Woman Kept Updating Her Lost Dog’s Microchip—11 Years Later, It Brought Him Home
Eleven years ago, the pit bull was taken from his family’s backyard in Mayfair, Philadelphia. At the time, his owner Jourdyn Koziak’s son was just one month old. They searched, posted flyers, and held onto hope—but as the years passed, that hope slowly faded.
Then, out of nowhere, everything changed.
After being found roaming the streets of Philadelphia by a little girl, Forty Cal was brought to ACCT Philly. When staff scanned him, they found a microchip—and because Jourdyn had updated her contact information just two months earlier, they were able to reach her. Throughout the years, she had never stopped updating the microchip.
The call was something she never expected.
“I immediately was flooded with tears,” she told Fox 29 News. “I am overwhelmed. I’m shocked. I’m in disbelief.”
The very next day, the family drove from Luzerne County back to Philadelphia to bring him home.
Seeing him again after all those years was emotional—and a little overwhelming for Forty Cal, too. “He kind of had the shakes… it was a lot going on, you know, different smells everywhere,” Jourdyn said. “So he came up to us as gentle as always, sniffed our hands and kind of was just looking around the room.”
Even in that joyful moment, Jourdyn had one thought on her mind: “He was with another family… This is what I’m thinking for about 10 to 11 years. So is he going to miss them?” But one thing was clear—he had been cared for. His fur wasn’t dirty and he was “soft as a rabbit as he’s always been,” said Jourdyn.
Now an older dog with some health challenges, including bad hips, Forty Cal is settling back in. “They took him to the vet and got him some pain meds and ran some tests, but other than old age and bad hips, you know he’s doing okay,” Jourdyn shared.
Her son, now 10 years old, grew up seeing photos and flyers of the dog they never stopped hoping to find. And now, after all this time, that missing piece of their family is finally home.
And just in time, too—Forty Cal returned home right around his 14th birthday. “I know these are his golden years, but I just want him to be happy and comfortable,” Jourdyn said.
As for herself, she told CBC, “I’m over the moon. It’s like Christmas morning every day.” She added, “I had other animals in the house, as well, that were family pets, but Forty was my dog. I paid for him with my own money at 16 years old.”
After 11 long years, this loyal good boy is exactly where he’s meant to be—surrounded by the family who never stopped loving him.