Watch CBS News

Missing Chihuahua Returned 5 Years Later

OAKDALE (CBS13) — They lost the little Chihuahua during a move back in 2006. But just before Christmas, someone spotted the little guy in Berkeley.

The little guy named Taz is home after vanishing five years ago and the Magnussen family thought he was gone forever.

The pure bred Chihuahua disappeared during the family's move to their Oakdale home.

"Back when we lost Taz, we went everywhere looking for him," mother Ann Magnussen recalls.

As each year passed, the family gave up hope and feared they would never see their four-legged friend again. But one call a few days before Christmas changed everything.

"They told me they had my dog Taz and I was like Taz disappeared five years ago," Ann says.

Taz was indeed safe and sound, but far from home, 90 miles to be exact, apparently abandoned in a Berkeley grocery store parking lot.

"A customer found the dog, brought him inside, a produce guy called up some friends and asked if they would watch the dog in case someone called them and they took the dog to be scanned," Ann says.

The couple watching over Taz took the pooch to the Berkeley animal shelter. There, workers scanned the microchip the Magnussen's placed when Taz was a just pup. Hours later, Taz was home.

He didn't take long to readjust to home, even answering to his name.

Exactly how Taz ended up in Berkeley remains another mystery. The family says they haven't found anyone who reported him missing there but that he may have escaped again.

View CBS News In
CBS News App Open
Chrome Safari Continue
Be the first to know
Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting.