Microchip reunites owner with missing puppy

A 5-month-old puppy that disappeared nearly six weeks ago is back home safe with her family thanks to a microchip.

Maserati escaped from her home in City Heights in December. Her owner searched the neighborhood and put up posters, but without any luck. She reported the dog lost or stolen Dec. 21.

As weeks passed by with no sign of the family dog, Candace Sallee packed up Maserati’s toys and other belongings and put them away.

Three days later, county Animal Services called. Maserati had been found.

“I was in shock,” said Sallee. “I didn’t think we were going to get her back.”

The dog was found with a woman arrested by the CHP near Dulzura Thursday. After county Animal Services was called to pick up the pit bull puppy, the dog was scanned for a microchip, and it led to the owner’s information.

Sallee picked up Maserati from the county’s shelter in Bonita Friday. She said the dog was microchipped just one day before the animal disappeared. Her friends convinced her to do it just in case something happened.

“It was definitely worth doing, 100 percent worth doing,” said Sallee.

“Maserati’s speedy return to her owner was due to an very important but very inexpensive piece of technology that does not come standard in any version or model of dog or cat: namely, a microchip,” Daniel DeSousa, the director of county Animal Services, said. “Absent that microchip, this dog owner would have never seen her pet again. But because the owner had implanted Maserati with a microchip the two have been happily reunited.”

County Animal Services offers microchips for dogs, cats and rabbits belonging to residents who live in the unincorporated areas. No appointment is needed, and the cost is only $10.