CLINTON TOWNSHIP, Mich. (WXYZ) — A Detroit man has been reunited with his stolen dog after six months — and Macomb County Animal Control says the happy ending came down to one small thing: a microchip.
Watch Evan Sery's video report:
We spoke one-on-one with Macomb County Animal Control Director Chief Jeff Randazzo, who says Max, a 9-month-old black lab mix, was found inside a Roseville home last month after the tenants had just been evicted, and Max had been abandoned.
After scanning Max's microchip, animal control was able to contact his owner, who had reported the dog stolen months earlier. The two were reunited Tuesday.
"When they called him, and said I think we have Max here, he's microchipped to you, he's like, ' Oh my God," Randazzo said.
Randazzo says the owner had begun to lose hope.
"6 months is a long time, so he did think, you know, he was never gonna see his dog again," Randazzo said.
But the reunion happened — and Randazzo says both Max and his owner, Mr. Shaw, made their feelings clear.
"Max was super excited to see Mr. Shaw; Mr. Shaw obviously felt the same way," Randazzo said.
Randazzo is now urging all pet owners to take the same simple step that made this reunion possible.
"Making sure if your animals are microchipped, check that registration, that they're currently registered, we register all our chips we plant," Randazzo said.
Randazzo says all animals at Macomb County Animal Control are microchipped. In September, his department launched the region's first public microchip scanning program, consisting of 4 scanning stations scattered across Macomb County. If a chip is detected, the scanner provides the ID number and resources to connect directly with the owner.
For Randazzo, the story of Max and Mr. Shaw says it all.
"It's kind of just a great story of microchips do work," Randazzo said.
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