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Arizona family reunited with missing dog four years after they last saw him

Posted at 3:36 PM, Sep 09, 2019
and last updated 2019-09-09 15:54:18-04

PHOENIX, Ariz. (KNXV) — After being missing for four years, a lost dog has finally been reunited with his family.

Brother and sister Tony and Sara Torres admit they had nearly given up hope after their dog Chewy went missing four years ago.

Miraculously a good Samaritan recently found Chewy and brought him in to Maricopa County Animal Care and Control.

“My mom rushes in my room and says, ‘they found Chewy!’ And I’m like Chewy, what the heck?” Sara said.

The Torres family first found Chewy abandoned an alley in their backyard. At the time, he was covered in chewing gum.

“He was really spunky. We named him Chewy because of the gum, but he also liked to chew on things,” Sara said.

They cleaned him up and took him to the vet where they made a decision they would come to be grateful for — spending the extra money to get Chewy a microchip.

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He was part of the family for just six months before the Torres’ suspect someone may have taken Chewy from the yard.

Weeks, months and even years passed – but Chewy never returned.

“It’s hard because after four years not seeing him, we just sort of expected that he wasn’t going to come back again,” Tony said.

When he was found, Chewy was in really bad shape.

“When this dog came in, he literally was on death’s door. This dog was crushed. It was obvious he had received trauma from type of animal,” MCACC spokesman Jose Santiago said.

Chewy had a broken jaw, was severely infected and eventually had to have a leg removed.

“It was really hard to hold back tears when we saw him just lying there. You know, not really moving,” Sara said.

The Two Pups Wellness Fund stepped in to save the day – and Chewy’s life. The organization paid for all of Chewy’s medical expenses.

The family is reunited and forever grateful.

“They’ve helped us so much in all of this to pay for all the surgeries and stuff like that,” Tony said.

A story like this really sends that message home to people about how important it is to microchip your pet.

“If that information is there, we’re going to find you, we’re going to get you that dog back, we’re going to get you that family member back,” Santiago said.

In the four years Chewy was missing the family had adopted six other animals; he’ll have lots of company now.