A happy ending....

[okvet]

I have a client here in OKC who runs labs and he has a son who lives in Houston. His son calls me last week and said one of his co-workers found a yellow lab and he adopted the dog last February. He took it to a vet in Houston and had him checked out--the vet scanned him for a chip and didn't find one so he tested him for heartworms--started prevention and gave him all his vaccinations. He wanted to know if I could neuter him this week b/c he was coming to OKC to visit his dad. Friday morning he brings the dog in tells me what a great retriever this dog is. Very fetchy and a hard driver. He also tells me he knows someone has worked with the dog b/c the dog heals nicely and knows the back command.

Well anyway I have the dog anesthetized getting ready to neuter him and decide I'll go ahead and scan him for a chip one last time. After about 30 seconds of scanning I'm about to give up when the scanner picks up a microchip in his lower back. I guess the chip had migrated and that is why it wasn't picked up the first time. After a few phone calls the original owner is located in Houston and you can imagine his excitement after telling him we have his dog. I ask him what the history is with this dog--and sure enough this is a well bred dog (breeder is one of Bobby Farmer's clients) and he runs hunt tests with him.

Just thought I'd share this happy ending story. After 5 months the dog is reunited with owner.

oh yea---We ended up cancelling the neuter (which he was very happy with).

PS--microchips are worth the cost!!!

todd

[ghjones]

OMG, what a great story with a VERY happy END, if you get my drift!! I'll bet the dog is especially happy!

Keeping it all together regards,
Gretchen

[YardleyLabs]

I'm glad it worked out, but feel sorry for the person who invested months of emotion and a lot of money only to lose the dog. I worry about one of my dogs whose chip has migrated down to her right shoulder for exactly that reason. I may simply insert another chip to be safe.

[Brent Keever]

My pup is not chipped but I am going to look into it as soon as I get home. Would hate to loose her.

[ghjones]

This brings to mind another concern I have about microchipping, and in particular, the scanners. I took my dog to a conformation show-sponsored health clinic where they used scanners to verify each dog's microchip. There were two scanners in use that day, and both, even with fresh batteries, did not work, on numerous dogs. I wonder how many dogs who are actually microchipped, are not correctly identified because of this. Is there a brand of scanner that has a better reputation than others? Is it a function of age of the scanner?

Back to the thread at hand, though, while I agree that I feel sorry for the guy who found the dog and invested time and emotion into him, I would think he'd be very happy to find the dog's owner and reunite them. The dog had obviously been trained and belonged to someone else. I know I would be extremely happy to return a dog to his rightful owner under those circumstances.

Gretchen

[1st retriever]

There have been reports that some are not able to be universally read by all scanners. Not sure if it is true though.

[2tall]

I'm glad it worked out, but feel sorry for the person who invested months of emotion and a lot of money only to lose the dog. I worry about one of my dogs whose chip has migrated down to her right shoulder for exactly that reason. I may simply insert another chip to be safe.

Did the original owner actually lose the dog? It was not clear from the post if the "adopter" or the original guy ended up with him.

[Kevin WI]

awesome ending!

[2tall]

I have had my vet scan my dog each time he goes in for annual exams. The chip has been easily identifiable, and not migrated. Note, my vet did not insert the chip. I had it done at "pet fair", (Avid) 2.5 years ago. All of you that have your dog chipped might want to ask your vet to do the same for peace of mind.

[Kristie Wilder]

I'm glad it worked out, but feel sorry for the person who invested months of emotion and a lot of money only to lose the dog. I worry about one of my dogs whose chip has migrated down to her right shoulder for exactly that reason. I may simply insert another chip to be safe.

Wow, I agree. I can't imagine the emotion involved on both ends... Would enjoy knowing the whole story. Good job okvet.