Everyone who has ever lost a dog, whether it crossed the rainbow bridge or went missing, knows the kind of pain the Crandall family, from Phoenix, experienced 12 years ago.
It was 2011, and that day will never be forgotten.
Minion, the beloved family pooch, disappeared from their back yard.
All hopes that Minion would be back melted over the years.
However, the heartbroken family never forgot their sweet pup.
No one, not even in their wildest dreams, thought that Minion would return one day.
One phone call changed everything.
One microchip saved a pup’s life.
And, one heartwarming story will bring tears to your eyes.
Minion, The Record-Breaker In Dogs Gone Missing
It really isn’t some lame story or promotion of the microchipping business. Microchips help save lives! They bring back lost dogs and reunite them with those who miss them dearly.
If you’re a dog owner, and you still haven’t microchipped your pooch, do it for your own good and for the good of your dog.
In the USA, 52.2% of microchipped dogs got safely back home. That’s a significantly higher number than non-microchipped dogs. It’s a brief procedure that costs almost nothing, but helps save lives and broken hearts.
Luckily, Minion is a part of this successful statistic.
Back in 2011, one of the maintenance workers accidentally let Minion out of the garden. The pup saw his opportunity to explore the world outside his Phoenix home, and he jumped on it.
Needless to say his family was shattered into pieces when they found out what happened.
The extensive search was not fruitful: Minion was nowhere to be found.
Skip Crandall and his family had to give up and accept the fact that they had lost their precious Minion.
Years passed, and Skip received a phone call one day. It was his wife, and what she had to tell him really made Skip’s heart skip a beat.
“My phone rings and it is my wife and she says, ‘Hey, I got a call from Animal Control, and they say they have our dog.’ I am thinking this has to be a prank,” Crandall said.
The couple couldn’t believe what the Animal Control worker of Maricopa County Animal Care and Control had to tell him.
Minion, the lost Bichon, was found 20 miles away from his family home!
He disappeared as a young pup of only three years, and came back as a senior dog of 15 years.
And, this is not yet the best part!
When Minion arrived at his old home, he recognized his family. After all those years, he did not forget the people who loved him the most.
“They came and they took him out of the truck and as soon as he saw us, that tail started wagging,” Crandall said.
No one has a clue where Minion was for all those years. The house dog survived the streets by a pure miracle. However, the years without his owner to take care of him left marks on poor Minion. He was returned home in pretty rough shape, requiring lots of care.
“He was in a little rough shape, but we brought him to the vet. We’ve got some work to do to get him healthy, but he’s got a few good years left in him. He’s playing with the other dogs and getting around just fine. Just need to get a little dental work and minor surgery on him,” Crandall said.
Minion continued his life where it stopped 12 years ago. He even got a couple of furry siblings to make new memories with. Life couldn’t be better for old Minion.
God only knows what he’d been through. We can only assume how many troubles he had living on the streets, where each new day is a new adventure that could lead to a fatal outcome.
Minion can be considered one of the luckiest dogs in the States. I mean, how often do you hear that a dog was reunited with his family after 12 years?
Yeah, this little Bichon is a real record-holder.
See, microchipping really pays off.
