Dog reunites with owner after 6 years

Washington, Apr 21 (ANI): After six years of separation, a dog and its rightful owner were reunited after it disappeared from a Pomona, California, home.

Princess, a Bichon Frise, had been roaming in the backyard of her owner April Allen's home in February of 2006.

The dog managed to dig a hole and escape. It was only two hours later that Allen discovered the hole.

"She was outside in the backyard playing with my friend's little dog," ABC News quoted Allen as saying.

"We were inside and next thing you know they were gone," she said.

Both dogs had managed to escape from the back yard.

"I made flyers and all that, but I never found her. That was it," Allen said.

"What could I do? I only had her about nine months when she got away," she said.

But around a week and a half ago, Allen got a surprising phone call. The pound had Princess and was able to find Allen's contact information on the chip implanted in her dog.

"I was like, no way, oh my gosh, that's crazy!" Allen said.

"I just couldn't believe it. Almost six years later you never would've thought getting a call like that," she said.

Yolanda Gutierrez, along with her daughter, found a shaggy-looking Princess in Riverside. Allen had got in contact with Gutierrez, and next thing she knew she was on her way to Riverside to pick up her lost dog.

"As soon as I got to her house, princess jumped on my lap," said Allen with excitement.

"She remembered me, it was just crazy," she said.

Allen believes someone might have driven Princess from Pomona to Riverside and had become homeless most recently.

The now 7-year-old dog looked the same, but with a shaggier look and much more plump.

"Yeah she's a fatty, I call her miss piggy," she fondly said.

Animal Services Director Robert Miller said in a statement that happier reunions like this were possible if dog owners ensure that their dog is micro chipped.

"We hope that one day every pet will have a chip, ensuring all of us of even more happy reunions," Miller added. (ANI)