In 2015, Judith Monarrez's dog Gizmo, a tiny Chihuahua, vanished from their Las Vegas home.
The distraught owner never gave up hope and was stunned when, nearly a decade later, she received an email notification saying his microchip had been scanned.
The dog microchip had worked, and the lost dog was none other than her beloved Gizmo.
Judith, now 37, recalls the day Gizmo disappeared. "He slipped through a faulty gate in the backyard," she said. For years, she feared the worst but refused to stop looking. Finally, the news she had been waiting for arrived.
"When I saw him, I knew immediately it was Gizmo. He looked different, but his eyes told me it was him," Judith shared.
Gizmo had been missing for so long that many things had changed for both of them.
Judith now has her own home, and Gizmo, who is 11 years old, was found by a vet who scanned his microchip, triggering an email notification to Judith.
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The family is now dedicated to showering him with all the love he missed.
Gizmo would be needing some treatment for health problems after developing fears of heights, birds, and shadows.
The family even disclosed that the poor now walk with a limp.
This story is similar to a Florida family who lost their dog Cleo in 2014 when the curious Cockapoo ran away from home.
Her family never gave up hope as they constantly updated her dog's microchip over the years, according to the Humane Society of Tampa Bay on Facebook. Their persistence ultimately led to a reunion.
"We were hoping for a happy ending and for her to be reunited with her owners, but we did not foresee the joy that her story brought!" the group shared on Facebook.
A scan of the stray dog microchip led the HSTB staff to Luisa, who was in disbelief when she learned that her long-lost pet had been found, just as the rescuers were surprised that Cleo's microchip information had been maintained all this time.
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Microchips and the search for lost pets
Microchips work by transmitting an identification number to a scanner.
This number links to a database with the pet owner's information, as explained by the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA).
Dog gets microchip scan | Shutterstock
Although microchips do not have GPS or tracking abilities, they are still one of the best ways to find a lost dog.
An AVMA study of more than 7,700 strays in 23 states found that microchipped dogs were returned to their owners at more than double the rate of stray dogs without microchips.
The rate differential for cats was even more significant. The main reason microchipped pets weren’t returned was incorrect or disconnected contact information in the database.
The AVMA recommends that all pets have microchips for permanent identification. However, it also advises that nothing replaces a collar with up-to-date identification tags.
If the collar is lost or removed, the microchip might be the only way to find the animal's family.
So, to ensure the microchip remains useful, owners should keep their information updated and ask veterinarians to scan the chip at least once a year to confirm it is functioning properly.