Man finds missing dog after 5 years

INDIANAPOLIS (WTHI) - An Indianapolis-area man has been reunited with his missing dog after five long years apart.

This happened Friday night at an adoption center at Washington Square Mall. The center is run by Retails: a non-for-profit organization dedicated to ending the killing of animals in shelters.

The center said they rescued the dog from an animal control station in New Castle.

When the center scanned the dog, they found a microchip registered to someone in Greenfield.

The man was immediately contacted by the shelter and confirmed that the dog was his dog.

The man arrived to the center within 10 minutes of the call and cried tears of joy when he was reunited with his Shih Tzu, Bandit. A crowd of witnesses said they were moved by the scene.

The man says he got Bandit 10 years ago, when the puppy was no bigger than the man's palm.

One day, Bandit was playing outside, escaped and was last seen being picked up by an unknown man in a car.

Despite having the license plate of the vehicle, the man never got in contact with the driver of the vehicle.

Now, five years later, the two are reunited, and just in time for Christmas.