Canyon The Dog Found 3 Years Later -- And 71 Miles Away

In 2008, Canyon the dog went missing from his home in West Branch, Iowa.

And after more than three years, Canyon was finally found safe and sound -- but in Aledo, Ill., more than 70 miles away, WQAD reported. Canyon's owners, Justin Ellyson and Carrie Lentner, received a phone call from the Mercer County Animal Control Department, which found a microchip in Canyon's back, leading them to a phone number.

The woman at the animal control department "says, 'Well, it's a black one,' and I just started crying," Lentner told WQAD. "I was like, 'It's Canyon! They have Canyon! We gotta go get him!'"

Pet owners often choose to have microchips, which include an identification number, implanted into their pets. This ID number can be looked up to find contact information for the owner, according to the Human Society of the United States. The microchips are about the size of a grain of rice and are implanted by a vet with a needle.

Canyon joins the ranks of other wayward animals who have found their way back to their owners after being taken as lost for good.

Jack the cat, who went missing at JFK airport in New York City, was found by American Airlines after a two-month search. Jack's owner had checked in the cat in a pet carrier while flying from New York to San Jose during the Hurricane Irene weekend, but Jack somehow escaped.

And this September, Willow the calico cat was found in New York City, five years after she went missing from her home in Colorado near the Rocky Mountains. Willow was found on East 20th Street in Manhattan, and taken to a shelter where an implanted microchip with identifying information was found.

For more on Canyon the dog, watch WQAD's video below:

Comments

[myway60]

07:58 PM on 12/14/2011

im happy you got your dog back .pets are like part of your family.and when something happens to them i hurts they have this new coller out thats like a tracking device gps and you pay per month for monoring.you can just open up you door to get the mail and your dog darts out to chase a squil or cat .once my neighbor had a shepard and put a 6 foot fence up to keep the dog in and when they were done let him in the yard and he jumped right over it and cleared 2 more feet

[lynn926]

09:08 PM on 12/14/2011

I looked into the GPS services a few months ago, but the problem is that your pet has to be wearing the collar. If it comes off...or someone who finds or takes your dog removes the collar it's useless. I think there should be a GPS included with the microchips.

[just a average guy]

07:50 PM on 12/14/2011

Hoorayyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy !!! Glad for the owners & Canyon !!!

[Mel61]

07:48 PM on 12/14/2011

I'm thrilled to hear of Canyon being united with his family. I loved how he jumped on his owner obviously knowing he had found his "forever family" in the video. Dogs are so therapeutic. I have several chronic illnesses and my dogs have seen me through some very rocky times. Our vet, who is an amazing person, thinks human health care policies should cover the costs of pet ownership for all the good they do for people...lower blood pressure and pulse, raise feel good chemicals in the brain, etc. I've taken one stray to our vet and she scanned him and he was reunited with the owner in less than an hour, For those who might want to really address the need for scanners and people trained to use them, I suggest a site called change.org where anyone can start obtaining signatures and other necessary support to make a worthy cause a reality.

[capercaper]

01:44 AM on 12/15/2011

If you haven't already discovered it, you might enjoy this fantastic book:

Paws and Effect: The Healing Power of Dogs
Author: Sharon Sakson
(Random House)

You (and your vet) can check it out on Amazon.

[bella]

07:24 PM on 12/14/2011

Happy the dog was found. However, I hope these dog-owners learned their lesson. Please do not allow your dog to go outside without being in a fenced yard or tired up. I don't care how rural one's neighborhood is. It's just not a good idea. We have a solid 5-foot concrete wall around our entire yard and I STILL go outside with my dog. She's hardly every out alone (although, that's mainly because I worry about dog theft, not her running off).

[stxchic]

07:42 PM on 12/14/2011

So happy for Canyon and his family, but a fenced in yard is really a must, a collar with an I.D tag would also be a good idea.

[collectsrocks]

10:36 PM on 12/14/2011

I had a friend who had a dog that kept running off even from an enclosed yard. She never could figure out how. One day she saw the dog outside the fence, out of the yard. Then she put up a run line and the poor dog cried when it was on it. Neighbors thought she was cruel. Then she put up an 10 foot fence and that darn Houdini dog climbed up the fence to escape! She finally paid her son to stand in the yard to monitor it when the dog was out. No more escaping doggie.

[lppr668]

07:05 PM on 12/14/2011

Canyon looks to have a bit of Dobie in him, judging by the length of snout and the eyebrows. My little girl "Angel" was a Rotty-mix, who wandered into my yard and heart almost 9 years ago. Over the last few months, she developed a tumor. By the time I took her to the Vet's last Wednesday to have it removed, complications had set in, and I had to have her put down. I got to hug her and tell her that I loved her before her surgery. Within 4 hours, I had her buried in the yard. That was a week ago. I am glad that Canyon was found and is enjoying being with his family again. But for me, I can see having a lousy holiday season, without my Angel.

[kaki40]

07:33 PM on 12/14/2011

your Angel had a good life, Enjoy your Holiday knowing that you were a blessing in your pups life...I have four pups all rescues...Until you have loved an animal part of your soul remains unawakened..Peace..

[myway60]

08:47 PM on 12/14/2011

my dad had the same thing we found this dog in our yard when we came home then the next day walked away up the hill .i came home and told mom and dad the dog was going home. the next day he was back in our yard .so my dad took him in .to the vet for his shots and when he got sick 6 years latter he had to put him down .he was heart broked my mom went to the shelter and adopted another dog just like this other one[a collie] he named him [JR] junior because he was younger than randy he felt better after that now they both are buried side buy side in the yard .pets are part of your family and when the go a little pice of you go with them try to go to the shelter maybe you could fine one that just like "Angel"like my mom did

[Dana Marie Arnold]

07:00 PM on 12/14/2011

Wow.....the dog was found only about 80 miles from where I live in Illinois.......I wonder why the local news didn't report this. We surely need "feel good" news in this area. I'm so happy the owners were reunited with him and that he was unharmed.

[lovetogutyou]

06:58 PM on 12/14/2011

Yay!!! I love a good dog story.

[fortiz557]

06:53 PM on 12/14/2011

When do you think they'll start putting chips in people?

[sponsi]

09:04 PM on 12/14/2011

I know a lot of people that have chips...potato chips.

[fortiz557]

06:51 PM on 12/14/2011

So how did the dog survive?

[userk8766]

08:32 AM on 12/16/2011

You will have to ask him yourself.

[Jenny-Ann]

06:41 PM on 12/14/2011

Six days ago two of my beloved family dogs got out and ran away, my heart breaks and rejoices for this family!! I hope mine can receive such a great Christmas miracle!

[lovetogutyou]

06:59 PM on 12/14/2011

I'm keeping you in my thoughts and sending good vibes your way. Hope you and your pups are reunited very soon. I feel your pain.

[Shannon Zeno Lewis]

07:07 PM on 12/14/2011

Jenny-Ann, I'm so sorry!!!! Prayers to you and your babies, I hope they return safe to you soon! Don't give up hope!

[roguegirl]

06:37 PM on 12/14/2011

Oh I am crying like a baby...so happy for those folks to find their adorable dog Canyon! I always wonder though, why a dog (or cat) with a microchip implanted hadn't been scanned for it for three years...

[capercaper]

07:17 PM on 12/14/2011

Maybe the folks who rescued what they took (understandaby) to be a stray three years ago were foreclosed upon and had to give him up in the transition.

Thank goodness the shelter to which he was surrendered had the right scanning equipment.

[userk8766]

08:35 AM on 12/16/2011

A dog that runs wild on the streets eating out of garbage cans is not likely to accidentally run into a scanner. It took three years before the dog catcher caught up with him.

[Fletch55]

06:32 PM on 12/14/2011

Awesome love when stories can end good.

[jode1221]

06:15 PM on 12/14/2011

What kind of dog is that?

[majr0328]

06:22 PM on 12/14/2011

He looks like some kind of hound mix.

[lordairgtar]

06:27 PM on 12/14/2011

Don't know. Could be part Border Collie and part Jack Russel, maybe Rat Terrier. Ours looked like that except she had two brown eyes. She was part Boxer, part Jack Russel.

[wns1963]

06:07 PM on 12/14/2011

Bless that dog's little heart. I'm glad he made it back home.

[rrllort]

05:30 PM on 12/14/2011

It is good that the owners had the dog chipped, but very irresponsible people. There have been a few stories about dogs being retunred several years later and that is maybe a good thing, but the owners are not resposible. You cannot let your dogs run around off leash without supervision. they could run away, get taken by someone, get disoriented, hit by cars etc. or in the back of a pickup truck and not leashed and runs off. I am not saying they should be leashed at all times, but cannot just let loose to run free when ever and where ever they want. how many dogs have been euthanized because of lost!!!!!

[jwfoust]

06:35 PM on 12/14/2011

I agree but these things aren't always a situation in which the owners were negligent. Accidents happen. Many years ago I had my dog in the back yard. A thunderstorm rolled in, I was at work, it scared him so much he cleared the fence (and it was a tall fence). That had not happen prior to, Thought he was gone for good. We found him later that evening.

It's a slippery slope but not so certain having a microchip in your children, to a certain age, isn't all that bad of an idea. Could help if and when a child is abducted, hurt, lost, etc. Intrusive, yes. You have the right to have chip removed once you reach,,,,I don't know, 18 years of age.

[Jenny-Ann]

06:43 PM on 12/14/2011

Not all loose or lost animals are a sign of a negligent owner! Six days ago two of my beloved family dogs ran away together when I left the house for about ten minutes not realizing the front latch had broken. Our dogs NEVER go outside the yard without a leash, NEVER.