3 years and 300 miles later, Texas family reunited with lost dog

A Texas family has reunited with their dog, who has been missing for over three years, all thanks to the dog's microchip.

In July 2020, Rex and Britnee Smith realized their two pit bulls, Jack and Jill, were no longer in their fenced backyard in Little Rock Arkansas.

The couple did everything to find their beloved dogs. they went door to door in their neighborhood, including putting up posters, reaching out to animal shelters and vets' offices and posting on social media.

It was a sad time for the Smiths, especially for their daughter who was 5 years old at the time and had a special bond with the dogs.

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Eventually, the Smiths and their two children had to relocate about 300 miles away to McKinney, Texas. They still occasionally received calls from shelters or got pictures of dogs that could be theirs, but Jack and Jill were never located.

The Smiths describe Jack and Jill as beautiful family dogs with great temperaments. While they'd heard stories about dogs being found and returned to their owners via microchips, they never expected that to happen to them.

"I didn't think our dogs would ever come back because they're such great dogs and I know no one would ever just turn them in or take them to the vet," said Britnee.

Rex said the family did lose hope of ever finding their dogs again, but they never forgot about them.

Then in late July, the Little Rock Animal Village called Rex to inform him Jill had been found. He immediately called Britnee, who cried tears of joy.

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'It's like she never left us'

Britnee said she was a little nervous as they drove to pick up Jill, worried that she wouldn't remember them or had changed to be more aggressive. But that wasn't the case.

"It's like she never left us," Britnee said "We picked up right off when she left three years ago. She came right into our arms."

She said seeing her daughter's reaction to being reunited with Jill brought her indescribable joy.

The Smiths said they are unsure what happened to Jill in the three years away, although she had been found just a few blocks away from their old house.

"We wish she could talk," Rex said. "We have so many questions and we just want to ask her 'Take us from the beginning, what happened?'"

Jill was overall healthy but had suffered some scratches and scrapes. Her paws were raw, likely from the 100-degree heat in Arkansas.

Britnee immediately took her to the vet and dog spa, where Jill had her nails clipped, her teeth brushed and her fur groomed.

On day four of being home, Jill has a pep in her step and has reacclimated to being home, the family said. When their daughter lay down to take a nap, Jill slept right next to her.

"We found our family member," Rex said.

The family is still on the lookout for Jack and hopeful he may show up in the same neighborhood where Jill was found.