A Daphne family is encouraging dog owners to get their pets microchipped after their Coton de Tulear was reunited with them Monday, nearly two years after the pooch disappeared.

Leroy left the Elleard family’s home in Daphne in May 2021. Search efforts to find the Coton de Tulear proved unsuccessful.

Until Monday, when Daphne Animal Control officers responded to a call of two stray dogs, one of which was Leroy, whose gray and white fur was heavily matted after nearly two years as a stray.

“We still cant believe he is home!” Karen Elleard said on the Daphne Animal Shelter’s post on the family’s reunion with Leroy. “We are so grateful for the kind soul who let him and his buddy spend the night and called the City of Daphne Animal Shelter and now we have our buddy home!! And yes , microchips do work! Do it and you will not regret!”

The Elleards took Leroy to a veterinarian, where he was given a clean bill of health except for a “minor ear infection.”

“Amazing,” Karen Elleard said.

The shelter suggested it may have been difficult finding Leroy’s owners had the dog not been microchipped.

“We can’t begin to stress the importance of microchipping your pets!!! Even if your pets are always inside or never outside unsupervised. Accidents can happen! Collars or ID tags can break off! But a microchip? There’s no shaking off that little bit of hardware!,” the shelter said.

“A microchip could end up being the only thing stopping your pet from ending up, unclaimed, at an Animal Control facility! Microchip your pets!!! And give a big hooray for Leroy finally being reunited with his family!!!”