New Carlisle man reunited with his lost dog after four years

NEW CARLISLE — Scott Allin thought he’d lost his dog forever.

Instead, he’s celebrating their reunion after more than four years.

‘‘I’m happy that he’s still alive,” Allin said. “I thought the coyotes got him.”

In the end, it was a microchip that reunited them.

Last week, the Michiana Humane Society 20 miles away in Michigan City called Allin to say his 7- or 8-year-old dachshund mix had been brought in as a stray.

A Trail Creek, Ind. resident had taken in Opie as a stray and waited a few days to see if he could find the rightful owner before turning him in, said Johanna Humbert, executive director of the Michiana Humane Society. When shelter staff scanned between Opie’s shoulder blades, a microchip returned Allin’s contact info.

It took a few minutes for Opie to start answering to his old name, but he soon greeted Allin as his long-lost friend, Humbert said.

‘‘I think as much as the owner was shocked the dog had reappeared, the dog was probably surprised the owner had reappeared,” she said. “It took both of them a few minutes to sort of warm back up to each other.’’

Where Opie has been all these years is not clear, but Humbert and Allin believe he appeared well cared for.

Opie’s good physical condition is not the only mystery in the case.

Allin said he had last seen Opie running around his open, rural property south of New Carlisle.

After the then 3- or 4-year-old Opie disappeared, Allin visited and called animal shelters in the area but found no trace of the dog.

More than a year later, though, he received a call from the LaPorte County Small Animal Shelter saying Opie had been found.

Allin went there, but what he found was a different dog wearing Opie’s collar and tags.

How the collar and tags came to be on the wrong dog is still unknown, but it at least renewed Allin’s hopes that perhaps Opie was alive.

What does Allin plan to do with Opie now?

“Keep an eye on him,” he said. “Make sure he doesn’t get away again.’’

Humbert said the reunion shows why it’s so important to have pets microchipped.

‘‘A microchip isn’t removed,” she said. “It’s always there.’’