What happens if your dog ran away four years ago? Would you still be out there, looking for them? Or would you have given up entirely? But what happens when, four years later, you receive a phone call telling you that they’ve been found?
Well, this happened to a Lansing resident when he received a phone call telling him that his beloved family pet has been found nearly 100 miles away from his home in Lansing.
Bradley Wieferich was completely stunned as he was notified by a microchip company that his dog was in Toledo, 100 miles away from his home.
How Did They Find Her?
Bambi the dog was found wandering the city streets by Toledo police. She was taken to the local county canine control and care facility, where the vets discovered that Bambi had a home when the bet scanned her microchip.
The shelter coordinator described the 12 year old Bambi as malnourished but in a happy mood when she arrived at the facility. She was just as confused as Bradley as to how Bambi made the 100+ mile journey between the cities.
The Wieferichs and Bambi were reunited soon after. Initially, Bradley didn’t recognize Bambi when he walked past the cages. But once he noticed suspiciously familiar markings and heard a familiar growl, he had no doubt in his mind that Bambi was his. “It’s time for her to come home,” said Bradley.
Background
Bambi was adopted into the Wieferich family when she was just several months old. The Wieferichs already owned a golden retriever when they adopted Bambi. But when he passed away due to cancer, that’s when Bambi’s troublesome behaviour of escaping started.
Bradley tried to provide Bambi with some companionship by buying another dog, but it didn’t work. Bambi ran away a couple of months later. This time however, the family could not find her. They resigned to the fact that she found another home, or passed away.
After the two were reconnected, it seems like Bambi has settled back into her old home nicely, and surprisingly, even remembers a couple of old tricks.
This story highlights the importance of microchipping your pets, and for people to scan stray animals for microchips when they encounter them. Not all strays are homeless. They might just be lost. Or really, really lost, like in this story.
