Liz Carter says the microchip planted under the skin of 7-year-old Pepper alerted a St. Petersburg, Fla., veterinarian to the fact that Pepper was a long, long way from home, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported Monday.

It seems Pepper wandered into Jay Getman's travel agency one afternoon last month and Getman took him to a vet to be checked out.

The Carter family said they had given up hope of seeing see Pepper again and had even adopted another dog.

When Carter got the call from Getman she said she was stunned that Pepper had traveled all the way to St. Petersburg from Buckhead, Ga.

"I was speechless," Carter told the Journal-Constitution. "I didn't know what to do first."

Carter drove to Florida and took Pepper home.