Chicago family's beloved dog found injured in Kankakee 2.5 years after he went missing: 'A miracle'

CHICAGO (WLS) -- The worst fear for a pet owner is their beloved four-legged friend being hurt or going missing.

A Chicago family lost their dog two and a half years ago, but they never gave up.

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Since he was a kid, Joel Saucedo wanted an American bulldog. He saved his money and got the puppy he dreamed of when he was 19.

Pezkoi was part of the family, but he got out of his yard on the Northwest Side.

"It was heartbreaking. My mom was sad. I was sad. It was really devastating," Saucedo said. "We lost a family member. We posted him everywhere. We made signs. We posted him on websites."

"I was heartbroken, because he's like our baby," said Yolanda Chilson, Saucedo's mother.

Last week, Chilson got a call from Kankakee Animal Control, thanks to contact information on the dog's microchip.

They were reunited, finally!

"I felt like a little kid in a candy store. I was the happiest person alive. It was a miracle," Saucedo said.

"I fell to the floor, 'Pezkoi, Pezkoi,'" Chilson said. "Oh, I was happy, happy, happy."

"A microchip really got that dog home," said LostDogsIL Co-Director Jeanette Garlow.

LostDogsIL was among the sites that had a post about Pezkoi. Garlow says keeping the information updated on a pet's microchip can lead to a happy ending for the pet and pet owner.

"You don't know if your dog is going to be picked up and taken to another county, another town, another state," Garlow said.

"I wake up every day just to see if he's still here, and he's here. He's really here. It's a good feeling to have my dog back," Saucedo said.

Now, Saucedo has a GoFundMe to help care for injuries and damage to Pezkoi's mouth. They may never know what happened or how Pezkoi got 59 miles away.

But they are grateful Pezkoi is home, and they urge all pet owners to keep their pet's microchip information up to date.

Now is the time to microchip your pet if you haven't, or update your pet's registration if you've changed numbers.

LostDogsIL volunteers tell us spring storms, summer activities, and fireworks lead to more lost pets this time of year.