A Southern California dog owner has been reunited with her stolen pooch — but the dog is now a completely different color.
Heather Lowery, of Inland Empire, was overjoyed when she discovered her missing mutt had been identified via a microchip after being found wandering the streets by animal control workers.
However she had to do a double take when she went to the San Jacinto Valley Animal Campus Thursday, because her once-blond pit bull puppy Coco had been dyed a distinct shade of coal by the thieves.
"She actually recognized me when I went in there to verify it was her," Lowery said. "She shakes her whole body as if she were Pluto basically, and she did it again today. She jumped right on (me) and took pictures with me."
The 8-month-old pit bull had disappeared from her yard in San Jacinto during Thanksgiving week, and Lowery was delighted to be finally reunited with her dog.
She had only adopted Coco, whose name was misspelled in an earlier version of this story, in November, and she was identified because all adopted pets from county shelters are automatically microchipped.
