A Chicago family was reunited with their beloved missing dog on Thursday, that turned up more than six years after it disappeared, just miles from their house.
The Anderson family lives in the Belmont Heights neighborhood on the city's Northwest Side. Six years ago, their dog Shaggy - a Yorkie mix - went missing from the family's home, leaving them heartbroken with the belief that they would never see him again.
On Monday, Shaggy was found near Northwest Highway and North Parkside Avenue in nearby Jefferson Park. Shaggy did not have a collar or tags, and according to an initial flier posted online by the Garrido Stray Rescue Foundation, it appeared he did not have microchip either.
But upon a second scan, the rescue organization said the dog did have a microchip but it had migrated away from the area where the chips are usually implanted. The scan revealed that Shaggy belonged to Tina Anderson, who the organization quickly contacted for a reunion.
Chicago Police Lt. John Garrido and his wife run the Garrido Stray Rescue Foundation, which fosters stray and lost animals with the mission of reuniting or re-homing pets.
The Anderson family's reunion with Shaggy, coordinated by the Garridos' organization, was special in more ways than one. When Shaggy was found, the dog was severely overweight and had developed cataracts. Anderson and her daughter were unable to afford the veterinarian bills - so the Garridos stepped in and agreed to pay for Shaggy's care.
In the two years since they started the organization, the Garridos and a team of volunteers have helped roughly 600 dogs and about a dozen cats, working in conjunction with Chicago Animal Care and Control.
