Gizmo the Tiny Chihuahua Reunites with Family Nearly a Decade After He Was Reported Missing.

Gizmo is a small Chihuahua who went through quite an ordeal after going missing from his family home, only to be found safe and alive nine years later.

On July 26, 2024, The Guardian shared the story of Gizmo, a sweet Chihuahua who lived in Las Vegas and underwent quite the story. Take a look!

“I broke down in tears. I knew immediately it was him," Judith Monarrez, one of Gizmo's owners, told KTNV News after getting an email that her Chihuahua had been found. "I can’t forget those yellow-amber eyes. I can’t forget them, ever — they’re Gizmo.”

Related: Mom Finds 'Lost' Dog in Most Unlikely Spot After Frantic Search

On February 3, 2015, Gizmo was only two years old when he accidentally got out of the family home along with their other two family dogs. According to the news station, a neighbor was able to grab two of the three dogs who had gotten out of the home but wasn't able to grab Gizmo.

"For years, I posted. I mean, after his disappearance, I posted tons of fliers; I reached out to Facebook groups," Judith told the news station, fearing that someone had taken Gizmo.

"It was horrible. It was heartbreaking. It makes you lose faith in humanity," she added.

Recently, Judith received an email from the microchip company stating that after nine years, someone had dropped Gizmo off at an Animal Emergency Center. After all these years, she was finally reunited with her pup.

“He was severely matted. They had to shave him down," Judith said. "He’s missing a lot of teeth. They told us that he had teeth falling out of his mouth when they dropped him off…severe dental disease, periodontal disease; he had a horrible eye infection."

Although Gizmo needs some love and care from the medical teams, Judith is happy he's home with her, where she can now focus on “showering him with all the love that we were holding on to for all those years.”

“Even though he looked so different, when I looked in his eyes, I knew immediately it was Gizmo,” she shared with The Guardian . “And as soon as I said his name, he tilted his head and he didn’t stop staring at me.”

Adding their GoFundMe , "We are all a little shocked at his condition. I don’t know what Gizmo went through all these years separated from us, but I’m so happy he’s home now, and we can help him heal."

What Is Pet Microchipping?

According to VCA Canada , microchips are small tags about the size of a grain of rice that provide a form of permanent identification for pets.

"The purpose of microchips used for pets is to provide a form of permanent identification. These microchip implants are called radio frequency identification (RFID) tags. They are tiny, about the size of a large grain of rice, and are passive, which means that they passively store a unique identification number and do not actively transmit any information," the site explains.

They're quick to insert, similar to giving an injection or taking blood. "It takes more time to do the registration paperwork than it does to implant the microchip," VCA Canada shares, and it's not painful, though some prefer to have them inserted at the same time as when their pet gets spayed or neutered.