Oklahoma woman reunites with missing dog found over 1,000 miles away in North Carolina
An Oklahoma woman has reunited with her missing dog who was found over 1,000 miles away in North Carolina.
Melissa Burris, who lives near the Tulsa area in northeast Oklahoma, told ABC News her Australian shepherd, Rio, had been missing for nearly two weeks when she received a call on Aug. 11 from Guilford County Animal Services in Greensboro, North Carolina.
"When I got that call that he had been found, I was just floored," Burris said. "I could not believe he had made it all the way to North Carolina."
Burris, who said she adopted Rio last year, called her 10-year-old dog an "escape artist" who likes to "go shopping" at a general store near their home or wander off on new adventures. But unlike in the past, Rio didn't return on July 30, even after Burris went out to search for him.
"I posted in every local group I could find, looking for him, and just kept keeping the search alive," Burris said, adding that she never gave up on finding Rio.
Guilford County Animal Services director Jorge Ortega said Rio was eventually found by a good Samaritan who brought the dog to the shelter, where they scanned him for a microchip.
"That's when we scanned him for a microchip and then realized that the microchip was registered, and then we started doing our detective work on trying to find the owner," Ortega said, adding, "It's a huge mystery on how Rio ended up [getting] from Oklahoma to Greensboro."
After Burris found out where Rio was, she said she didn't hesitate to book a plane ticket and fly to North Carolina, where she picked him up, rented a car and drove him home.
"We'll never probably know what he went through over those two weeks, but I'm happy to see the smiles back on his face," she said.
Burris said now that Rio is home, following his 1,100-mile return trip, "he's doing great."
"He's been all smiles since he got home," she said.
Both Burris and Ortega said Rio's unlikely reunion demonstrates the benefits of microchipping pets.
"The most important thing here is always identify your pets, whether that be a collar and tag and a microchip," Ortega said. "The great thing about microchips is that they're a permanent identification system. It's always there -- [just] make sure that the microchip registry is up to date."
