A cat that went missing two years ago is finally back home, all thanks to a microchip.
The Michigan-based owner said she had given up until she received a phone call that her beloved Pandora had been found.
"I was in complete shock," Jessica Guza told local outlet WXYZ. "I couldn't believe it. I started crying."
Here's what to know
A microchip does not provide real-time tracking the way a GPS device would. Instead, shelters, veterinary offices and animal control officers can scan it to learn who the pet belongs to.
"Seeing dogs like this in the shelter, it breaks your heart because they just don't know what's going on, but if they had a microchip, we wouldn't even take them to the shelter; we would just take them right back home," Eastpointe Animal Control Officer Ashley Sanchez told WXYZ.
What can be done?
For a microchip to help, its contact information must be up to date.
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"In Eastpointe we're thankful that an ordinance where now it's mandatory for cats and dogs here, as of April 2026, so people are keeping in compliance, but for everybody else outside of Eastpointe, I hope they do learn from something this simple," Sanchez said.
Where can I learn more?
Pandora's return is a reminder that some missing pets do make it back, even after a long time away. These stories follow other unlikely reunions, including a cat that crossed the country years later and a dog that made it home after a dangerous rescue.
• A California cat vanished for seven years, then flew 2,500 miles home to Florida.
• In Galleywood, England, an indoor cat survived a 15-mile trip beneath a car.
• In Cleveland, firefighters rescued a dog from a drain, and its microchip found the owner.
That's why pet owners and rescuers keep stressing the same steps: scan found animals and make sure microchip records stay up to date. After weeks or even years apart, that tiny chip can still be the reason a pet gets home.
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