Yorkie missing for 4 years set to return to owners in Virginia

KINGWOOD, Texas (KTRK) -- Four years ago, and about 1,400 miles away from Kingwood, a teacup Yorkie slipped out of an open door into an unfamiliar world. Her owner has yet to see her since that day.

She soon will.

Coco vanished in 2013 from the home of Carlos Valdes's mother.

"She was a Mother's Day gift to my mom, and she meant the world to her," he said from Virginia Beach, Virginia. "We put up posters and desperately looked for her for more than a year."

Fast forward to last Friday on FM 494 in Kingwood. In the middle of traffic, a woman saw the four-pound terrier, and plucked her from almost certain death.

She was given to a rescuer from Twyla's Friends, who took the tiny dog to Glade Water Veterinary Clinic, where it was scanned for a microchip. After several phone calls, the information revealed the Yorkie was registered in Virginia Beach.

"If she could talk, she could tell a real story," said Maria Langford, of Twyla's Friends. "Instead, the microchip did it for her."

Her name is Coco, said Valdes. "I believe someone found her and couldn't let her go. I guess they moved to Texas, and took her with them."

Coco apparently was lost again, but that will lead to a long-awaited reunion with her original owner. Langford's husband kindly donated airline miles to fly a friend from Virginia to Houston. She will carry Coco with her back to Virginia, where she'll be turned over to the Valdes family.

"It should remind every pet owner to have their animal micro-chipped, and then register the pet with the microchip company," she said. Without the registration, there would have been no way to contact Coco's owner."

The timing for the reunion is near-perfect as well. Mother's Day is coming up, and Mrs. Valdes will have her gift, on four tiny legs, safely home.

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