Dog Reunites with Family After Four Years

A very lucky purebred Maltese named Lucky escaped from the yard of Stan and Cheryl Sypniewski in 2007 of Inkster, Michigan. The couple did not see Lucky again until October of 2011, when a call came out of the blue that Lucky had been found at a local veterinarian's office. It turns out that Lucky had been living a life of ease with a family about 10 miles away.

Lucky's Lost

After spending two thousand dollars for Lucky at a Westland Pet, the couple had their prized pooch fitted with a microchip. Then, two months later, Stan needed to sell his boat. When he opened the yard gate to let in a prospective buyer, Lucky slipped out. He was not wearing a collar or any form of external ID. Lucky was still a puppy when he escaped.

The couple regularly phoned the local animal shelters, plastered the area with posters and questioned the neighbors. And then the Sypniewskis received bad news - one neighbor thought he saw a car stop and pick Lucky up. As a pedigreed Maltese, Lucky had a high resale value. Stolen dogs can be resold through classified ads, to trainers of fighting dogs (toy dogs are used as bait) or to medical research facilities. Stan and Cheryl thought they would never see their puppy again.

Lucky's Found

It turns out that Lucky spent most of the past four years living with an unidentified couple about 10 miles from Inkster. Somehow, this couple missed all of the lost dog posters in the area, especially on Inkster Highway. Whether they were connected to the person was the one that picked up Lucky in the car, we will never know.

After four years, the couple decided to give up Lucky. A family that still remains anonymous took Lucky in. As all good dog owners do, they soon took Lucky to their veterinarian for a check up. Since the family didn't know much about Lucky's history, the veterinarian decided to scan Lucky for a microchip. And found one. The family decided that the only fair thing to do was to contact Stan and Cheryl and ask them if they wanted Lucky back. They said yes.

Lucky's Surprise

Stan and Cheryl changed their minds about ever buying a puppy from a pet store again. While visiting local animal shelters in 2007, they met Layla, an abandoned red Doberman pinscher. They adopted her. They also got her microchipped.

When Lucky came home, he found the much larger Layla there waiting for him. But after the initial surprise, Lucky and Layla soon bonded. Dogs tend to bond better with a member of the opposite sex than with a dog of the same gender. Now the pair plays together and is not allowed out of sight of their owners.

Reference

ClickOnDetroit. "Dog Reunited With Inkster Family After Four Years." October 31, 2011. http://www.clickondetroit.com/pets/29633362/detail.html