Trixie, a Maltese dog, was missing for two and a half years. The dog, now 13 years old, had just undergone surgery in 2015 and wasn't having any part of the medication she needed at the time. The dog managed to get loose from her home in Bowling Green, Kentucky. Trixie's owner, Tammy Crews, searched for the dog frantically. She posted flyers all around town offering a reward and knocked on neighbors' doors to get them involved in the search for Trixie. 

One neighbor told The Bowling Green Daily News that at the time, it almost seemed like “Trixie actually just dropped off the face of the Earth.” Trixie's family nearly lost hope of seeing their precious dog again until they got a surprising call from an animal shelter in California. 

Trixie, who had a microchip, was spotted wandering in a Wal-Mart parking lot in Turlock, California, which is over 2,200 miles from Bowling Green, Kentucky! The dog was found malnourished and with matted hair and was taken to Turlock Animal Services. At the vet, employee Glena Jackson called several phone numbers linked to the microchip. The first phone number was actually linked to the family's old home phone and failed to work, but luckily, there was another phone number that linked to the family's veterinarian. 

Jackson drove two hours to Sacramento, California to board Trixie on a plane for Nashville, Tennessee, where Tammy Crews and her family picked her up on Saturday. It was an emotional reunion for the Crews family and their beloved dog Trixie. The Maltese scratched at the bars of the cage she was in and as soon as the airport employee opened the cage, she rushed to Tammy embracing her with kisses. 

Now, Trixie is happily settling back in nicely into her old home with Tammy, her husband, Thad, and their son. The family's other dogs also welcomed her back without hesitation.