A North Texas dog believed to be stolen from her backyard two years ago has been reunited with her family in Arlington.
A North Texas dog believed to be stolen from her backyard two years ago has been reunited with her family in Arlington.
Jaime Templin said her dog Suzy, a Maltese shih tzu mix, was taken from the family's yard in the summer of 2017 and she's been missing her pup ever since.
"She wanted this family member back in her life no matter what," the City of Arlington Animal Services wrote in a Facebook post.
On Monday, someone found a very matted ball of fur roaming the streets of Arlington and brought her in to the city's animal shelter. When shelter employees scanned the dog to see if she had a microchip, they hit the jackpot.
The shelter called Templin and said she "became extremely emotional about her Suzy being found." Templin rushed to the shelter to be reunited with her four-legged family member.
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"Tears filled the room as Ms. Templin walked into the room where Suzy was being held and called her name, 'Suzy!' Tears filled her eyes as Ms. Templin picked Suzy up in her arms, Suzy licked all of her tears away," wrote Arlington Animal Services.[[511141991,C]]
Templin responded to the post, writing in a comment: "I cannot turn off my happy tears." She also wrote that Suzy needed "serious" grooming and to get shots. [[511196672, C]]
Arlington Animal Services noted the role Suzy's microchip played in tracking down her owner and stressed the importance of microchipping pets.
"Thank goodness for the microchip!!!" they wrote.
According to the American Kennel Club, one in three pets become lost at some point in their lives, and having a microchip implant dramatically increases the likelihood of locating the pet's owner. That's because the grain of rice-sized radio-frequency identification transponder carries a unique ID number that is registered with all your relevant contact information. The chip is injected under the pet's loose skin and the AKC said it is no more invasive than a vaccination.
NBC 5's Holley Ford contributed to this report.
