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Dog and Owners Reunited After Three Years

Dog and Owners Reunited

DuPage Animal Services reunited a dog, Lola, and her owners, Debra and Steven Mejeur, after being separated for three years.

In October 2017, Lola had wandered away from a home in Elk Grove Village where Debra and Steven were visiting friends. After a month of searching the area, the couple returned to their home in Kalamazoo, Michigan.

Earlier this week, a Glendale Heights resident found the black labrador mix and brought her to DuPage Animal Services. Staff found she’d been microchipped, which helped them know Debra and Steven were the owners.

On Saturday, the three were reunited.

“I showed him [Steven] the text [from animal services] and I called here and I said, ‘by chance do you have a female black lab named Lola here?’ and they responded with ‘are you Debra?’” said Debra in a video shared by DuPage County. “And I just lost it. I just started crying. That just proved to me that it was her.”

Importance of Microchipping

Animal Services Committee Chairman Brian Krajewski said this story shows the importance of microchipping pets.

“It’s extremely important to microchip your animal because a lot of them can get out without your knowledge and if someone comes across a stray and they bring it to us, we can scan if for the microchip and reunite it with the family,” said Krajewski in a video shared by DuPage County. “If you don’t have a microchip, it’s a lot more difficult to reunite the dog with the family. Just sort of the fact that they can travel long distances.”

Naperville News 17’s Aysha Ashley Househ reports.