Missing 3-Year-Old Girl Found, Identified By Dog's Microchip

Missing 3-Year-Old Girl Found, Identified By Dog's Microchip (Added: January 09, 2012)

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Credit: Kait Rayner

AIken Department of Public Safety officials say a "hero dog" helped to reunite a missing girl and her family. Officials say a microchip inside the dog was the only way they were able to identify a 3-year-old girl...after she went missing from her home. WJBF News Channel 6's Kait Rayner has the story.

By: Kait Rayner | WJBF News Channel 6
Published: January 09, 2012

Aiken, SC --

They were terrifying moments for the parents of a 3-year-old in Aiken.

"She went chasing after the dog," the girl's mother says.

The girl followed the dog outside, and her mother says she had no idea the child left. She asked us to hide her face...to protect her daughter's identity. But, she wanted us to meet "Angel", a "hero dog". The mother says Angel kept her daughter in his sight they whole time the two were missing.

"Once she caught up, the dog stayed with her," the mother said.

A resident in an apartment complex yards away from the girls home spotted the girl and the dog and called police.

Kait Rayner, reporting: "When police arrived, they say the little girl was too young to tell them where she lived, so instead, they used to this scanner to scan for the microchip inside the dog. When they did, up popped information on her address."

"The number pops up, we call a 1-800 number, and we give them the number, and in turn, they give us the owners name, address, and telephone number," said Aiken Department of Public Safety Animal Control officer Jeff Wilson.

Wilson says he uses microchips mostly to identify stray animals, but in this case, it helped them identify a missing child. "Once I scanned the dog, probably about 30 minutes later, we had information about where the child lived," he said.

Police say Angel was defensive when they put him in a separate car to take him home. Just like a guardian angel, Angel didn’t want to leave the girl's side. Despite that, the family just adopted Angel from the shelter last week.

Police say it’s not clear how long the child was away from her home. According to the incident report, the parents were asleep at the time of the incident.