ID chip helps woman locate terrier after 8 years

Illinois woman raising money to bring dog back from Hawaii

An Avid microchip is responsiible for reuniting an elderly Boston Terrier with her long-lost owner, who was was seperated from the dog during the breakup of a relationship. The dog is now in Hawaii and her owner is in Illinois and is trying to raise funds to get her home.

Sheryl Jans is planning for the reunion of a lifetime with her long-lost dog, separated from her eight years ago during the breakup of a relationship.

Ms. Jans didn’t think she’d ever see Koki again. But then came the call from a friend last Thursday.

“She said she’d gotten a call from Avid microchip company and that Koki had been turned into the humane society in Hawaii,” Ms. Jans said. “At first I didn’t believe her; I said, ‘Shut up.’ But then I started crying. And I haven’t stopped crying since.”

Ms. Jans, an eighth-grade English teacher in Round Lake Beach, Ill., has started a fund-raiser on the Web site GiveForward to raise funds to transport Koki from Hawaii to Illinois.

The flight will have to wait until September because short-nosed dogs such as Koki, who is an 11-year-old Boston terrier, are not allowed to fly during warm weather because the animals would have difficulty breathing.

“Unless I can find a private company to get her home, I guess 10 weeks will be my waiting time,” she said.

Ms. Jans is looking forward to seeing the dog again. When she was younger, she used to baby-sit her nephew, and he still remembers the little dog.

“My sister showed Tyler a pic of Koki and asked if he remembered her. He said it was Auntie Sheryl’s dog,” Ms. Jans said. “There is something to be said for the impact she has had on my life, and I never stopped loving or wondering about her. Fate has brought her back.”

As it turns out, the good Samaritan who took the dog to the Hawaii Island Humane Society in Kona was actually the mother of Ms. Jans’ former partner.

“I don’t know what is going on, but there’s no way they are getting her back if they change their mind,” Ms. Jans said. “I found out that my ex has actually been missing for six months. I just want to get my dog back. I want her to be with someone who cares about her.”

The dog, who had an object stuck in her paw, needed vet care, and Ms. Jans arranged for a shelter employee to take the dog to a local vet. After that, she was able to find a local rescue person to agree to foster the dog until Ms. Jans can make arrangements to fly her back to Illinois.

“This lady is the kindest lady in the world,” said Ms. Jans, who declined to reveal the woman’s identity for confidentiality reasons. “The shelter people also were so good. They drove her to the vet without hesitation.”

To make a donation to help get Koki home, go to tinyurl.com/​GetKokiHome.

Contact Tanya Irwin at: tirwin@theblade.com, 419-724-6066, or on Twitter @TanyaIrwin.