Shelter staff rescue stray dog found 1,200 miles and four states away from home

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Shelter staff rescuing a stray dog standing on a wooden floor, found 1,200 miles away from home.

Staff at a shelter in Indiana rescued a stray dog — and were floored to discover the pup had trekked all the way from Colorado.

The adventuring stray, named Diva, turned up at the Oak Knoll Vet Clinic in late November. True to her name, she quickly became the center of attention when the employees called the number attached to her microchip—leading them to a family hailing all the way from some 1,200 miles away.

Shelter staff rescued a stray dog found 1,200 miles away from
her home. Tiktok / maggiethornberry48

Their family dog had somehow journeyed across four states over the course of two months. The family had feared the worst, assuming their precious pup had keeled over somewhere.

The shelter staff and the family planned to meet about halfway in Kansas City to return Diva. The pup was soon in the arms of her family for the first time in two months, just one day after the shelter had found her.

“We would do it a thousand times again. These are the stories that remind us why we do what we do. Welcome home Diva,” Maggie Thornberry wrote on TikTok.

@maggiethornberry48

Someone brought in this sweet stray to be scanned for a microchip. We contacted the owners and told them we had found their dog. They said their pup had been missing for two months and they would come and get her immediately. We told them where we were located in Indiana and we would wait for them. They said they were from COLORADO!!!! We decided we would leave at 5am the next morning, travel halfway to Kansas City, and unite this pup with her owners. This was such a heartwarming experience for both @Elizabeth Daniele and me. We absolutely love our jobs and are so thankful for Oak Knoll Vet Clinic for giving us this opportunity. Dr. Szuba, our office manager Josh, and all of our wonderful coworkers make moments like this possible. We would do it a thousand times again. These are the stories that remind us why we do what we do. Welcome home, Diva <3 #fyp #dogsoftiktok #reunited #vetmed

♬ Save My Soul – noahrinker

Diva recognized her owners almost immediately in a tearful reunion. She hurried forward and practically buried herself in one of her owner’s arms, wagging her tail with such ferocity that her entire body shook in time with it.

The viral TikTok has nearly 73,000 likes, and the comments are full of more dog lovers celebrating Diva’s return.

Shelter staff, including Chiaki Omigawa, rescuing and scanning a stray dog found 1,200 miles away from home for a microchip — Diva the lost dog reuniting with her family in Kansas City. Tiktok / maggiethornberry48

“From one dog mom, who’s dog made it to AL from MO, a year missing. THANK YOU. A gentleman brought me my baby home,” one user shared.

“When my mom was little my grandpa got rid of their dog. He took him to a family 3 states away and 4 months later the dog walked up the driveway,” another user reflected.

The pup’s story is nearly the same as a husky named Sinatra who also journeyed 1,200 miles from Brooklyn to Tampa, Florida, over 18 months.

Diva’s safe return was only possible thanks to her microchip, and the generosity of the shelter. Pets with a microchip are about three times more likely to be reunited with their families than those without, according to the Humane Animal Support Services.

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