It’s devastating when a family pet like the family dog disappears, but there is hope: occasionally lost pets are located months or even years later.
Recently, this really occurred when a family was reunited with their dog after three years. In 2020, Rex and Britnee Smith of Little Rock, Arkansas, were heartbroken when their two pit dogs, Jack and Jill, escaped.
For Rex Smith and his family, “their mysterious disappearance sent us into a state of shock that we were just completely at a loss and so it was devastating to us,” as he told KLRT.
After some time passed with no word from the dogs, the family started to worry that they were indeed lost. Britnee Smith told USA Today, “I didn’t think our dogs would ever come back because they’re such great dogs and I know no one would ever just turn them in or take them to the vet.”
After relocating to McKinney, Texas, 300 miles away from their former home in 2021, the family gave up hope of ever finding their vanished dogs.
Recent events, however, have altered that: Little Rock Animal Village recently contacted the family to inform them that Jill had been located.
Thank goodness Jill was microchipped with their details so they could prove ownership despite being separated by three years and 300 miles.
Friends of the Animal Village said on their Facebook page, “This reunion would not have happened had she not been microchipped.”
The family was “overjoyed” to hear the news and immediately made plans to go to Little Rock to be reunited with their missing pit dog.
Brittnee told KLRT, “We were so ecstatic, like we got off of work, actually we clocked out early, like we are getting on the road we didn’t pack anything like we literally hopped in our vehicles and zipped to Little Rock.”
An endearing reunion occurred when they arrived and the shelter opened the kennel and Jill saw them. ”It’s like she never left us,” Britnee told USA Today.
We continued precisely where we left off three years ago. We were able to immediately embrace her. It’s a mystery where Jill has been for so long, and her brother Jack hasn’t been seen in years, but the return of Jill has renewed the family’s optimism that they’ll be able to bring them together again.