GREEN RIVER — Greta, a 13-year-old Chihuahua, went missing in Texas seven years ago and thanks to her microchip, she has been returned home after being picked up in Uinta County.
Green River Animal Control took custody of Greta on March 30 after she was picked up at the TA Travel Center in Fort Bridger. Greta first went missing in 2016, and because of her home being in rural Texas, the owner believed she was eaten by predators.
“She was chipped and it was through that microchip that we were able to locate her original owner,” Lydia Holmes, Animal Control Officer said. “Her owner was just super excited.”
“She couldn’t believe I was calling her from Green River about a dog she lost seven years ago,” Animal Control Officer Jade Winters added.
Greta left Green River on Saturday, April 8, and arrived in Texas with her family on Easter Sunday. Animal Control Supervisor Tracy Wyant said that the whole process of locating Greta’s owner has been a multi-agency project.
“We called the microchip company and all we had was the owner, and it was in Texas,” she said. However, because the dog had been missing for so long, the contact information for the owner had not been updated. “So we called the Texas animal control people, who were phenomenal, and they went to digging in their database and did a bunch of research there and found us the original owner.”
Wyant said that this is Green River Animal Control’s third major microchip success story where dogs have been reunited with their families. One dog was previously missing for three months before being returned, but seven years is the longest length of time they’ve personally seen. There’s no way to know what experiences Greta has had since disappearing from her home seven years ago, but she has surely been through a lot.
“I wish she could talk,” Winters said.
Importance of Microchipping
Without Greta’s microchip, Holmes said there is no way they would be able to reunite her with her owner. No one in Texas would think to look for their chihuahua all the way in Wyoming.
“There’s no way we would have been able to do this without a microchip,” Holmes said.
Animal Control can implant microchips into any animal at any time, as long as an officer is at the station. The microchips are as small as a grain as rice, and the animals often don’t even know when it’s put in. Winters pointed out that it’s just as important to keep the microchip’s information updated with current contact information.
Holmes also noted that the microchip is proof of property. Many people will pick up animals and keep them without ever reporting the animal. Wyant pointed out that this is illegal in Wyoming, as pets are considered property.
“Obviously someone has had [Greta] all this time, so if you find an animal, it is not yours to keep. The right thing to do, legally, is to report it to the local animal control officers or the sheriff’s office and check it for a microchip,” Wyant said.
If the owners don’t collect the animal within the hold period, then you can adopt the pet legally.
Volunteers Help Transport Animals
When returning a dog to its owners several states away, it’s helpful to have a network of organizations and volunteers helping transport. Holmes has spent her nearly 11 years with Green River Animal Control building an extensive network to do just this.
“Lydia’s got rescues and resources for transfer in over four states,” Wyant said.
Holmes has helped transport over 100 animals, in which they’ve been relocated to different shelters and different homes. In Greta’s case, Holmes connected with a volunteer Joan Nickum, who figures out transports in her spare time.
“It’s all volunteers getting her down to Texas, which is pretty awesome,” Holmes said.
“It typically takes me a week to fill a transport,” Nickum said. “Some people volunteer every single weekend, and some often take more than one leg. Their generosity absolutely takes my breath away.”
Holmes said that people often ask her how they can help the animals out, and that volunteering for these transports is a great way. Greta’s trip to Texas is being broken into 13 different legs, meaning up to 13 people are helping take her from Wyoming to Euless, Texas. It’s a lot of work and a lot of people, but it’s all worth it when the animals are reunited with their owners.
“[Greta] is going to be so surprised when she gets to Texas,” Winters said.
This article was originally published by SweetwaterNOW and is republished here with permission.
