Two years ago, Samantha went away on a trip and left Loki with a caretaker. While she was out of town, Loki got loose and went missing. Samantha tried everything she could to find Loki, but with no luck. She completely lost hope that she would ever see him again.

Thankfully, though, Samantha and Loki’s story was not over yet.

Last month, someone brought Loki to Fort Wayne Animal Care & Control (FWACC). He’d somehow gotten separated from whoever had been taking care of him for the past two years. FWACC scanned him to check for a microchip — and the staff was relieved to find that it beeped.

When they called Samantha to tell her the good news, she was “unbelievably excited,” Delaney Atkinson, FWACC’s community outreach educator, told The Dodo. She couldn’t believe that after so long, she was going to get to see her dog again. That very same day, she came into FWACC to reunite with Loki.

Atkinson said that when the staff brought out Loki, he didn’t immediately register that his mom was in the room and went around greeting all the staff members. But when Samantha said hi to him, he immediately realized who she was.

“[It] goes to show that [dogs] don’t forget,” Atkinson said.

The moment Loki was back in his mom’s arms, he completely transformed. He started jumping all over her, wiggling around out of pure excitement and joy. Each person in the room was deeply touched by witnessing their reunion.

“Everyone was watching this beautiful moment, and everyone was tearing up … just seeing the emotion from both Loki and Samantha was just very amazing and heartwarming,” Atkinson said.

Atkinson said this story is a great reminder of an important lesson: “Please microchip your pet, because we wouldn’t have had that story without his microchip.”

She emphasized that once you get your pet microchipped, it’s important to follow through and keep your updated personal information on file. Additionally, if you come across a lost pet, be sure to take them to a vet or shelter so they can test for a microchip.