LAS VEGAS — Judith Monarrez crumpled onto her kitchen floor and wept when the news arrived in an email: Gizmo, her pet dog missing for nine years, had been found alive.
Monarrez was 28 and living with her parents in 2015 when Gizmo, then 2 years old, slipped past a faulty gate in the backyard of their home in Las Vegas.
The decade that followed brought a lot of change. Monarrez, now 37, moved into her own home, earned a master’s degree in English, and began her teaching career in higher education. But throughout the years, Monarrez said, she never stopped trying to find Gizmo.
In this image provided by Judith Monarrez, her pet dog Gizmo is seen cradled in her arms, Sunday, July 21, 2024. Monarrez was reunited with the dog on July 17, 2024, more than nine years after it went missing in Las Vegas. (Judith Monarrez via AP)
Now, she was climbing into her car to drive across town to meet Gizmo at an animal hospital. Monarrez was later told that a woman had found the now 11-year-old dog and dropped him off at the vet, where they scanned his microchip, triggering the email notification that sent Monarrez to her knees, crying.
