California Dog Who Bolted During Thunderstorm Found 3 Months Later, 2,000 Miles Away in Illinois

A sweet 5-year-old corgi border collie mix was reunited with his owner on Wednesday after going on a journey that lasted three months and spanned nearly 2,000 miles. 

The pup, named Opie, bolted from his home in Beiber, California, in July during a severe thunderstorm. Opie’s owner, Ciara Babock, told FOX Weather that Opie was always skittish during thunderstorms but would usually hide under something until the weather passed. 

“But this time, he just took off,” she said. 

Babcock began searching for her beloved pooch and learned he had been spotted at a nearby gas station, picked up, and taken away. She spent several weeks searching for her pet and posting about him to online groups devoted to helping find lost pets in California and in nearby states, she told the outlet. 

“(Beiber) is a popular place for travelers to stop when traveling between Oregon and Nevada,” Babcock said in a statement on a lost and found pet database called PawBoost. “It’s a long shot, but (I’m) hoping someone picked him up because he looked lost.”

She also said she hoped whoever picked up Opie would bring him to a shelter or police station where authorities would scan his microchip.

Babcock began to lose hope of finding Opie after weeks turned into months.

“I knew he was out there somewhere, but my thoughts kind of changed where I was just hoping that he was just being loved and, wherever he was, he was getting all the attention that he deserved and had a good life,” she said.

Earlier this month, more than 90 days after Opie ran off, a pet microchip company called Home Again notified Babcock that Opie’s microchip had been scanned two time zones away at the Itasca Police Department in northern Illinois. 

At first, she believed there was some kind of mistake because of how far away the notification was. But Babcock worked with dispatch for the police department and found out they really did have her lost dog. 

Officials told her Opie was brought in as a stray after being found outside wearing a collar and harness and a tag with a different name.

“He was in good shape, too,” said Laura Flamion, administrator at DuPage County Animal Services, which worked with the police department to reunite Babcock and Opie.  “It’s not like he had been neglected these last couple months – he was plump, and he was clean.”

Babcock booked the earliest flight from California to Illinois to get her precious pup.

“As soon as he saw me, he ran up to me and started jumping all over me, and he started making all these cute little noises,” Babcock said. “Then I started crying happy tears.”

DuPage County Animal Services captured the moment and posted it to Facebook with the caption, “We’ll never know exactly how Opie made his way nearly across the country, but we do know this: microchips work.” 

“They make reunions like this possible, no matter how far our four-legged friends may travel,” DuPage County Animal Services said in a post to Facebook, along with a picture of Opie and Babcock happily together again,” the post reads. 

Babcock took Opie on a road trip home to California and traveled the scenic route to enjoy the sights with her canine friend.

“God is so good, and he answered my prayers,” Babcock said.