Don't Dismiss Distance When a Pet is Lost

A small blind and deaf chihuahua was found after missing for 42 days miles from where she went missing in another town. This proves that even small dogs can be found in locations different from where they were lost. Never dismiss a found pet matching a lost one just due to distance.

Here is Chikita's story.

Chikita, a 12 year old blind and deaf senior chihuahua, went missing from an apartment complex in Bradenton. 42 days later a family in Palmetto found her wandering around their shop. Palmetto is the nearby town across the river accessible by a very busy road and bridge. There is no way she made it on foot, so she was picked up by someone and transported. We will never know how she got there, but the story has a happy ending. Here is the comment left by Violeta, who found her.

"Jenny, So so happy for you and your Chikita!!

My husband found her wandering around his shop 3 days ago and we started asking around the area, asking if she belonged to anybody but nobody knew where she came from. We looked through FB lost and found pets to see if we could find her owners and thanks to this page (Lost and Found Pets 941), we were able to find a picture of her. We got in touch with her mom. We were hoping we didn't get her hopes high if it wasn't her because we found her in Palmetto which was pretty far from where she went missing. We believed she was dropped off by the shops where my husband works. He noticed her walking around looking skinny and scared and weak. After not having luck around the area he brought her to our house because it was getting dark. I started looking again on

Facebook for lost pets and I came across this page and saw her picture today and got so excited. I saw that the one in the picture was still missing and saw that she said blind and deaf. The one we found had films over both eyes and she didn't really react much to noise so we knew it was a high probability that it was the same doggy. I gave my husband the number that was this post and he left her a small message. She called back and he explained the situation, she came over and it was a very emotional moment. I was so happy for Chikita. These past couple of days she was with us she showed nothing but love to our family and we knew she was truly missed. So happy to have been able to reunite them. Chikita is such a special baby!!"

Thanks to people like Violeta and her husband who took the time to try to find Chikata's owner. They did not dismiss the lost dog post because it was far from where she was lost.

Remember, a lost dog can be picked up and transported to a different location. They can escape from whoever transported them. Sometimes disgruntled ex's transport pets to other locations and drop them off. Or people playing mean pranks can transport a found dog to another location.

Be sure to check all lost pet groups in your area, not just your town. Check all surrounding shelters. Scan the pet for a chip. Post with PetFBI.org, the largest lost pet database in the United States. Get flyers up in the area. Lost pet organizations like ours provides free flyers and PetFBI also provides free flyers. Do your part. It's a great feeling to reunite a lost pet with their owner. You'll be happy you did.