CUMRU TOWNSHIP, Pa. — They say dog is man's best friend. For one man in Texas, losing his best friend, 7-year-old "Geno," when she ran off was heart-wrenching. Then 9 months later, he got the call that she'd been found all the way in Pennsylvania.
As yet another winter storm pounded Pennsylvania, Juan Mendez says flying north, he had only one thing on his mind. "I just wanted to be with her, wanted to pet her, take her home," Mendez told WFMZ.
"We left her outside, just like we usually do, you know, go use the potty. Came back outside, she was not there," recalled Mendez. Geno ran off in Mendez's Fort Worth neighborhood and was eventually picked up by another family.
That family since moved to Pennsylvania, never realizing their supposedly stray pet belonged to someone else.
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"First dog, through college actually so moving away, I was by myself. She was my buddy. She's been there every step of the way," said Mendez.
Mendez says he never gave up hope of finding his buddy. "Kept going back and forth between, every time I would come home, I would take a different route, just scouting the neighborhood, just seeing if by any case somebody happened to be walking her, or if she was nearby."
This week, he got his wish. It wasn't until Geno's new family took her to the vet that they found out she has a microchip.
Reading police then contacted Mendez about his lost dog being halfway across the country at the Animal Rescue League in Cumru Township.
After seeing the two reunited, Tom Hubric of the Animal Rescue League said, "It's really touching, really emotional for the staff, helps us validate why we do what we do."
"I was really shocked, because it's a long way up here. My first reaction was like, 'Oh my gosh, Geno hates, she hates the cold. She doesn't like the cold at all.' I just had to come get her, just had to come get her," said Mendez.
Mendez says that he had her microchipped very young, and he credits that with helping him to find his long-lost best friend. "It's a must for all dogs. I'm just really thankful for everyone who helped getting us up here."
The reunited family now has long drive home, away from the cold and snow. They say they're ready to pick up right where they left off.