TOP 5 HomeAgain REUNIONS OF 2012

Everyone who loves a pet wonders what they would do if their dog or cat disappeared — and how they’d get them back. Read the year’s most dramatic and touching tales.

HomeAgain has reunited more than 1,000,000 pets with their owners, and every one of those stories feels like a kind of miracle. Read five of the most inspiring.

Tabby with Two Homes

This tabby is named Two, but it wasn’t till he was lost – and found – that he lived up to his name: Two’s mom had to leave home on a family emergency and asked a friend to mind the cat, and Two disappeared. Nearly a year later, Two’s mom got a call from Animal Control. The cat had been found just five houses away from home, where he’d made friends with an elderly couple who’d started feeding him months earlier. They'd finally let him into their homes and called Animal Control, who identified his owner by microchip. Two’s mom took him home, where he re-acclimated to his surroundings. These days, Two has breakfast in his original home, then trots down the street to check in with his new friends, and returns at dusk each night, secure in knowing everything in his two homes is copacetic.

Lost Labs

Ashley, her boyfriend, and their two Labrador Retrievers had just moved to a new city. One evening she walked them close to the forest in her new neighborhood. The dogs spotted a deer… and gave chase. Ashley searched for them until after dark and got lost herself. After being rescued by the police, she got word that Bolt had been found. But where was Grizzly? Fortunately, she’d had him microchipped the year before. She notified HomeAgain that he was lost. After a few very worried days, he was ID’ed at a veterinarian’s office and Ashley brought him home.

Two for the Road

World traveler Nick raised Tweek, his Chihuahua, from puppyhood. A non-stop traveler, Nick toured around in a VW motor home, bringing his faithful dog with him. One night in Medellin, Colombia, while Nick was asleep in the back of the VW, Tweek escaped to do some touring of his own. Nick searched, made posters (even though he didn’t speak Spanish), and used Facebook and Twitter, all to no avail. What reunited man and dog was Tweek’s HomeAgain collar tag: A Colombian man saw it and called the U.S. number included on it. A HomeAgain operator put him in touch with a Spanish speaker, and shortly afterwards Nick got a call that led him back to his little friend.

Happy Wanderer

Another dog who lives up to his name, Lucky has a habit of wandering away and disappearing. Despite leaving the house one day without wearing a collar, Lucky was back home and safe within 12 hours. It’s all thanks to a Pet Rescuer in Terri’s neighborhood who read the Lost Pet Alert issued by HomeAgain and spotted Lucky.

A Reason to Give Thanks

Kizzi, a beautiful Yorkie, didn’t get lost that Thanksgiving Day. But the man holding her leash did. The owner’s brother, who has dementia, took the little dog for a walk and lost his way. They wandered and were reported missing. When they were found together with no other ID, it was Kizzi’s HomeAgain tags that helped Patty of Washington locate the owner and bring them both home.

If you enjoyed these Found Pet Stories, read more at FoundPets.HomeAgain.com.