Man who self-deported to Mexico reunited with dog he left behind in Chicago

A Chicago area man who said he had to make a tough decision and self-deport to Mexico also had to leave behind his beloved pet in the process, and a local rescue organization worked to reunite the pair.

Daniel Torres' dog, Coffee, arrived at Chicago Animal Care and Control in February, and officials there reached out to an organization called Microchip Hunters.

"They submitted that chip to us because the microchip number led to an owner with a phone number that was disconnected," said Microchip Hunters director Jeanette Garlow. "Our volunteer, Cheryl, did a great job. She ended up finding the owner of Coffee on Facebook, and he let her know that he had to go back to Mexico."

Coffee was then taken to Border Tails Rescue in Northbrook, an organization that has deep connections between Chicagoland and Mexico.

"I started it to help bring dogs from Mexico," said Border Tails executive director Harleigh Garcia.

She said, once Microchip Hunters reached out about coffee, "we were going to figure out how we could help."

"Our partners, Dogtimus Prime, they were like, 'No problem. We'll definitely take him back with us,'" Garcia said.

Coffee then went on a week-long journey to New York, Canada, and Mexico, where he was reunited with Torres.

"I'm very happy to have him with me," Torres said in Spanish in a video call from Mexico.

Torres said, because of his immigration status, the anxiety and fear of the federal government's mass deportation efforts pushed him to make the difficult decision to return to Mexico and leave Coffee behind, worried they might be separated in the process.

But Torres said he's grateful groups were able to make a reunion possible.

"Coffee has changed my life so much," Torres said.

Now reunited, he said his canine companion will keep bringing him joy.