No one will ever know how a pit bull named Legacy ended up in another city, more than a year after jumping the fence of her owner's Panama City Beach home.
By the looks of her, the 2-year-old dog spent at least some of that time being fed lots of table scraps.
"She's a sweetie," said Panhandle Animal Welfare Society animal control officer Tracy Saylor. "Very heavy. I couldn't even pick her up."
Thursday, the stout young dog was reunited with her owner, Bridget Corbin, thanks to a microchip. A scan led animal control officers right to Corbin.
The dog, who appears to have injured her right rear leg or hip, lay in the back seat of Corbin's car.
"Hey baby," Corbin said to her. "Are you ready to go home?"
After Legacy and her 4-month old son jumped the fence and disappeared last spring, Corbin searched the neighborhood, posted flyers and put notifications on Craigslist.
She didn't think she'd ever see her again, but kept all of Legacy's "baby stuff," including her leash, harness and bed.
"She walked right up to me, knew her name," Corbin said. "Microchips are awesome. That's the best money I've ever spent on the dog."
Animal control officers said that too often, owners pay for their dogs to be microchipped, but fail to follow through and register. The device is useless unless it tracks to an owner who can be notified.
A reddish female beagle mix from the Gulf Port, Miss area, who lost her home after Hurricane Katrina, is still waiting at PAWS for someone to claim her.
She has a microchip, but it's not registered. An officer picked her up after getting reports of her hanging out at Dollar General in Seminole for two weeks.
Contact Daily News Staff Writer Wendy Victora at 850-315-4478 or wvictora@nwfdailynews.com. Follow her on Twitter @WendyVnwfdn.
