A dog missing for 10 years has been found after it left his home in Northern Alabama. Charlie, a German Short-haired Pointer, was found after 10 years on the run after the dog went missing when it escaped its enclosure, which his owner, Tracey Dove, believes was stolen.
Charlie was presumed to dead after being gone for so many years. But that all changed when the Charlie was located last week on the steps of a church near Brewton, Alabama, the Toronto Sun reports.
Renee Jones, Rescue Director at Souls On Board Rescue Ride, received a call from a neighbor who told her that there had been a dog on the steps of the church for three days. Jones went to investigate and that’s when she found Charlie had been missing for 10 years.
It started when Renee took Charlie, who has visible health issues, to the Springhill Veterinary Clinic where they decided to scan him for a microchip. When they discovered that he had a chip they weren’t confident they would find his owners.
Often, owners never register their dogs’ microchip and if they do they don’t keep their contact information updated. Charlie is one lucky dog because even after all of these years his owner, Tracey Dove, has kept her information accurate and officials at the veterinary clinic were able to get in contact with her, the Times and Democrat reported.
“I was shocked, overwhelmed. I cried,” Dove said in an interview. “It’s amazing.”
No one knows where the dog has been for the last 10 years.
We’re told that Dove was speechless when she first heard the news that the dog missing for 10 years was found. Charlie has a huge mass on his side. He’s currently at Springhill Veterinary Clinic undergoing testing to see how serious his health issues are.
We’re told that he will most likely have the mass removed. Dove plans to bring him home as soon as possible afterward.
“It will be a lengthy road for him, but he’ll be home,” said Dove, who lives near Birmingham in Corner and works as a dental assistant.
Dove was living in Cullman with her then 8-year-old son when Charlie disappeared a decade ago. Dove believes someone stole him from an enclosure outside the house.
“It’s an expensive hunting dog. We just kept him as a pet,” said Dove. “He was a spoiled rotten pet.”
After Charlie disappeared, Dove kept updating her contact information in an online database used to match animal owners with pets that are implanted with microchips for identification, but she never thought she’d see the dog again.
The Tuscaloosa News said the work paid off because the dog missing for 10 years was found. Donations from an online fundraiser will cover the cost of the dog’s surgery, and Dove plans to be there when it’s done.
