GOOCHLAND, Va. -- A dog missed by her previous owner was legally adopted out to a new home by Goochland Animal Control.
For 10 years, Yvonne Parrish loved her little Ruby; cute as a button and barely six pounds.
But on May 15, the house dog disappeared after a trip outside.
Parrish took to being a detective and scoured social media and area animal control websites, but said Ruby never appeared.
Yvonne slowly gave in to the fact Ruby was gone.
That is until a text message from her daughter on Monday.
"Yesterday I got a text at work from my daughter saying you got to look at this picture, I found Ruby," Yvonne says.
The picture looked like Ruby, but was on the Goochland County Animal Control Website, because the small dog had just been adopted and it dated back to July.
Ruby, Yvonne thought, had been living with a new family for almost a month.
She reached out to Animal Control to see if they would talk with the new owners about finding out if it really is Ruby.
Tim Clough, Director of Animal Control says the dog was legally adopted after spending the required 17 days at the shelter.
Clough has called the family and is waiting for a return phone call.
He says this isn't the first time something like this has happened.
Dog advocates say this is a learning lesson for pet owners about getting a microchip installed in their pet.
Dr. Tammy Leopold with Goochland Animal Clinic believes more people should take advantage of the technology.
As for her thoughts on the dog possibly being returned to Yvonne.
"My personal experience, we have a wonderful clientele here and if they look like they are happy, well maintained healthy animal, that was in a good home, I would think most good people would return that pet to that owner."
And that is exactly what Yvonne Parrish is hoping.
