Colby the Maltipoo had been missing from his City Heights home for nearly three years. His family reported the disappearance to the microchip company, waited and hoped.
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Still, the family was surprised when they got a call at 9:30 p.m. Tuesday that Colby had been found.
The dog was reported as abandoned Tuesday evening at the Jewish Family Service Safe Sleeping site at the H Barracks lot on Kincaid Road near Harbor Drive, just west of the San Diego International Airport, according to the San Diego Humane Society, which picked him up. The lot provides a safe place for people experiencing homelessness to park overnight and sleep in their vehicles.
Colby was a bit worse for wear, flea-infested with a possible skin infection beneath matted fur, but otherwise fine, the nonprofit said.
Humane Society staff scanned the microchip, located Colby’s family and delivered the news. His owner, Cindy, was so overjoyed that she woke up her kids to tell them Colby was coming home, said Humane Society spokesperson Nina Thompson.
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“We missed him so much. Every day we’d think about him,” Cindy, whose last name was not provided, said in a video posted by the rescue group.
A medical team prepared for the homecoming with grooming, a bath, vaccines and a wellness check, while Cindy and her family spent the night and next morning gathering supplies. They hadn’t owned a dog since Colby went missing.
The family reunited with Colby Wednesday afternoon, and they are expected to bring him home Thursday afternoon once he is neutered.
“This reunion serves as a vital reminder for all pet parents across our community: microchips work, but keeping contact details current and filing a missing pet report with your local shelter are just as essential,” Thompson said. “Even years after a pet goes missing, a registered chip and an active report can lead to miracles.”
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