CaptionWhether it's the family dog or a beloved bird, losing a pet can be devastating. The owners in these 15 stories, though, were fortunate enough to be reunited with their missing furry and feathered friends, mostly thanks to microchip technology and the help of some amazing shelter and hospital workers. Keep reading for the touching details of how lost pets incredibly found their way back home.Getty ImagesHere's a tear-jerker of a tale. In 1991, Fielding Marshall’s baby daughter died during a procedure to repair her heart. His girlfriend, the daughter’s mother, left without a word. To cope with the traumatic losses, Fielding adopted Gonker, a golden retriever mix. The dog had Addison’s disease, an adrenal deficiency that required monthly hormone injections. Ten days after an injection in October 1998, Gonker ran away during a hike with Fielding on the Appalachian Trail in Virginia. His mom, shown above, called animal hospitals, police stations and newspapers so they could find him before he'd need another injection. Fifteen days later at 2 a.m., Fielding’s mother received a call that Gonker had been found eating from trash cans at a ski resort in Wintergreen, Virginia, 111 miles away from home. Fielding drove to retrieve him. The touching story inspired Fielding’s brother-in-law, Pauls Toutonghi, to write a book called Dog Gone: A Lost Pet’s Extraordinary Journey and the Family Who Brought Him Home. The book has been optioned and sold to Netflix, Pauls told Better You.
