Dog missing 7 years from Florida found in Mississippi

By Michaila Franklin

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    RANKIN COUNTY, Mississippi (WAPT) — A microchip helped identify a dog found in Rankin County that had been missing since 2014 from Florida.

Kelly Weissinger found the little Maltese in the Easthaven subdivision and posted photos in the group “Rankin County, MS Lost and Found Pets ONLY” on Facebook. The dog was taken to Hometown Veterinary Hospital in Brandon, where veterinarians discovered she had been microchipped, which allowed them to contact the owner, Brigitte Bourgoignie.

“I said, ‘Are you sure?’ They said, ‘Yes. We found your dog,'” Bourgoignie said.

Bourgoignie, who lives in Miami, said seven years ago, she stepped out to the grocery store, and when she returned, her dog, Sissi, was gone. Bourgoignie said Sissi, who is now 14-years-old, was not known to bolt out the door or run away. She said she took Sissi everywhere with her and considered her to be like a best friend.

“She was in a little bit of bad shape. She had a lot of fleas. She had a lot of skin problems. We ran some blood tests on her and she was good,” said Dr. Richard Kirby, with Hometown Veterinary Hospital.

A call was issued for someone to take Sissi from Rankin County to her home in Miami. Brandon Tyler, from North Carolina, was in Arkansas visiting family when he saw a story on a website that helps people connect for transporting pets. Tyler said he lost his cat in 2016, and always hoped someone would bring his cat back, so now he’s helping reunite pets with their owners.

Tyler came to Mississippi and picked Sissi up from the vet Wednesday morning. He said he’s excited to get her back to her owner. Tyler even stopped to buy Sissi a toy to cuddle with during the long ride back to Florida.

“This little girl has been through so much,” Tyler said about Sissi.

Bourgoignie said she has no idea how Sissi got from Florida to Mississippi, or what she’s done during the past seven years. Once she is reunited with Sissi, she plans to spend every possible moment with her. Bourgoignie, a children’s book author, plans to write a book about Sissi and what she imagined her dog did while she was gone.

Bourgoignie is originally from France and said she spoke to Sissi only in French, so she’s curious to see if Sissi will now respond to English.

“I want her to live as long as possible. I’m hoping she will get to live five more years,” Bourgoignie said.

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