Dog missing from Florida for 12 years found near Pittsburgh, reunited with owner
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If dogs could talk, there would be more to this tale.
But only Dutchess knows the full story.
The 14-year-old fox terrier got loose Feb. 28, 2007, from her Florida home and wasn’t seen again by her owner until Friday, when they were reunited In Pittsburgh’s North Side.
Katheryn Strang of Boca Racon, Fla., took two days to make the drive to Pittsburgh for the emotional reunion at Humane Animal Rescue’s shelter on Western Avenue.
“Dutchess,” Strang said as she was reunited with her dog in front of a room filled with clicking cameras. “Hi, baby. I’ve missed you so.”
A good Samaritan found Dutchess under a shed in Carnegie — nearly 1,000 miles north its home in Florida — and took the dog to the shelter.
“She was really nervous and needed a nail trim,” said Torin Fisher, an admissions counselor with the shelter.
Dutchess had been microchipped — a procedure where an animal has a chip with their owner’s information on it implanted — and Fisher was able to contact Strang.
“This amazing story unfolded, and here they are,” Fisher said.
“She had a tri-colored face the last time I saw her,” Strang said while petting Dutchess. “I bet she could tell me some stories.”
Dutchess loved car rides and would have gotten in anyone’s car, Strang said. She surmises that must have been how the dog made it to Pennsylvania.
“I don’t think she walked the whole way,” Strang said.
The reunion is the reason Fisher does the job, she said.
“This is why I love it. This is the whole reason I’m here every day,” Fisher said. “Getting owners back with their pets is a great feeling. It’s amazing.”
Few animals have microchips, and Humane Animal Rescue encourages pet owners to get them. Only 4% of stray animals brought to the shelter in 2018 had microchips, according to Humane Animal Rescue.
Through the end of October, Humane Animal Rescue is offering microchipping for $15 per pet, a 50% discount. Pet owners can walk in with their animals to the North Side clinic or make an appointment at the clinic in the East End. Humane Animal Rescue hosts monthly low-cost clinics where microchipping is always $15.
For more information, visit www.humaneanimalrescue.org/lowcost.