Overview
- Choco was discovered tied to a fence at the Lincoln Park Animal Shelter near Detroit on Nov. 24, with staff unsure where he had been beforehand.
- Shelter staff identified him by a current microchip and alerted his California owner after nearly five years missing.
- Helping Paws and Claws organized care and logistics with local partners in Lincoln Park, and a donor supplied airline miles for the trip.
- Volunteers retrieved, vetted, and escorted the dog on a flight that was delayed by weather through Chicago, leading to his Dec. 3 arrival in California.
- The reunion came 1,645 days after he vanished from the Sacramento-area community of Antelope in May 2021, and his path to Michigan remains unknown as his owner urges pet microchipping with up-to-date registration.