Dog microchip happy ending

[Steve Carlton]

So my dogs dig under the fence and eat away some of the old fence plank last night and Oscar and Ellie are gone by 8pm. I notice it 20 minutes later and canvas the neighborhood looking for them and give up by 10pm as it's dark and too hard to do much. I put an ad on craigslist and notify Dog Harbor, a lost and found website.

This morning I'm calling my vet to get the microchip numbers and make sure the accounts are current and at the same time get a call that Oscar has been found and the contact information for a Lisa, who's over a 1/4 mile away and took Oscar in to get his chip read. I didn't have the account current, but Home Again gave my vet's number to Lisa, and my vet gives her my number. Bang- Oscar's back and she refuses a reward. Apparently a big leftover M80 or something from the 4th of July scared Oscar into Lisa's garage and then he's safe. Unfortunately, Ellie wasn't with him, so she's still AWOL.

My vet didn't have (or couldn't find) Ellie's microchip number, so I'm not happy. I thought I had them all scanned, but I did drop the ball on making sure and getting the accounts current. For $20/year they will send out flyers to everybody in a 25 mile radius (shelters, vets) to help you recover the dog and there is some sort of emergency benefits, too. My bad.

Lisa posted finding Oscar on Facebook (which I steer clear of) and mentions that Ellie is still missing after talking with me with a description and right away gets a hit from someone another 1/4 mile further away that's seen her and posts pictures. Lisa forwards the location and the pictures- and it is Ellie! I drive over there and found her within 3 minutes.

I'm talking to these nice enough (yet unconscious) guys with a big female pit bull that's just had a litter. I ask if they've seen a creme color 11 lb skinny dog and it's "no, haven't seen anything like that." Then I see Ellie standing about 30 feet behind them in the driveway to the apartment complex. "Oh yeah, she was hanging around last night. Very friendly, laying on her back." Great- thanks for reporting it or looking for a lost dog notification somewhere! Oh well.

Anyway, Ellie's got a minor limp that I'm going to have looked at today and I'll get her chip scanned and registered. Zora's all set, except I did the $20/yr upgrade. My vet doesn't have Bodhi's chip number, so I'll get him scanned as well.

Word to the wise- make sure your account is up to date! Oscar's chip led to the recovery of both.

Lisa drove over to the location where Ellie was spotted, so Mrs RufuseTheReward is going to get a gift card for the local Outback Steakhouse. Some people are too nice and it's nice to run across one! If someone had blackmailed me for $1,000, I would have paid it without hesitation.

Side story- what got the dogs all excited about going through the fence was a litter of feral kittens. Zora had one in her mouth this morning, but hadn't hurt it yet. I got it to the local shelter after putting it in a cardboard box wrapped up in a bath towel. Too young and not able to generate enough of its own body heat, but I got it to the shelter in time for a heating pad and bottle feeding. A couple hours later another kitten was not so lucky. I know she's just being a dog, but this kitten killing is pissing me off!

Oscar- chipped and the source of the happy ending:



Ellie- saved by Lisa and Facebook:



Zora- the kitten killer and likely Great Escape digger:

[vash]

i am stoked everyone is home and safe!!

my current dog is pretty good..

my last dog - funny story. dog was a cairn terrier. i joked that "he put the terror in Terrier" he would occasionally hose down something with urine. one time after a particular "event", my wife was outside at the car. i came in first and kicked off my shoes and immediately step in what can be best described as the Poseidon Adventure. i made a wave!!

i see my wife coming and i grab the dog and started rubbing a refrigerator magnet over the dog. she comes in..WTF are you doing?
i replied..i am trying to erase the microchip!, look at what he did?

we got a pretty good laugh..and no, a magnet will not erase the chip.

[Baz]

No pic of Bodhi?

Hey thanks for sharing your story, Steve. A parent's worst nightmare when their children go missing!

About 20 years ago my cat at that time disappeared and I put an ad in the paper's lost and found. Got a call from some folks across town. He must have jumped into someone's pickup bed. I was SO grateful.....

Indeed Lisa deserves a gift card, some nice words, and a thank you card.....

[Don Ro]

All is well in the end, Steve. Good for you and those cute pups.
.
Is Zora a Standard? She's beautifully groomed.
I'd love to have a Standard one day. They're so regal.
.

[PorscheGAL]

The whole bunch look like a pack of trouble makers (they are the most fun, aren't they?).

Glad everyone is back home safe and the limp is something minor.

[Steve Carlton]

Bodhi stayed out of trouble. He's almost 14 now, so he's easy going. He was always a mellow dog. Sometimes I think of a name I'd give the dog after I know their personality, and Bodhi would be a good Walter.




Yeah- Zora is a standard. My breeder said they get along well with small dogs and the little ones love her. They hammer her the best they can, and she's very gentle with them. Her cut now is similar, except the legs are tapered wider towards her feet. Actually looks cool like she's wearing bell bottoms.

I like the cut the Poodle had in Inglorious Basterds. Probably too much upkeep, though.

[masraum]

That's fantastic news. It always kills me when I see "Lost " fliers in a neighborhood. I know it could be anyone and they'd still be really upset, but I always imagine a young kid that's crushed that his pet is gone.

Our rescue has a chip, and she's up to date. And they don't even go outside without being on a leash and in our control (apt, so no yard). It's a small price to pay.

[vash]

My dog would never run away. He’s a wuss.

[wdfifteen]

Great that they're all home. Cool pups. Living with a small dog is SO different that living with a big one.

[wdfifteen]

Hard to believe Owen Walter (on the left in this picture, Mrs WD is on the right) has scored 2 squirrels and 3 chipmunks in his 5 year career as a small dog. Our 65 pound Golden Retriever barely raises an eyebrow when a chipmunk scampers across her nose.

[Jims5543]

Originally Posted by vash

My dog would never run away. He’s a wuss.

Mine is a traitor, she would run away, never look back and adopt new humans.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G891A using Tapatalk

[brshap]

Zora is gorgeous! I grew up with standards. They are the best dogs.

[Don Ro]

Originally Posted by wdfifteen

Hard to believe Owen Walter (on the left in this picture, Mrs WD is on the right) has scored 2 squirrels and 3 chipmunks in his 5 year career as a small dog. Our 65 pound Golden Retriever barely raises an eyebrow when a chipmunk scampers across her nose.

Cute little dogs make everyone smile.
Even a middle name for him.
Gotta love 'em.