RACINE - If Max could talk, he'd have a whale of a story to tell.

How he got halfway across the country will remain the 2-year-old Maltese dog's private secret. After disappearing from a Florida home several months ago, Max turned up recently in Chicago.

On Wednesday, Racine's Mary Palmer began the process of reuniting the dog with owner Richard Gonzalez of West Palm Beach, Fla. She heads the nonprofit Northcentral Maltese Rescue which coordinates placement of that breed of dogs across the country.

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The group often deals with abandoned and abused dogs, Palmer said, but this was different. Gonzalez said the dog went missing from his daughter's yard in Brandon, Fla., where she brought Max home for a few weeks to visit her own dogs. He reported it as a pet theft, a crime the American Kennel Club has noticed rising.

"Even if he ran away, he wasn't going to get far. It's a subdivision," Gonzalez said. "Somebody's going to grab him."

To his amazement, Gonzalez found out recently the pooch was located nearly 1,200 miles away. Chicago animal control workers identified Max thanks to an implanted microchip.

Financial pressures and hours at a new job complicated Gonzalez's efforts to get the dog returned home, so he contacted the rescue organization. A volunteer picked up Max from a Chicago shelter and handed the dog off to Palmer.

She trimmed away layers of matted fur Wednesday afternoon, then brought the dog to Belle City Veterinary Hospital, 4701 Spring St. There, veterinarian Brian Ray gave Max the clean bill of health needed to be allowed on a plane.

"At least he looks like he was fed," Palmer said. "He's not emaciated."

Palmer plans to put the dog on a flight Saturday, and other volunteers will transport Max on the final leg home, she said. Gonzalez can't wait.

"I was ready to ask her, 'Can you put him on the phone?'" Gonzalez said.

The rescue organization has a Web site at http://www.malteserescue.homestead.com.

The American Kennel Club offers tips to reduce the chances of dog theft. Among them:

- Don't leave the dog in an unattended yard or car, even if the car is locked

- Don't tell others the purchase price of the dog

- When selling dogs you've bred, keep an eye out for thieves posing as puppy buyers

- When entering or leaving pet-oriented businesses, watch out for slow-moving vehicles or people watching your dog