Woman was overjoyed to finally find her missing senior dog — until a microchip scan shattered her dreams of reunion

A woman almost lost her pet dog of eight years because of formalities that restricted her from taking her dog back home after she was lost. Ariel Wolf, who goes by @deviouspickles on TikTok, shared how her “little scruffy rat dog” Mochi was lost, and how the microchip that was supposed to help find her became a challenge. Wolf warned fellow pet owners about the discrepancies in the information linked to microchips and urged people to be aware of the technicalities related to adoption from animal shelters. 

Wolf began by narrating how the ordeal unfolded nearly a decade after she had adopted Mochi from an ad on Craigslist in July 2013. She adopted from an old couple running a “quasi rescue” and said they had gotten Mochi from the Forsyth County Animal Shelter. After adopting, she microchipped Mochi, checked with a vet, and they lived happily until June 2021. Now 13 years old, Mochi, an elderly dog, was partially blind and deaf, but lived contentedly with Wolf. “On warm days, she liked to sun herself in the yard, and that’s what she was doing when I left her outside for an hour,” the dog owner said.  

One day, when the sky appeared gloomy, Wolf figured a storm was coming and went looking for her pet. She was shocked not to find Mochi lying in the yard. Her dog was missing, and unfortunately, the pet owner had taken her ID tag off just two days prior to replacing it with a new one. Wolf got drenched in the rain searching for her dog, going from door to door asking neighbors if they had seen her. Eventually, she and her partner used the Nextdoor app to locate Mochi, but animal control already had her. Still, they were relieved she was safe.

Wolf brought Mochi’s official papers as proof before going to the shelter. As the officials went through the formalities, they found a microchip in Mochi that was not linked to Wolf. The shelter informed her that microchip information “trumps all other proof of ownership.” Hence, the pet owner was in a technical debacle with the shelter and was unable to bring Mochi back home. The information on the microchip traced back to the old couple Wolf had gotten her dog from. They were unreachable, only making her ordeal worse. She had to wait three days to see if the former owners would respond, and then another ten days for formalities before reclaiming Mochi. 

Eventually, Wolf's partner found information about the old couple in North Carolina and contacted them on Facebook. Finally, they received a response from Mel, the old lady, who had sold Mochi to Wolf. Once the shelter verified all information with Mel, Wolf reunited with her dear pet and took her home, heaving a sigh of relief. “Annual reminder to check your pets’ microchips are readable and have your up-to-date contact info,” the caption advised. Mochi passed away in March 2023 after spending another happy year with her family. 

You can follow @deviouspickles on TikTok for more videos.