arizona woman thought it was too good to be true when someone contacted her telling her they’d found her dog, Brownie, who’d been missing for 9 years.
But, it wasn’t.
Kathy Hamel, owner of Arizona Shih Tzu and Small Breed Rescue, had the pup turned into her after he was left in front of a tattoo parlor.
Hamel said she noticed a few days later that the 15-year-old Lhasa Apso dog had a microchip, although she wasn’t optimistic about finding his owner because most chips don’t have the owner’s current information.
The chip had been registered with two different companies and after calling both, Hamel was able to get a name for his owner.
She searched for the woman on Facebook and messaged her.
“We asked her if she ever owned a dog named Brownie and it all came together from there. Her mother was still carrying the original flyer in her car. They had searched so long and hard for him that they had re-registered the microchip with another company six years after he disappeared hoping to still find him,” Hamel told insideedition.com
Brownie was now deaf and blind and it was clear he’d been neglected, but Brownie’s owner, Amy Baca, was astonished that he was alive.
Baca said that Brownie had run away one day when her family accidentally left the door open.
Neighbors usually brought the dog back, but on that day nine years ago, she said there were a lot of garage sales in the area and Brownie didn’t return.
“We think someone took him. We were always looking for him and putting out flyers,” said Baca. “On Friday I got a message on Facebook and she asked if it was my dog and sent me a picture."
Read: See The Joyful Moment Owner Was Reunited With Dog Believed Lost at Sea
Baca couldn’t believe it.
“I thought at first it was trick because we have been getting a lot of prank calls out it with people saying it was him and asking for money,” Baca said.
One she realized, however, that it really was her long lost pup, she was overjoyed.
“I was crying. The conditions that they found him in, you could tell he was neglected. We are overwhelmed and really grateful for her (Hamel),” said Baca. “I’ve heard of dog rescues, I just never in a million years thought I would see him again. I don’t know how much longer he’s going to live but at least we know he’s back home with family.”
Watch: Woman Has Tear-Jerking Reunion With Dog Who Was Adopted By Mistake
