Kristy Taylor, an avid animal lover since childhood, has lots of pets, including three dogs and two cats. But she still missed her dog Penny, a chihuahua-dachshund mix who had wandered away from home five years ago.
The Mississippi woman had been gifted Penny by a family friend, and when the little dog, then about a year old, went missing, Taylor tried to find her. But as the years passed, she gave up hope of ever seeing her again. Maybe, she thought, Penny had “moved on with a new family.”
So when Volusia County Animal Services called Taylor last week to say Penny had been found in Central Florida, she at first didn’t believe it.
“I had the shelter send me a picture of Penny to just verify that we had the right dog,” Taylor said. “Because after so much time had passed, I thought this may be a mistake… but it was Penny!”
Mississippi woman Kristy Taylor was reunited Wednesday, October 29, 2025, with her lost dog Penny after spending over five years apart thanks to the help of two DeLand residents and Volusia County Animal Services. (Courtesy of Volusia County)
DeLand couple Briana Rideout and Daniel Lenoci found Penny about a week earlier on the road outside their home.
Rideout said Penny happened to stop by the perfect house — the couple are also animal lovers, with four cats, two ferrets, a leopard gecko and a ball python.
Though Rideout didn’t want any more pets, she took in Penny worried about her safety since another dog previously had been run over and killed outside her home.
“After I saw her dodge the two cars, I was telling myself ‘I have enough animals. I don’t want another animal. What am I going to do with her?’”, she said. “I realize I have to do something, or she’s just going to get hit in front of my house.”
The couple, assuming Penny lived nearby, went door to door, hung up flyers and posted on social media to try and find the dog’s owner. No one came forward.
DeLand couple Briana Rideout and Daniel Lenoci found Penny and brought her to a shelter, where staff located her microchip and contacted Taylor. (Courtesy of Volusia County)
After a week, the couple took Penny to the county shelter seeking advice on what to do. Staff determined Penny was microchipped, and scanning the microchip showed Penny was registered to an address in Lucedale, Mississippi.
A staff member called the phone number associated with the microchip, and Taylor answered.
When Taylor told them Penny’s name, Volusia staff members tried it out and “her ears perked up and her tail began to wag. That unmistakable reaction confirmed what everyone on the phone was hoping for — Penny was finally found,” the agency said in a statement.
Taylor, who is a nurse, drove nearly nine hours overnight to DeLand to reunite with Penny on Oct. 29, where she also thanked Rideout and Lenoci for taking care of her.
Taylor was “very, very grateful,” and “Penny was very happy to be back in her arms. Recognized her name, and the lady was just over the moon,” Rideout said.
“She was so ready to take her baby home. She had three other dogs, so, you know, she’s a dog mom. She’s going to be just fine,” she added.
Taylor picked up Penny and then drove for nearly another nine hours back home and had to work her nursing shift the next day. She’d do it again to get her dog back, she said.
It’s not clear how Penny made her first, 520-mile journey from Lucedale to DeLand.
Back in Mississippi, Taylor said Penny reunited with the other animals in the household and met a dog who’d joined the family after her disappearance. They are all getting along well.
“They just went right back to their old behavior, and her new sister just licked her and loved on her. They’ve just been playing so well together,” she said.
The happy ending comes with a public service announcement, according to Volusia animal services.
“Every reunion like this reinforces why microchipping is so important,” said Director Angela Miedema in a statement. “We see time and again how this simple tool can turn heartbreak into joy — and that’s why we encourage every owner to make sure their pet is chipped and registered.”
