Most local animal control officers carry scanners and their home office has even better ones.
I rescued a poor stray, older dog, recently during some cold wet rain.
The animal control officer ran his wand over the poor critter after we got him into a cage box on the truck.
The officer knew that the poor critter had a scan/microchip. His scan didn’t let us know the dog’s owner, tele and home address.
At the office, they located the dog’s masters via a better chip reader. The owners picked up the dog in less than a hour.
The officer said if I hadn’t put towels around the lost dog and called animal control, the dog would not have recovered. It was cold and damp that morning.
We still have no idea. How a blind dog could end up about a mile away from its home and not be killed by traffic. He crossed at least 3 busy roads.
Dogs don’t really have that great of eyesight, with the exception of Sight Hounds and they navigate the world primarily by smell.
I’ve seen lots of “reunited pets” videos where the dog didn’t recognize the owner until it was close enough to catch the owner’s scent.
The world is blue/green/yellow and blurry to dogs but their noses are miracles.
Sounds like your found pup was a one lucky dog.
:)