A dog missing since 2014 in Arkansas was found over 1,500 miles away in Southern California.
A passerby was able to call Liam, a 3-year-old husky mix, to them until he was taken by officers to Inland Valley Humane Society.
The humane society's office manager, Jim Edwards, said shelter staff was surprised when they saw the information on Liam's microchip
"He's extremely lucky," Edwards told KNBC. "He's lucky he had a microchip in him, and lucky that the owner had registered the chip, which gave us all the information to contact the owner with their name, phone number and address."
The owner, whose address was connected to Liam's microchip was Billy Payne. He was happy to hear Liam was found, but he did not have the $750 it would cost to bring him back to Arkansas.
So the Inland Valley Humane Society said it would accept donations to make the reunion happen.
But the donations seemed to bring forward multiple families claiming Liam was their pet, according to IVHS.
In a statement on its facebook page, the Inland Valley Humane Society said multiple families coming forward was "unforeseen" by the organization.
"Before IVHS could fly Liam home to Arkansas, a local family stepped forward. IVHS put a halt on Liam's flight so we could sort what information was factual," the organization said. "Because of the information that developed, which we cannot fully disclose, the Payne family in Arkansas decided to put the dog's interest ahead of anything else and ultimately decided to forego bringing him back to their home in Arkansas.
"We applaud the Payne Family for caring about the dog's current well-being so much so that they were willing to let go of any chance of being reunited with him. Getting Liam into a loving home as soon as possible was the most important thing for the Payne Family."
Inland Valley Humane Society & S.P.C.A. said it would issue refunds to those who donated to support Liam's transportation.
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