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Gidget comes home: pup found in Oregon due back tonight

Gidget, the wayward Pennsylvania pup found in Oregon, is expected to return to the Philadelphia region on Tuesday night.

Gidget, the wayward Pennsylvania pup found in Oregon, is expected to return to the Philadelphia region on Tuesday night.

The 7-year-old Jack Russell terrier went missing in late April, two days after Easter. She was spotted earlier this month wandering in the Portland suburb of Tualatin. The dog was thin, but in otherwise good shape when brought to the shelter, according to wire reports.

Workers at the Bonnie L. Hays Animal Shelter in Hillsboro found a microchip implanted in the dog and were able to trace her back to her original owners.

The owner -- who has remained anonymous -- told shelter officials she did not have the money to fly out to Oregon to retrieve her dog.

Her plight attracted national attention and an outpouring of generosity.

PetLink, a Woburn, Mass., manufacturer of microchips for animal identification; Pet Travel, Inc., and Washington County Animal Services are combining to reunite Gidget with her owners.

A man also came to the shelter and paid for all of the expenses of caring for the dog, according to the Associated Press.

"We have no idea how she came from Pennsylvania to Oregon, but we are thrilled that she will be going home safe and sound," said Deborah Wood, manager of Animal Services for Washington County.

The dog is expected to arrive about 10:30 p.m. at the United Air Cargo Terminal at Philadelphia International Airport.

"Gidget is going home because her owner did everything right," said Brian Zapach, president of PetLink's parent company, Datamars, Inc. The family kept the current information in the company's database, he said.

mschaefer@phillynews.com

610-313-8111

@MariSchaefer