11-Year-Old Pomeranian Reunited With Owner Who Saved Up to Buy Her as a Little Girl

(INSIDE EDITION) Lauren Johnson was in 7th grade when she scrimped and saved to buy the pooch who'd become known as Tessie.

The two were inseparable for the next 10 years, until circumstances beyond Lauren's control forced her to let Tessie live with a friend's family while she was in college.

Sadly, the family who took care of Tessie decided to move from where Lauren lived in California to Florida.

Lauren was left with big decision and chose to give Tessie a stable home--albeit a continent away in the Sunshine State.

"Imagine her shock when she received a call from Hillsborough County Pet Resource Center (HCPRC) saying that Tessie had been found wandering alone on a Tampa highway and a microchip scan showed Lauren was still the registered owner," the Humane Society of Tampa Bay wrote on its website in a chronicle of Tessie and Lauren's journeys.

Frantic to get Tessie back--and fortunately now able to take in a pet--Lauren contacted officials in Florida after her calls to the family in whose care Tessie was supposed to be went unanswered.

"We are thrilled that she will get to be reunited with her beloved human and that the two will spend the rest of their days together," the Human Society said.

After a struggle to get out to Florida to collect Tessie, Lauren finally made it this weekend. Now, thanks to one little microchip and a whole lot of love, the two are back together headed to California to catch up.

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