microchip

Matthew B. and his cat, Ashes, often traveled together travel together in the comfort of his 18-wheeler. Then, one unfortunately truck stop in Ohio, Ashes accidentally slipped out of the truck, got spooked and ran for the brush. 

Matthew was devastated. He searched and searched for Ashes with no luck. He had to continue forth on his route but Matthew re-arranged his routes over the next few months so he could return to that same truck spot and search for Ashes. 

Unbeknownst to Matthew at that time, Ashes was found by a women, Kimberly T., who had been moving from the West Coast to New York. She made a pit stop at the very small truck stop and noticed a thin gray cat emerging from the brush. It was 13 degrees outside and Kimberly told Lollypop, "He was trying to not put his feet down on the ground, it was so cold." 

She decided to take Ashes (who she funnily enough named "Smokey") with her to New York and to the Lollypop Farm.

The Lollypop Farm scanned for a microchip and discovered his owner had him registered under a Texas address that was over 1,465 miles away!

Matthew was finally reunited with Ashes. 

Another story that is the perfect reminder on how important it is to get your beloved pets micro-chipped. 

What a beautiful reunion! 

Sasha, a Portland long-haired black cat, has been reunited with her hooman, Viktor Usov, after being missing for five years! The lost feline was found 1,300 miles away in Santa Fe, New Mexico. 

Usov originally adopted Sasha from the Oregon Humane Society about six years ago. Back then, Sasha was sick, had a distended belly protuding from his underside and had a constant runny nose. Usov didn't mind any of that, there was a click between the two, upon first meeting.

And luckily, after adopting Sasha, Usov's mom applied some acupuncture treatments that cleared up Sasha's health issues quickly. 

Usov told OregonLive, "He turned into one of the friendliest cats I've ever met."

Sasha would follow Usov on walks, with their puppy, Tara. One day, Sasha went out for a walk and just didn't return. 

"We waited a week or so," Usov said. "But when we didn't get a call from the Humane Society and no one returned him, we figured a coyote got him. We were upset but we moved on."

Fast forward to just this last week, Usov gets a phone call from an animal shelter in New Mexico -- Sasha was mircochipped! At first, Usov didn't believe it was the same cat, but when the shelter described Sasha's friendly demeanor he just knew. 

According to the shelter in New Mexico, Sasha was particularly happy to be picked-up but appeared healthy and well-fed!

But how did Sasha get all the way to New Mexico? Usov has a theory:

"He went on a grand American adventure," Usov told KGW. "He stopped by the Grand Canyon, Crater Lake, he saw the monuments, all the national parks, definitely Redwood Forest."

Congratulations on the happy reunion, Usov and Sasha! And just a friendly reminder to all the pet owners out there to please microchip your pets!

Another story that truly shows the importance of micro-chipping your beloved pets! 

11 years ago, in New York, Maggie Welz lost her beloved feline, Tiger. 

Fast-forward to today, that same Tiger was rescued and brought in by the Dutchess County SPCA, where they discovered he was micro-chipped! According to SPCA officials, it took staff member Carol O'Connell three years to get close enough to the missing feline that had been coming by her home every now and then.

O'Connell told Eyewitness News, "Each year he came to my house, he deteriorated more and more each year, and that's when I realized either somebody just abandoned him or he just was missing or lost or he was just a feral cat. This spring he started to come around a little bit more in the mornings so I started to work harder to try to gain his trust." 

Seems like he knew who to turn to for some help.

SPCA officials said they she borrowed a scanner from the shelter to check if he was micro-chipped on a whim. With the information they were able to locate Maggie Welz and finally reunite her with her Tiger!