Having your pet stolen is most people’s worst nightmare, and for one family in Nashville, TN, that nightmare sadly became a reality. They thought that their dog was gone forever – however, in a dramatic turn of events, the stolen pup turned up at a rescue center 13 years later.
While his whereabouts for all these years remains a mystery, the family were beyond thrilled to be reunited with their old dog – albeit a long time after they had resigned themselves to the fact that they’d never see him again.
Back in 2018, veterinarian Karen Fox and her teenage son were relaxing at home when a red Dodge pick-up truck pulled in front of their house. The man driving then scooped up the family’s little Yorkie, Connor, and put him straight into his van.
Karen’s teenage son tried to stop the van driver, yelling out of the window, “Don’t think I don’t see what you’re doing with my dog!” But it was no use.
The man had begun to drive away.
Karen and her son jumped in her car and gave chase to the truck, but eventually, they lost sight of it. A complete stranger had taken off with their dog, and it was heartbreaking not knowing what was going to happen to Connor.
Connor was a rescue dog that the family had adopted a couple of years previously. Karen and her son were so distraught about his disappearance that they cried, and Karen’s husband Timothy was also hit badly by the news.
The doting dog dad had spent many evenings after work in his recliner, brushing through his beloved Yorkie’s fur.
“He would sit there and brush and brush and brush,” Karen told the Nashville Tennessean.
For weeks, Karen drove around her neighborhood in search of the red pickup truck – but she found nothing. The truck, the man, and Connor had vanished without a trace.
With each year that passed, the family’s hope of finding their dog faded.
But then one day, Karen received a voicemail from the company she had microchipped Connor with – 13 years later. When they told her that Metro Nashville Animal Control had her dog, she was in total disbelief.
“It was pure, utter amazement!” Karen said. “I’m still amazed!”
The next day, Karen went to the rescue center to pick up Connor. It had been 13 years, and she wondered how her dog was going to react. Would he recognize her?
But as soon as the now 16-year-old pup saw his old owner, he walked slowly over to her lap and licked her face.
It was a bittersweet moment. Karen thought about her husband, who had passed away four years earlier. He would have been overjoyed to have his dog back again.
“The most emotional thing for me,” Fox said, “is how much my husband would’ve loved for him to have come back home.”
Connor had been brought into the shelter by a woman a week or so earlier after she found him wandering the streets by himself.
Since he was microchipped, it wasn’t long until the shelter found out about Karen.
The amazing story of Connor and Karen’s reunion was shared onto Facebook by Metro Nashville Animal Care and Control, who shared some wise words in their caption:
“Please microchip your pets. You never know what might happen.”
We couldn’t agree more! We’re so glad that Karen was finally reunited with her beloved dog. We wish them many more happy years together.
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