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We Helped Them Home, sort of
One of my friends who has 2 Great Danes had a really scary experience today. She let them out to potty around 4am (w/out collars/tags) and they opened the gate and got out. They were gone for hours and hours. I chatted with my friend trying to make small talk and help her to sort out her game plan. Sometimes when in a crisis we aren’t thinking about all the angles and its good to have someone that isn’t emotionally involved to rundown a laundry list of things to do.
I suggested all the normal stuff, call the vets, shelters, canvas the neighborhoods and drop flyers. Since the dogs were not microchipped (later we found out that one was, but she did not know it and the chip was not registered) a Home Again alert could not be broadcast. Then I remembered that Ohio uses Pet FBI and the UK uses Dog Lost to send out alerts, why wouldn’t Colorado have something similar. I prayed to the google goddess for answers and was directed to the Dog Detective site which is a National database that alerts shelters, vets, rescue groups and volunteers of your missing dog.
As luck would have it, the SOS went out of the e-waves to everyone in a 50 mile radius and her dogs were located 45 minutes away in another municipality’s shelter. They had wandered to the water treatment plant which fell under another jurisdiction and the dogs were taken to the shelter that services the area. Oddly enough the vet chipped one of the dogs, but never told her or registered the chip. Both dogs are now microchipped! She wouldn’t let the other one leave the shelter with out getting a chip.
Had Dog Detective not been involved, there’s a good chance they would not have been reunited. Home Again states a staggering statistic that 90% of dog that are not wearing some form of ID are NEVER reunited with their loved ones. I would just die if I lost my dogs that way. Mine are all chipped AND tagged and always wear their collars – inside and out.
I urge everyone that has not done so, to PLEASE microchip your beloved dog. It may be the ONLY chance he or she has to get back to you if the unthinkable were to happen. You can maintain your information on line on the Home Again website in the event you are on vacation or a natural disaster should take place and you are displaced from your home (I have the 1-800 # programmed on my cell phone). Katrina ring any bells?
Good idea. My pets wear collars with IDs, but they are not microchipped.
Lindsay’s last blog post..10 ways to get your dog to come when called
That is great! Kaos was a military family dog and was microchipped and I have never updated her info. I know it’s a Home Again chip, but I’ve never taken the time to do it especially since she’s the one we take camping and rock crawling and lots of other adventures (my dacshund – aka “Bear Bait” stays home with Grandma). Both dogs always wear their tags and collars though. So far Kaos has only got for a walk on her own one time and I thnk after I freaked out when she came trotting back in the front yard, she decided not to do that again.
You’re in Colorado, too? We’re in Canon City (where all the prisons are located), south of Colorado Springs and west of Pueblo.
Have a great weekend!
Hilary
Kaos’s last blog post..Artsy Fartsy Friday
fidofinder is another great site
K9 Amiga’s last blog post..Lovely.
Thank DOG she located her dogs at the shelter! That’s really far away. How the heck did those two run sooo far away? We are micro chipped & registered. We have our tags on our collars & we wear them when we go out. I think my hoomans will hang themselves if they lost us & NEVER find us again. At least with the microchips in us, we’ll be easy to be located.
Love licks,
Solid Gold Dancer
Amber-Mae’s last blog post..Just A Little Bit Of Chloe
We are so glad this story has a happen ending! We always wear our collars and tags and Mitch is microchipped.
Love ya lots
Maggie and Mitch
Maggie & Mitch’s last blog post..Snowball & Blue’s Birthday Bash
Get them chipped Lindsay… tags break off and collars fall off, especially if they are traipsing through brush. Thank goodness this day and age there are lots of resources to help owners reunite with their dogs.
Kaos… you need to change that info. Home again will contact or try to contact that family and if they are no longer around he might as well not have a chip. They will try to contact that family to make sure it is ok to change the chip. I’m glad you have updated chips for all your dogs
so many people have old ones or take them off at night because they don’t want to hear the jingles. I actually like the sound of the jingles and my dogs have a whole host of tags. I like knowing where they are 
I actually live in Ohio… have family in Loveland and Denver, but its my friend who lives there, near Westminster.
OOH Amiga… thanks for reminding me, I had completely forgotten about fidofinder.. thats another really great site!
I would be the same way Amber Mae – mine got out a few months back and their tags weren’t updated with our current number.. I about freaked. I am just glad her boys are back to her and safe.
Me too Maggie and Mitch, it could have ended very very very badly. That would have been a real shame.
Micro chips are mandatory here, however different states have different scanners. Also if someone has stolen your dog and later takes it to the vet, even your vet, they are not obliged/required to report it. We have a national database in Sydney and Chels is also registered on that. She also wears a badge with her vets phone number on it
abbey’s last blog post..End Of Summer
Oh Wow Abbey… how crazy they are not all compatible. At least it give you more of a chance at getting them back than if they werent chipped. I think in the case of theft, the chances of reuniting is very slim with or with out a good chip system. Lets hope neither of us has to test that theory..
xxLoraxx
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