Philadelphia woman reunites with pitbull stolen from backyard 10 years ago

A stray senior pitbull’s microchip ended an 11-year search that began in Philadelphia’s Mayfair section, sending Jourdyn Koviack to a reunion she first thought was a prank. Forty, also identified in coverage as Forty-Cal, was stolen from the family’s backyard in 2015 and turned up again only after a Good Samaritan reported him to ACCT Philly.

Shelter staff scanned the dog and found that the microchip information was still current. That detail, along with the family’s active lost-pet report, allowed officers to reach Koviack quickly, even though she and her family now live in Luzerne County, Pennsylvania. The dog was found Saturday night, March 21, 2026, and the reunion took place the next day, on Sunday, March 22, 2026.

The case shows how pet recovery often depends less on luck than on basic systems that many owners overlook. An updated microchip, an intake scan at the city’s animal care and control team, and a missing-pet report that stayed open for years gave ACCT Philly a path to identify an animal that might otherwise have remained an unclaimed stray. Some accounts say Forty had been seen outside for about two weeks before he was taken in.

Koviack bought Forty in 2011 with money she saved at age 16, long before the dog disappeared from the family’s yard. Some reports say two dogs were taken that day and that the other dog was eventually recovered. More than a decade later, Forty is said to be about 13 or 14 years old, and one report says he is battling stage 3 kidney disease, making the reunion as much a medical moment as an emotional one. The family said they hope he can live out his remaining time with comfort.

Their story has become a reminder of how much depends on paperwork, databases and follow-through. When pet owners keep identification records current, shelters can turn a stray intake into a homecoming years after a theft, even across county lines.