Microchip leads Chicago man back to his dog 10 years after it went missing

Edmon Lighthall and Pete were reunited after 10 years apart. Photo / Hammond Animal Shelter.

In a heartwarming reunion, a Chicago man recovered his lost dog a decade after he went missing - thanks to the power of microchips.

On September 22, Edmon Lighthall got the text message he had given up on expecting.

A microchip registry company informed him his long-lost poodle-doodle mix had been found, 10 years after he first disappeared, ABC News reports.

Pete vanished from the family backyard in 2015, when he was 3, but Lighthall never forgot about “his shadow”.

The missing pooch had made it 45 minutes away to Hammond, Indiana, where he was found by a local police officer and his microchip was scanned.

Lighthall posted a sweet video of his September 23 reunion with Pete, telling ABC News the experience was “absolutely unbelievable”.

@elight312

✨ After 10 years… we’re back together. ✨ Ten years ago, my dog was stolen right out of my backyard. I thought I’d never see him again. On Monday, September 22nd, I got the call I never expected: they had scanned his microchip… and found him. After a whole decade, I got to bring my dog home. 🐾❤️ Microchips work. Miracles happen. And sometimes, love really does find its way back. #LostAndFound #10YearsLater #MiracleReunion #DogTok #ViralStory

♬ original sound - ED312

“He came out, he greeted me, and it was almost immediate. I felt like he recognised me immediately”, he said.

“He did his little greeting...he spins around and then he kind of lays in front of you. And I thought, ‘No way.’ I mean, it’s the same dog.”

Lighthall said he had always held out hope he would reconnect with Pete, telling friends he just had a feeling he would see his pet again.

The 51-year-old celebrated their reunion by throwing a “welcome home” party.

“We went to the park, we did a picnic, we introduced him to his sister [dog] and a couple of other pooches from different family and friends.”

He claimed Pete, now 14 or 15 years old, still has bursts of “puppy energy”.

The Hammond Police Department said the touching story is an important reminder of the benefits of microchipping.

“Even after 10 years, this little guy was reunited with his family thanks to that tiny chip”, a spokesperson said. “It’s quick, painless, and it can make the difference between a lost pet and a happy reunion.”

Last year, an Auckland woman was reunited with her missing pup when the dog’s microchip was scanned in Northland.

Baby was finally returned to her owner De-Anna Kitto after she was presumed stolen from the family’s Papakura home three years earlier.

“As soon as I saw her, I was so sad and so happy at the same time. She was so covered in mange and had lost her fur and was covered in cysts”, Kitto said.

But the American bulldog was “still the loveable big girl” she remembered, settling back into family life quickly as she recovered from her injuries.

Kitto said “they may have broken her body, but they didn’t break her spirit”.