Twinkie’s Microchip Successfully Reunites Her Family

Animal-lover Ann Burkhardt from Downey, CA, proves that not all superheros wear capes. She and her husband have rescued countless animals and fostered them back to health. There’s nothing more rewarding than reuniting a pet with their owner, which she managed to do for Twinkie – thanks to her microchip.

It was 11 a.m. on a Friday when a collarless dog showed up in the flowerbed at Ann’s husband’s store. Between Ann at home (with a large trash dump nearby), and her husband at his shop in Compton, they have witnessed dozens of animals being let go and abandoned.

Fortunately, Ann and her husband don’t just stand by and watch. So, when Twinkie was spotted by a coworker, Ann’s husband was prepared with food and water for the scared dog.

When Ann heard the news that a lost dog was found at the shop, she and her husband agreed to bring the pup to their home.

The Burkhardts have four other dogs and two cats (all of which are rescues), so they decided to let Twinkie have the backyard to herself while she adjusted to her new surroundings.

Though she first seemed nervous and timid, she rolled around and regained some confidence once she reached the backyard. After downing more food and water, Twinkie pulled a pillow off a patio chair and immediately fell asleep on her new bed.

Since Twinkie didn’t have any visible form of identification, Ann brought her over to her 24-hour vet office to get scanned for a microchip.

There was good news and bad news: Twinkie had a microchip, but it wasn’t registered to anyone. They did know that it was a Spay4LA chip, but that’s as much as they could figure out. By this time, it was 10 p.m., and they didn’t seem to have a way to find her proper home.

The vet assistant gave Ann a list of numbers and websites to check for Twinkie’s registration, and the two headed back home.

The devoted dog-lover spent the night searching the different websites listed for Twinkie’s microchip registration. Finally, she received the good news she was hoping for: Twinkie was registered and had been found! 

Later that day, Ann received a phone call from Twinkie’s caregiver Lucy and her mom, who informed Ann that Twinkie had been missing for the past eight days and was nine miles from home!

“Lucy had told me that she was so sick with worry, she didn’t eat for 2 days straight and ended up in the hospital,” Ann said.

Twinkie’s family was so distressed, they prayed for her return every day and published numerous “lost dog” posts all over social media.

It was 6 p.m. Saturday evening when Twinkie’s parents finally showed up to Ann’s home.

“It was the happiest dog rescue I’ve ever had,” Ann recalled. “Lucy and her mom would not stop thanking me. They were ecstatic.”

Twinkie couldn’t have been happier, either. The young dog kept bouncing all over the place, licking her owners, and jumping for joy.

“Her personality really came out once she got her people back,” Ann said.

Thanks to Ann and the rest of the Burkhardt family, Twinkie was reunited with her family after a long journey away from home. Ann has cared for so many lost pets, she was overjoyed to finally see a happy reunion. But she couldn’t have done it alone!

“The microchip is wonderful – it’s definitely worth it,” she said. “Register your pet’s microchip! […]Think of how many happy reunions there could be if these microchips are registered the right way.”

To see the recorded reunion of Twinkie with her people, click here.