After nine and a half years of being without their dog, Rocky, one family received a call by a local veterinarian clinic that told them that their dog had been found.
After losing their pet, one local family has finally found their loved one close to a decade later.
Following nine and a half years of being without their dog, a family received a call by a local veterinary clinic that shared the surprising news that their dog had been found. A Good Samaritan saw the animal and took her to the vet’s office to see if it had a rightful owner.
The schnauzer named Rocky was discovered running loose on McPherson. As it appeared to not have had a haircut for a long time, the individual brought it to Criter Care Veterinary Clinic. Once there, they scanned for a microchip and found one, as records showed the original owners of the dog.
Dr. Sandra Leyendecker said they called the dog’s owner after they confirming its identity, and the owner — Lizette Edwards — went to the veterinarian clinic and was stunned to see Rocky. The veterinarian confirmed with the owner that the dog was theirs by looking at pictures that the family took long ago.
“Rocky came into our family back in 2013,” Edwards said. “She was my daughter’s first pet (and) instantly fell in love with it because she was our first family pet. We did everything required, including the microchip and registration. At the time, we didn’t think much of it. We just did it because it was required.”
According to Edwards, Rocky was lost nearly a decade ago after a gate was accidentally left open. The family was devastated, especially Kayla, as she was just a little girl at the time of the incident who lost her best friend.
They made flyers and posted them around the neighborhood. They called veterinary clinics. They searched shelters trying to find their loved one. But in the end, they couldn’t find Rocky — until now.
In late October, Edwards got a call from her husband as she said he was frantically speaking. She understood him enough to work out she needed to call Critter Care, and it was then she heard the surprising news.
“They told me someone had found Rocky. I was in disbelief,” Edwards said. “I asked them if they could double-check the chip because I didn’t want to break my daughter’s heart again. … When I got there, I waited outside and saw this lady with a little shaggy dog, and I instantly knew it was Rocky. I got down to a knee, and I petted Rocky. She was super friendly and looked well fed but was very matted. By this time, my husband had already notified my daughter, so she rushed to the clinic as well.”
Edwards said they checked multiple times to make sure it was their Rocky. This may have been excessive, but Edwards wanted to be sure she wasn’t going to “take someone else’s pet.” She said that she and the Good Samaritan went into the clinic to have Rocky scanned again. Leyendecker said that after the third scanning and the fact that Rocky looked a lot like the dog in the family’s pictures, it was confirmed that it was their dog that the Good Samiritan had found.
“She actually has pictures of it,” Leyendecker said. “She had a picture with the dog and a little girl holding the dog — probably we are talking about an elementary age child, this was from 2013. She had brought during that time the dog for several sets of shots and got the puppy microchipped and registered it with the city, and so we have had proof that the dog belonged to her.”
Leyendecker said the dog did not seem to recognize the owner when they met — this is common, due to the length of time that had passed. But she said the dog looked comfortable with the owner.
Regardless, the find came at an emotional time for a family that needed a win. Days prior, their grandfather had passed away, and immediately before that, their dog Bob had also died.
“It was just too much emotion to process in one week, yet alone one day,” Edwards said.
As Rocky’s identity was confirmed, the process started to get her taken care of. Rocky received a checkup and vaccines, and they were able to go home with their long lost pet.
Since then, Kayla and Rocky have been inseparable, Edwards said. Rocky will not leave her side, going everywhere she does. And Kayla has been traveling to dog parks around town for Rocky to socialize with other animals.
“Having Rocky back home with us has been amazing,” Edwards said. “It’s like if she had never left. She fit right in with our other cats and dogs. I know people are hesitant about microchipping their pets, but this was probably one of the best decisions we ever made.”
It’s unclear exactly what happened to Rocky originally, but Leyendecker warns that microchipping is vital as animals can be lost or even stolen. She said it is very common for pets to be taken from homes and sold by people who are looking to make a quick buck.
The veterinarian states that the story is remarkable. She also shared a similar microchipping story from about 10 years ago, as a family visiting from Chicago lost their two pets after a child had opened the car door while they were driving. The two cocker spaniels were later found on the side of Interstate 35, and after Critter Care scanned them, they found the individuals and called them.
“They came and they got their two dogs, and within 10-15 minutes, they left with their dogs to Chicago.” Leyendecker said. “Imagine if the dog had never been microchipped.”
Microchipping isn’t just important for instances like these, it’s also the law. The City of Laredo has an ordinance that dogs must be microchipped and registered with the city.
But the veterinarian pleads with locals to chip their pets to help them be discovered just in case the worst happens to occur.
“That is the only way you will have proof of ownership and how you are going to get them back,” Leyendecker said.”
jorge.vela@lmtonline.com
Jorge A. Vela is a native Laredoan who studied at Laredo College and Texas State earning a bachelor’s degree in mass communication. After a stint of working for several publications, other local media outlets and managing his own tutoring business for years, Vela decided to get back into journalism by working as a general assignments reporter for the Laredo Morning Times. He loves spending time with la familia, soccer, cooking and jamming out