TALLAHASSEE, FL (WTXL) - A dog that went missing four years ago in Bradenton has been found in Tallahassee.
11-year-old Simba, a Chihuahua, went missing after his Bradenton family was in the process of moving in 2011.
The family then reported Simba missing. They had a microchip attached to Simba, but it wasn't registered. So, they couldn't track Simba down.
Four years later and over 300 miles north, a chihuahua is found in Tallahassee. The Tallahassee Animal Service Center brought the canine in as a stray on January 9th.
Animal services discovered that the microchip was not registered, but they took the serial number from the chip and located it to a missing dog case from 2011.
They tracked down the family to let them know that Simba is safe and sound - four years after he was reported missing.
Simba will be returning to his mother very soon. One of the vets from animal services is heading south for a conference, and Simba will be joining her for the ride.
The chihuahua will be reunited with his mother in Orlando, where she currently lives. Animal services say that they will keep people posted via Facebook on Simba's reunion.
The world may never know how and when Simba made the trek to the capital city, but the Tallahassee Animal Service Center says that a lesson can be learned from Simba's experience.
Animal services says that putting a microchip on your pets is a very important step to finding your animal friends safely.
Another very important step? Register those microchips.
The Tallahassee Animal Service Center will be holding a rabies and microchip clinic on February 3rd from 3 to 5pm. You can find more information about the services here.
