Years After Vanishing, A Tri-Cities Dog’s Story Has Shocking End

When a lost dog finds it's way to an animal shelter, the focus becomes make their stay comfortable with the goal of adoption.  More often that not, that dog finds a new home to live out their life with a different family.  Every so often, that dog has the kind of ending the Hallmark Channel makes into a movie.

A Jack Russell Terrier found his way to Tri-Cities Animal Services (TCAS) in December of last year.  The senior aged pup (81/2 years young) was in a car with another dog that was pulled over by Kennewick Police.  The driver wound up in Benton County Jail and the dogs wound up at TCAS.  Staff quickly fell in love with the pup they would call "Old Timer".  Old Timer's companion would be adopted quickly while he would stick around for a bit.

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As with all intakes, the staff at the shelter do their diligence in trying to identify an animal and find their owner.  Old Timer had a microchip, but it wasn't registered.  He would find his way into a home, only to be brought back to the shelter soon after leaving.

Old Timer would then have a medical episode at TCAS which required him to come off the active adoption list.  It took until two weeks ago, on June 4th, for him to be able to begin searching for another home.  It wouldn't take long for Old Timer to find a home, and one that he was very familiar with.

Soon after Old Timer's photo and story was recirculated online the shelter received a message:

I believe you have my dog.

The Beginning Of A Happy Ending

The staff at TCAS hears that more than you think.  The process to verify the person's claim began.  The woman supplied a microchip serial number that matched the unregistered chip inside Old Timer.  That's when staff learned that Old Timer was really Jack.

Jack's Story Is A Wild One

Jack disappeared from his home three years ago.  That home was around 3,000 miles away in Florida.  How he wound up in the back of a car in Kennewick with another dog is still not known, but his original owner now was known.  Since Jack went missing the family relocated to Missouri.

Jack's owner Cheyenna immediately made arrangements with a transport company to bring Jack home.  He left TCAS on Friday the 13th and made it home earlier this week.  It's not often a lost pet reunites with it's family after being separated for so long.  Jack's story is one of the power of social media, never giving up hope, and the kind of endings that make everyone's heart smile.

Cheyanna shared a number of photos with Tri-Cities Animal Services after Jack got home.  It didn't take long for him to reacclimate to his family.