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Family Dog Turns Up 100 Miles Away After Four Years Missing

Family Dog Turns Up 100 Miles Away After Four Years Missing

The family thought Bambi was dead but she eventually found her way back

Tom Wood

Tom Wood

Everyone knows that a dog is a man's best friend, and losing that friend can be one of the hardest things that ever happens to you.

Imagine what it would be like if after many years of grieving for the loss of your beloved pet, you got a phone call that brought them back into your life. That's exactly what happened to one American family.

The Wieferich family had owned Bambi since she was just a few months old, but she started getting out of their house more frequently after the death of another of the family's dogs. They even went as far as to buy another dog to stop her attempting to get out, however, it didn't help.

Then, one day, Bambi disappeared from their house in Lansing, Michigan and left the family worried and devastated. After months of searching without reward they gave up, assuming that she had either been taken in by someone else, or died.

As it turns out, they were wrong. Bambi had just gone on a bit of a voyage of discovery and ended up a lot further away from home than they would have thought.

Four years after her disappearance, Bradley Wieferich got a phone call from an animal shelter. He initially thought that the call was a prank, but the person calling him from Lucas County Canine Care and Control assured him that they'd found his dog, and had the microchip evidence to prove it.

A police officer in the town of Toledo, Ohio, had found a dog that was friendly, but a bag of bones. Toledo is about 100 miles from Lansing, but it was definitely Bambi.

Of course, the animal shelter had checked her microchip to make sure, and thanked the family for ensuring that they were able to identify the dog. They also posted on social media to encourage others to take the same precaution. After all, dogs do like to run away sometimes.

A post on the shelter's Facebook page said: "Who knows where she's been the past 4 years, but we couldn't be happier she finally made her way back home to Lansing and her loving family!

"This is just another great reminder about the importance of microchips and making sure your dog's chip is registered and with current information.

"It's also a great reminder that if you find a stray dog that they get scanned for a microchip, because they may have a family out there who's missing them like crazy!"


Bambi, who is now 12 years old, was picked up from Lucas County by Bradley, who barely recognised her, but when she let out a noise he became sure that it was his old dog. She's now happily back at home and readjusting to life with her new/old family.

Featured Image Credit: Lucas County Canine Care and Control

Topics: Dog, News, Animal, Ohio