Lost dog found in Yunlin after owner offers NT$500,000 reward

Taipei, May 26 (CNA) An elderly lost dog has been found in Yunlin County, days after its owner drew national media attention by offering a NT$500,000 (US$15,873) reward for its return.

The owner, surnamed Chen (陳), posted a notice online on Sunday, saying the mixed-breed dog she has owned for 12 years went missing during a visit to her husband's family in Yunlin's Erlun Township.

The lost dog poster, which was circulated on Threads, Line and Facebook, said Chen was offering NT$500,000 for the return of her pet, a 12-kilogram, black and white female called "Chen Mei-chi."

On Tuesday morning, the dog turned up in a neighbor's yard about 800 meters away from Chen's relatives' home in Sanhe Village.

The man in his 60s who found the dog, surnamed Liao (廖), said his son had noticed it running around nearby and taken a picture to confirm its identity. Not long after, it ran into their yard and he contacted Chen, he said.

Liao said that as "neighbors" of sorts -- his daughter was a childhood classmate of Chen's husband -- he did not want to accept the full NT$500,000 reward, though he would be willing to take a small amount as a "token of appreciation."

While overjoyed to be reunited with her dog, Chen said getting the word out to the public about her lost dog also had a negative side.

During the two-day search, Chen received "hundreds" of fraud telephone calls and messages, including some with AI-generated images, claiming to have found her dog, while others accused her of fabricating the story, she said.