Oct. 29 (UPI) — A stray dog picked up by a Florida police officer was reunited with his owner 7 years after going missing during a burglary.<\/p>\n
Gabrielle Hartley said her dog, Luca, was missing from her Tampa apartment when she arrived home from work at 4 a.m. in 2018 and found her front door had been kicked in by a burglar.\n<\/p>\n
Hartley was contacted 7 years later by microchip company PetKey and learned Luca had been found.<\/p>\n
The Tampa Police Department said on social media<\/a> that an officer had found Luca wandering loose in the road.<\/p>\n “Officer Bishop spotted this friendly pup wandering alone and as soon as he opened his patrol car door, Luca jumped in knowing he was saved,” the post said.<\/p>\n Luca was taken to Animal Doctors of South Tampa, where he was scanned for a microchip and Hartley was identified as his owner.\n<\/p>\n Hartley said she suspects Luca was taken to be used for breeding and was abandoned when his health issues started to mount.<\/p>\n “He had a UTI, blood infection, broken teeth from probably trying to escape a cage, broken claws, defensive marks all over his body. He’s only like 38 pounds for a full-grown male dog, that’s not even close to healthy,” Hartley told Tampa Bay 28.<\/a><\/p>\n