FORT LAUDERDALE, FLA. (WSVN) - A Texas family’s beloved pet has finally been found in Fort Lauderdale after it went missing from their yard six years ago.
Debi Vazquez and her daughter DaNae said they gave up hope searching for their 15-year-old chihuahua King after he went missing from their backyard in San Antonio back in 2014 with no clue what happened to him.
“It was raining. So, I just bought him a new collar, so I didn’t put the collar on because I didn’t want him to get dirty, and then when the other two dogs came in, he wasn’t with them, and we just haven’t seen him since,” said DaNae.
“It turns into a year, turns into two years, but we always had his picture on the phone,” said Debi.
The heartbroken mother and daughter spent months trying to find King. They sent out social media posts with his picture and even offered a reward with no luck.
But on Sunday, Debi’s birthday, she got a call she had been waiting for for years.
“They said ‘King,’ and I was like ‘What!? King in Fort Lauderdale!?’ He’s having a life, you know,” Debi said.
The mother-daughter duo didn’t waste any time. They hopped in the car and drove almost 20 hours to reunite with their lost King.
“No flights coming out this way until like, Thursday or Friday. I’m not gonna wait that long!” Debi said.
It’s still unclear how King wound up in South Florida.
Staff at Humane Society of Broward County said a woman surrendered him Sunday because she couldn’t take care of him and she had only had the dog for six months.
They checked for a microchip, and it didn’t take long for them to get in touch with the Vazquez family.
“Microchip your dog!” DaNae said.
“Yes, everybody should microchip!” Debi said.
“Don’t ever take the collar off!” DaNae said.
Of course, there’s no telling what King saw over the last six years, but now that he’s heading home, he’s in for the royal treatment from here on out.
“He looks very sad, very skinny to me, but so happy to have him back in our family where he belongs,” Debi said.
The Humane Society said that King’s story is an important reminder about microchipping your pets. If you haven’t done so, they will microchip your pet without an appointment.
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