EASTPOINTE, Mich. (WXYZ) — A cat missing for more than two years is back home in Eastpointe — and a microchip made the reunion possible.
Pandora's owner, Jessica Guza, had long given up hope of ever seeing her cat again.
"I had given up all hope of ever seeing her again," Guza said.
Guza had gone to great lengths to find Pandora after she went missing.
"I had a whole search party looking for her, I made lost cat posters, the reward was $300," Guza said.
Then, recently, a neighbor found Pandora and brought her home. Guza got the call while she was away.
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"My boyfriend called me afterwards and he was like the 313 number that just called you need to call them, they found Pandora and I was just like what. I was in complete shock, I couldn't believe it. I started crying," Guza said.
The reunion was made possible by a microchip Pandora had been implanted with. Microchips are not GPS trackers, but when a lost pet ends up at a shelter or with an animal control officer, the chip can be scanned to help identify where the animal belongs.
Guza says the experience reinforced how important it is for pet owners to check found animals for microchips.
"It's so important that when people find an animal that they try to go get them checked for microchips and any vet office will do it. There's also a 24/7 microchip station at the Eastpointe Animal Control Shelter," Guza said.
Eastpointe Animal Control Officer Ashley Sanchez is pushing pet owners across the region to get their animals microchipped. In Eastpointe, it is now required.
"In Eastpointe we're thankful that an ordinance where now it's mandatory for cats and dogs here, as of April 2026, so people are keeping in compliance, but for everybody else outside of Eastpointe, I hope they do learn from something this simple," Sanchez said.
Sanchez says the stakes are real for pets that end up in shelters without a chip.
"Seeing dogs like this in the shelter, it breaks your heart because they just don't know what's going on but if they had a microchip we wouldn't even take them to the shelter we would just take them right back home," Sanchez said.
That point was driven home during a visit with Sanchez Wednesday, when she helped reunite another lost dog with its owner. Roivette Byrd's 5-year-old dog, Kobe, had been missing for almost three weeks. He was not microchipped.
"Kobe is that you? Yeah, that's my baby. Oh my gosh thank you so much, thank you so much. Oh lord I've been looking all over for you," Byrd said at the reunion.
When asked whether the experience changed her perspective on microchipping, Byrd did not hesitate.
"Oh yeah, yeah," Byrd said.
Kobe was microchipped on Wednesday.
"Microchips are the only thing that is going to help us get max back to you or any other dog or cat for that matter," Sanchez said.
Sanchez also urges pet owners who already have microchipped animals to make sure their contact information is current. A chip can only help reunite a pet with its owner if the registration information is up to date.
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