Woman calls dog’s owner after checking for microchip. She can’t believe what he tells her: ‘I can’t put him in a shelter’

A woman found a dog wandering around in the middle of the street. So she picked him up, took him to a veterinarian, found his microchip, and contacted his supposed owner. But she says the person she finally reached didn’t have a dog. Or at the very least, they didn’t want the small, elderly pooch she found back.

TikToker @analyticalsunshine posted a video that received more than 10,000 views. In it, she tells her audience how she ended up adopting a new dog after a series of attempts to return him.

‘Just Waddling Along’

Sunshine says that while driving during a routine grocery trip, she noticed a “tiny dog just waddling along.”

She says she made an illegal turn to collect the dog. “I’m not gonna let the little dog run into the street,” she says.

According to her, the dog seemed amenable to getting picked up. The tiny pooch “ran into [her] arms” after she called him one time.

Afterward, she decided to take all of the necessary precautions.

“I drove around the neighborhood nearby with my son to see if someone was searching for him. I asked a neighbor walking a dog and she said she did not recognize him at all,” Sunshine says to Subplot News. “So I did all the right things. Posted him on paw post, chip scanned, posted him on a few Facebook pages and next door.”

She checked to see whether the dog had a chip. And as it turned out, he did. She learned two different names for the dog—Lorenzo and Pluto. She also received a number to call. So she decided to plan a reunion.

Only, that’s not what ended up happening.

A Call to the Owner Reveals More Questions Than Answers

Sunshine says that she called the dog’s supposed owner. But they weren’t missing a dog. Nor did they seemingly want one.

“I get ahold of the owner ’cause [of] the chip number. Say, ‘Do you have a dog, Lorenzo, who’s missing?’ Chip owner says, ‘No. No. I don’t know a dog named Lorenzo. I’m not missing a dog. No, not my dog,’” she says. “A little weird considering you’re the one that the chip is connected to.”

In a comment to Subplot News, Sunshine adds, “[For] the second number [associated with ‘Pluto’] the chip company has reached out to a few times and still no reply. I don’t know if he was abandoned, or if his chip was out of date.”

Regardless, she realized that contacting an owner for her new, tiny friend would be fruitless. On top of that, she realized that a shelter likely wouldn’t provide the dog with a positive experience.

“I find out he’s eight years old, so I can’t put him in a shelter,” she says. She decided to take Lorenzo in.

How Is Lorenzo Doing?

In a follow-up, she gives her audience an update on Lorenzo. She says that no one has come forward to claim the dog. Where she lives, an owner has to claim their pet within 14 days. Abandonment law, however, varies depending on the state.

She also says that he’s in “good hands now,” even though he’s going to need some care moving forward. Namely, she says Lorenzo might need dental work and hip surgery—both of which she’s willing to provide.

Sunshine discussed Lorenzo’s condition when she found him. “When we got him his pinky nails were so overgrown they were going to pierce his paw, so I trimmed those,” she tells Subplot News. “He slept for [three] days straight. I then took him to a vet … The vet gave me pain meds but we will be scheduling a surgery soon. Whoever had him was not doing a great job caring for him.”

She also says that her whole family has fallen in love with Lorenzo.

“When I took him home my kids were instantly smitten. I have another dog who is my third baby and she and Lorenzo seemed to get along just fine. He seemed so helpless and I couldn’t bring myself to put him back into a shelter,” she says to Subplot News. “I felt this instant sense of protection.”

She explains that Lorenzo feels like a natural addition to her family.

“He likes to be with my son and follows us around everywhere,” she adds in her video. “Who knows? Maybe it was meant to be.”