When the Tatar family came home in 2006 to find their dog had been apparently stolen from his outdoor kennel, they posted fliers around their El Cajon neighborhood and checked the local shelters. But there was no trace of their then 4-year-old boxer, Chance.
Then, on Dec. 29, 2014, the County Department of Animal Services picked up a dog that had wandered onto a property in Bonsall and took him to the County shelter in Carlsbad. The pooch, a boxer, was scanned for a microchip, and it turned out to be Chance. Animal Services contacted the Tatarss.
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“They were astounded and ecstatic when they got the telephone call saying that Chance had been found,” said Dan DeSousa, deputy director of Animal Services.
Lila Tatar, who was just 10 when Chance went missing, said the boxer was microchipped by their vet and since 2006, the family has taken in six dogs – all of them microchipped.
“I highly recommend getting your pets microchipped,” Tatar said. “You never know – something like what happened with Chance could happen to you!”
Tatar said after the emotional reunion, Chance is settling in nice to his home – the same one he lived in eight years ago.
“We’re trying to get more weight on him, but he’s doing really well,” she said. “He definitely remembered us! As soon as he got home, he walked around and started wagging his tail and responding to his name.”
DeSousa said employees in the department are always happy to see a pet reunited with its owner, but it was especially touching to see this particular reunification between a family and its beloved pet after such a long absence – eight years!
Chance’s microchip is credited for giving him and his family another shot at life together.
“Without this microchip, this happy reunion would have never occurred,” DeSousa said. “A collar with an identification tag can easily be removed, but that microchip is proof positive as to who that animal is and who that animal belongs to.”
Animal Services offers microchipping of dogs, cats and rabbits for only $10 every Thursday at its shelters from 1-3 p.m.
“Ten dollars is a small amount for such large peace of mind that an animal will be reunited,” DeSousa said.
