It had been more than two years since Deuce had heard his master’s voice. When he did via telephone, the chihuahua’s tail wagged hard, his head moved rapidly from side to side seeking the friendly face that went with it.
“It was really something,” Wayne Wommack recalled.
On Jan. 14, Deuce got to see the face.
A reunion was held at Backwater BBQ owned by Wommack on Lee Road 379 in Salem, Ala.
Jeremy and Natasha Pittman drove four hours from their home in Jennings, Fla., to get their long-lost pet.
“Natasha told me her daughter said, ‘My prayers have been answered.’ I guess this shows prayer works,” Wommack said.
Then he added, “microships work, too.”
After all, if not for a microchip, the miracle reunion would never have occurred.
The American Veterinary Medical Association describes a microchip as a small, electronic chip enclosed in a glass cylinder about the same size as a grain of rice. It does not have a battery but it is activated by the radiowaves of a scanner that is passed over the area.
The chip transmits the identification number to the scanner which displays the number on the screen.
The chip is injected under a dog’s skin using a hypodermic needle and is no more painful than a typical injection. It can be done during a routine veterinary office visit.
“It is not expensive,” Wommack said. “Really, if you can afford a dog, you should be able to afford a microchip.”
The Pittmans are certainly glad they did.
On her Facebook page, Pittman explained how Deuce disappeared from the family compound on June 27, 2015.
She said Deuce usually hung around outside during the day but did not come inside that night. The family shared lost dog posts, searched and offered a reward.
“We had given up hope of finding him,” she said.
“They thought he had been stolen,” Wommack said.
On Facebook, Pittman said it was a couple of weeks ago, Jan. 11, that Susan Clark and her daughter, Lily Clark, noticed Deuce running in the road. They opened the car door for him and he jumped in.
After Clark posted about him on Facebook, it was mentioned to Clark that she should bring him to Backwater BBQ.
She did.
In addition to selling tasty food, Wommack and Judith Kempf run Rescue Safe Haven where they connect stray dogs with their owners or find them new homes.
They have a scanner purchased for them by some supporters in the community.
On Facebook, Pittman said that getting a call that your dog that has been missing for more than two years has been found is “not something that I can put into words.”
“My heart exploded and tears ran,” she said.
Wommack said Deuce was in good condition when found.
“He was in too good a shape to have not been looked after,” Wommack said.
Much better shape, Kempf remarked, than many of the abandoned dogs brought to them.
Still, Deuce got a good feeding and cleaning from Amanda Hamilton.
On Facebook, Pittman commented that “if it weren’t for the kind heartendness of everyone involved this would never have happened.”
And that if were not for the chip, it also would not have happened.
“If it weren’t for the chip the kind-hearted people would not have been able to carry out their portion of the miracle. Please get your dog microchipped,” Pittman said on Facebook.
Wommack agrees.
“It is the best way for someone who loses a pet to get it back,” Wommack said. “Everyone should do it.”
Larry Gierer: 706-571-8581, @lagierer
This story was originally published January 21, 2018 10:23 AM.