Nicole Grimes will always remember the sadness she felt when she was separated from her beloved dog Chloe Bear nearly eight years ago. She was 10 years old when her grandmother surprised her with an adorable puppy – Chloe – who would become her best friend.
Four years later, when she was 14, her dad made the decision to surrender Chloe to the Washington Area Humane Society. He was working from home and Chloe was too “yappy”; his new employers said they could not have any pets or other audible distractions.
That’s when Nicole was forced to part with her beloved dog. Nicole was heartsick and thought about her dog often in the years since having to say goodbye.
“As the years went on, I always thought about her. I once called the humane society to try to find out what happened to her, but they couldn’t tell me anything. So, I never knew, she told the Dodo.
Fast forward to present day, and Nicole noticed a post her friend had put up on Facebook. She was trying to rehome an older dog named Chloe and Nicole was looking for a dog to join her, her husband and her 4-month old daughter.
“[She] looked very similar to my puppy when I was little,” Nicole told the Observer Reporter. “So, on a whim, I said, ‘I’ll take her.’”
She slowly began to realize that the senior dog she picked up just might be her long lost dog. First, Chloe ran up to her and started licking her face – something the dog had regularly done 8 years earlier. Then she began to do familiar things that reminded her of her childhood dog.
That’s when she took Chloe to the veterinarian and confirmed her identity through her microchip, the very same one her family had registered all those years ago.
“I felt like I won the lottery,” Nicole told the Observer. “That was one of the most exciting moments of my life. I just never thought I’d see her again.”
Nicole later learned that Chloe had been adopted by an older couple shortly after she was dropped off at the shelter. She was well looked after and lived happily with them until they passed away. She then was adopted by another family who weren’t able to keep her.
But now that’s all behind her and Chloe will never have to worry about leaving Nicole ever again.
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