A long-missing pet is finally returning to her home after the wayward pooch was turned in to the San Diego Humane Society (SDHS), more than 100 miles away from her hometown.
Candy the German shepherd, whose sweet face and demeanor certainly fits her name, is back in Los Angeles County a year and a half after she went missing. SDHS said a good Samaritan found the pooch in La Mesa and took her to their El Cajon Campus on Jan. 28.
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The German shepherd did not have a collar on at the time and after scanning for a microchip, the animal shelter’s admissions team found Candy had one and was registered to a family in Encino.
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The pooch’s owners couldn’t believe it when they learned the good news that their fluffy family member was found and under the safe care of the Humane Society. Days later, they traveled down south to America’s Finest City for the reunion they waited for more than a year.
Before Candy's owners picked her up, she was pampered with a brush, nail trim and had any of her matted fur cut. The Animal Care staff described the pooch as patient throughout the process and said she was a "sweet, old lady."
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"The successful reunion was all part of Candy’s microchip and we are thrilled she is back with her owners," Nina Thompson of the San Diego Humane Society said in a statement. "This case really goes to show the importance of microchipping your pets."
Images posted by SDHS showed Candy and her owners all in smiles as they got reacquainted, and happy tears were shed, Thompson added. Although it’s unclear what adventures and thrills Candy experienced while on her mysterious journey, one thing for sure is the family certainly has a lot of bonding to look forward to.