Lost dog found
Pomeranian back with her family after 6 months.
PEMBROKE PINES — Two hundred miles is too far for her Pomeranian to walk, Barbara Dawson thought.
Six-year-old Sassy’s backyard break near Bradenton about six months ago turned into a harrowing trek that ended when she turned up in Pembroke Pines earlier this month.
The Dawsons were reunited with Sassy on June 17, after a Pines police officer noticed the small, white-and-caramel dog on the side of a road.
“I was crying, I was so excited,” Dawson said of whenshe got the call saying a healthy and happy Sassy had been found.
Dawson and her husband were out of town at the time, so their 30-year-old daughter jumped in her car and started for South Florida that same day.
The months of worrying were over. But it wasn’t the
vigorous neighborhood canvassing or social media posting the family did that led to the reunion. What brought Sassy home: her microchip.
“[The officer] picked Sassy up and brought her to the police department where we scanned her and through a microchip were able to identify Sassy’s family,” said Pembroke Pines police spokesman Al Xiques.
In the past five years, the city’s Animal Assistance Program has helped Pines police reunite more than 1,300 animals with their owners, according to the department.
Pines police urged pet owners to get their animals chipped and also said other law enforcement should keep chip readers on hand.
“We encourage everyone to please microchip your pets so if they do get lost, we can identify them as soon as they’re found,” Xiques said.
But Dawson and her husband still don’t know exactlyhowSassymadethe journey to South Florida. Their yard is surrounded by a 6-foot privacy fence.
Their theory: Someone hopped their fence and stole Sassy. Dawson said that happened before with the family’s rottweilers.
No one was been charged with stealing the dogs in either incident.
Dawson said her house feels normal again nowthat Sassy is home. The only thing that’s different this time around is when Sassy goes outside.
“When I let them out now, I watch them,” Dawson said. “I don’twant to go through that again.”
achokey@sunsentinel.com or 561-243-6531