When 17-year-old Laralai Dodd spots a dog that may be in danger, she doesn’t hesitate to spring into action. This long-time animal lover is well versed in what to do once she’s secured someone’s furry best friend. Laralai knows that she immediately needs to get them checked for a microchip.
But what she absolutely did not expect to find out was that the dog she had just scooped up was somehow 100 miles away from home!
Laralai was delivering food as an independent contractor for Door Dash when she and a friend spotted a dog high-tailing it across the highway. The tan and black Shepherd mix barely made it across multiple lanes unscathed, narrowly escaping getting hit by a car before making it to the other side. She thought she may have seen him jump out of a truck, but it all happened so fast, she wasn’t quite sure what she saw.
Laralai raced to a nearby motel parking lot, hoping to check out the seemingly stray dog. Much to her surprise, the unfamiliar yet friendly pup didn’t hesitate to hop right into her car once she had opened her door.
“I watched him cross the street and I was like Uh-oh, I’ve got to go grab him,” she said.
Once the dog was safely in her car, Laralei logged off the delivery app and combed the area for the pup’s potential owner. If she timed it right, she could spot someone searching. But multiple laps looking through the area resulted in zero clues. No one seemed to be searching for this sweet pup, so Laralai headed home to regroup and start contacting local shelters.
After two days of scouring the area for his owner, Laralai decided to take the sweet Shepard mix to Rescue Ranch Yreka, where he was scanned, and they were able to find a microchip. Now, the moment of truth was finally here. Would the contact information listed on his account be correct, and was someone looking for this lost pup? Not only was Max’s mom looking for him, but he had wound up a shocking 100 miles away from home!
It turns out Max is an emotional support animal stolen straight out of his mom Shirley’s yard. Someone had gone well out of their way to put a ton of distance between Max and his original home, so Shirley was absolutely overjoyed to hear that he had been found safe and sound. In fact, Max’s mom was so thrilled to be reunited with her beloved boy that she was all too happy to pass along a $100 reward.
“Chip your animals! Luckily baby Max was chipped and I was able to get ahold of the original owner, Shirley,” encouraged Laralai.
Stories like this definitely drive home the importance of not only microchipping your pets, but making sure your contact information is up to date at all times.
H/T: redding.com
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via Whisker Therapy