Two years ago on July 4, 2015, Mindi Levijoki and her son were eating lunch while their Chihuahua, Minno, was outside in the backyard. When they finished eating, they were surprised to find that Minno was nowhere to be found. They searched the completely fenced yard to find a small hole dug underneath where Minno likely escaped. Levijoki and her son made fliers that they posted all over the neighborhood, made ads on CraigsList and Facebook and searched high and low for their beloved companion. Unfortunately, Minno was never found.
That is, until just a few days ago. Minno had been microchipped years ago while living with Levijoki and her son, but they never received a call that she had been found until a recent camping trip. Hazel Dell Animal Hospital in Clark County, Washington notified Levijoki that Minno was at their facility. Levijoki also received an email from HomeAgain, the microchip company they’d used with Minno. Levijoki and her son immediately rushed over to the animal hospital, but they had already closed so they arrived again the next day. Levijoki brought years worth of documentation of ownership of Minno, but was shocked to find the animal hospital had given Minno away to someone else. Apparently, the lady who took Minno provided two years of “records” of ownership.
“I brought all my paperwork in and said, ‘I’m here to pick up my dog, I received an alert that you scanned her microchip here,'” Levijoki told KATU. “She said that they gave her to some lady that came in and provided documentation, or they called it records. She provided two years’ worth of records.” She added, “It was just very frustrating […] I couldn’t believe that somebody could just give away somebody else’s dog.” Animal control authorities have no record of Minno ever being reported as found, which is a problem. Washington law requires that stray animals are reported to animal control, which would likely have led to Minno being scanned and returned to her original family far sooner than two years later. Although Levijoki has no idea who Minno was given to, she just wants to get her back. Minno lived with Levijoki and her son for 9 years, she is a member of their family, and deserves to be home where she belongs.
