Dog who vanished during Hurricane Harvey, reunites with owner after 8 years — all due to a kind stranger

A dog was reunited with his family eight years after he went missing during Hurricane Harvey, which hit the country in 2017. The efforts were carried out by the Pet Circle Regional Centre in Waco, Texas. The animal shelter, which goes by @petcirclewaco on Instagram, shared the happy news on July 11 via a post. Fortunately, Blue was microchipped, and that made the emotional reunion rather easy.

The cyclone hit Blue’s house in Corpus Christi, Texas, damaging the fence area. The broken fence prompted him to run, thereby inflicting immense pain on his family. Blue was only two years old when he carried out his plan, which shocked the entire family, who looked for him for several years before finally giving up. Eight years later, one sudden night, a kind man found Blue straying into a public washroom. The unidentified man brought the dog to the animal shelter in Waco. The staff scanned the dog for a microchip and, fortunately, found one attached to him. The microchip helped locate Blue’s owner, who was 300 miles away from his current location.

When the staff reached out to Blue’s owner, she cried with joy and rushed to collect her long-lost dog. Blue's aunt on social media shared her happiness after reading this touching reunion story. “PS, this is my niece. Way to go, Katie!!” wrote @cherylb104 in the comment box. She continued, “Wow! Wonder if this dog had any ‘owners' since she ran away. How could a dog survive that long on its own? Someone must have been keeping her and decided they couldn’t anymore. So glad to hear this happy ending."

Hurricane Harvey, a catastrophic cyclone that hit Texas and Louisiana in August 2017, claimed 89 lives. This was the costliest natural calamity for the US government, costing $158.8 billion. Around 30,000 people were displaced, and 200,000 homes were destroyed. The government's actions rescued 17,000 people affected by the deadly cyclone. Plus, the 89 casualties are the largest number of direct deaths caused by a tropical cyclone since 1919. Many people incur incurable sufferings from the hazards of floodwaters and molds. The cyclone affected animals as well; around 500 pet animals, including dogs and cats, were displaced. 

These displaced animals could easily be located if they were microchipped. According to a study by Human Animal Support Services (HASS), which examined 17 government-supported animal kennels that accept chip data. These 17 shelters intake around 3300 to 45000 animals annually. Their study found that the microchip worked effectively. Animals with an identification chip were three times more likely to be reunited with their families than those without. However, the data also highlighted that only 1 in 6 stray animals were microchipped, and 43% of chipped dogs and 78% chipped cats are still roaming on the American roads as stray animals. 

The study mandated the process of microchipping at the time of adoption, and urged animal shelters to constantly reach out to past adopters, reminding them to microchip their pets. “We’re proud to share this story as a testament to the importance of microchipping, the dedication of community members,” wrote the organization in the caption of the post. In a similar vein, a senior dog, Maddie, got lost just a few days before the cyclone and was reunited with her owner in 2021. Their reunion in 24 hours was only possible because of microchipping.