For nearly 12 years, Flor had been missing from Vanessa Antonino’s life. Describing her 15-year-old chihuahua, Antonino said, “Wherever we went, we were always together. It was me and her; she was my shadow.” This bond was broken when Flor disappeared from Chicago’s North Side. Antonino spent months searching for her companion, but eventually faced the grim reality. “It’s not like I accepted it,” Antonino reflected, “but I told myself, in a way, maybe someone who could give her a better life took her in.”
Years of uncertainty and concern came to a startling end on Tuesday when Antonino received an unexpected call from the Evanston Animal Shelter. “We have Flor,” a shelter volunteer informed her over the phone. Antonino recalled the emotional moment, “I just went crazy. I started crying, shaking…it had been so many years, but she made it back.”
Flor was discovered in Gary, Indiana, following recent severe storms that caused significant power outages and flooding. On Wednesday, August 26, Flor was brought to the Evanston Animal Shelter from Gary, marking a tearful reunion for Antonino.
Maddie Ratkowski, a veterinary student intern at the shelter, shared with Pioneer Press that Flor was found “roaming the streets of Gary” by a Louisiana construction worker who was aiding in storm cleanup. The woman took Flor to Griffith Animal Control and Shelter, where a microchip was detected in her ear.
However, the chip was outdated, lacking a current phone number. Griffith Animal Control reached out to Microchip Hunters, a volunteer group specializing in “dead-end microchips” to reunite pets with their families. “When you microchip an animal, there’s a lot of behind-the-scenes info [someone can capture],” Ratkowski explained. “They often will record the implant facility and who the chip was sold to. From a rescue perspective, if we get an animal with a microchip, sometimes the owner hasn’t called the company to update their information, but we can trace the implant and reach out to rescue groups.”
This process enabled Microchip Hunters to contact the Evanston shelter’s canine director, notifying them that Flor was found in Gary and had an owner in Evanston. Gillian Primavera, a volunteer, offered to pick up Flor from Gary, while another employee informed Antonino of the extraordinary news. Antonino said, “I was in shock. I couldn’t believe it, and in a way, I didn’t believe it until I saw her.”
Accompanied by her four children, who were born after Flor went missing, Antonino experienced a tearful reunion. “She’s a big sister now,” Antonino laughed. “My kids knew what she meant to me and what she still means…When I told them [the shelter] found Flor, they said, ‘We’re getting her, mommy, right? We’re getting her! She’s coming home.'”
Flor appears healthy. “She looks remarkably well” for her age, Ratkowski commented, noting the flea and tick treatment and deworming conducted by Griffith Animal Shelter. The journey from Chicago to Gary remains a mystery, but as Ratkowski emphasized, the reunion highlights the importance of microchipping pets. “Any stray found in Evanston comes through our doors, dogs and cats, and the first thing we do is always scan the animals for a microchip,” she said. “If they do have a chip, the animal’s chance of being reunited with their rightful owner increases significantly.”