A pitbull is “finally home” with its family after it was stolen from its owner’s backyard in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, more than a decade ago, the city’s animal control and care agency announced.
“After all that time, his family never stopped hoping he would come back,” the Philly Animal Care and Control team wrote in a Monday, March 23, Facebook post showing touching photos of the reunion.
A pitbull, Forty-Cal, and another dog were stolen Photo by Jourdyn Koviak backyard in Northeast Philadelphia in 2015, WPVI reported.
Although the second dog was eventually found, Forty-Cal did not know his whereabouts until recently, according to WPVI.
ACCT Philly received Forty-Cal on Saturday night, March 21, the television station reported.
The organization wrote on Facebook that Forty-Cal’s family “kept his lost pet report active and made sure his microchip information was always up to date, just in case.”
“Yesterday, that ‘what if’ became a reality,” ACCT Philly said.
Staff at the facility checked Forty-Cal and found he had a microchip, which led to his family, according to the agency.
A video shared by ACCT Philly shows Forty-Cal reunited with his family on Sunday, March 22.
“I’m devastated. I’m shocked. I can’t believe it,” Koviak told WTXF-TV.
“He was moving. There was a lot going on. Different smells everywhere. So, he came to us, gentle as usual, he smelled our hands and he looked around the room,” said Koviak while talking to the television station.
Authorities were called to an animal cruelty case at a home in central Alabama and found more than a dozen dead dogs in the backyard, along with 24 live dogs inside the home, the sheriff’s office said. The dogs that were found alive are now available for adoption, Us Weekly has learned. A “concerned citizen” called authorities about the […]
Koviak told the television station that her son, now 10, was a newborn when Forty-Cal disappeared.
While Forty-Cal’s whereabouts are unknown since his disappearance, Koviak told WTXF-TV that he appears to be in good health. Forty-Cal is now 14 years old.
“He is white and black. His white was not dirty. He is as soft as a rabbit as he always is,” he said while talking to a television station.
In sharing stories of family reunification with Forty-Cal, ACCT Philly reminds the community of the importance of microchipped pets.
“This story is amazing, but it’s also an important reminder: microchipping works, even after years,” ACCT Philly wrote on the organization’s Facebook page. “Columns fall off, tags get lost, but the microchip is forever.”
“Just remember, it only works if it’s registered and your information is up to date,” the post continued. “If you’ve moved or changed your number, take a few minutes to update it!”
ACCT Philly runs the city’s animal shelter, located in North Philadelphia, and cares for thousands of animals.
