In December 2014, Barbara Milburn experienced one of the worst days of her life. Burglars broke into her Tucson, Arizona home, and they stole her beloved three-year-old Yorkie Harley.
Milburn was absolutely devastated by her loss. She put up tons of signs and flyers, but she didn’t hear any news about Harley.
“I cried. It was horrible. It’s like losing a child. All our animals are like our children. But nothing. She never surfaced,” Milburn told KOLD.
Milburn moved to Mississippi, but she kept her old phone number since that was the one registered to Harley’s microchip. She never gave up hope that she would be reunited with her beloved dog.
Milburn’s daughter, Samantha Sandoval, hated seeing how much pain her mom was in. Every year on the anniversary of Harley’s disappearance, Milburn would post a heartbreaking tribute to her dog on Facebook.
“I just didn’t want to see it. She was so sad, every year,” Sandoval said.
Finally, on December 21, 2018, Milburn got the news she had been waiting for.
A shelter in Tucson, Pima Animal Care Center, had found a Yorkie running around on the streets. They took her in and scanned her microchip, and Milburn’s number came up. The shelter called Milburn and told her they had a Yorkie registered to her name. Milburn was shocked and thrilled. Finally, her baby was safe!
Milburn’s daughter still lived in Tucson, and so she went to pick up little Harley. As soon as Sandoval and Harley got home, Sandoval FaceTimed with her mom. Milburn teared up when she saw Harley for the first time in so long.
Milburn couldn’t wait to get to Tucson and see Harley in person!
Four days after Sandoval picked up Harley, Milburn arrived in Tucson for Christmas. Harley was so excited to see her mom!
After the holidays, Milburn will Harley back with her to Mississippi. We’re sure that Harley will be very happy in her new state with her beloved mom.
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Pine Animal Care Center was so happy that they were able to reunite Harley with her owner. They hope this story will help show dog owners why it’s so important to microchip their pets.
“Microchips are so important, but even more important is registering the chip to a phone number that won’t be changing. The family in this case had moved away but kept the same number so we were able to track them down. We were so happy to be able to make their holidays a bit brighter!” said Nikki Reck, a Pima Animal Care Center spokesperson.
Milburn may never know what happened to Harley in the four years she was missing, but now she’s back where she belongs with her beloved owner. We’re so glad these two were reunited just in time for the holidays!
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