A dog in California that was reported missing in 2010 and recorded as "deceased" in 2015 is alive and back with her family.
Police in San Joaquin County, roughly 130 kilometres east of San Francisco, picked up a stray dog on February 10 after receiving a call that is had been abandoned.
Animal Services Officer Brandon Levin collected the dog in the town of Stockton and found a microchip tag.
The scan revealed the dog's name, Zoey, and that she had been reported missing from the town of Lafayette, about 90 kilometres east, in 2010.
Zoey had been missing for so long that the company that keeps records of microchipped dogs had listed Zoey as "deceased" since 2015, according to the San Joaquin County Sheriff's Office.
Fortunately for Zoey, her family still lived at the same address, which allowed them to be reunited.
Her owner, Michelle, said she collected Zoey from a pound when she was just six months old.
After learning that Zoey was still alive, Michelle said she would happily bring her home.
"I definitely didn't expect this to ever happen, so I'm really excited," she said.
"We went to the store for about 20 minutes and came back and she was missing.
"I'm excited to hopefully bring her back, get her healthy and let her live the rest of her life."
Officer Levin said Michelle was "in complete shocked" when she received the phone call that Zoey had been found.
