There's No Place Like Home...

       Recently I read a news article, by Reuters journalist Sarah Tippit, about a 7 year old Lhasa Apso named Lukee that had become lost after bolting from her suburban Los Angeles back yard. On the verge of being euthanized at a local pound, animal control workers discovered an implanted microchip identifying her owners, who were notified, came to the shelter, and promptly brought her home. Amazingly, this homecoming occurred six years after she was lost! "Better late than never" would certainly apply to Lukee and her family!
       Lukee ran away on the Fourth of July in 1995, apparently terrified by the sound of fireworks. Whether or not the dog had been found and cared for by an interim family was unclear, according to the report, but Los Angeles Animal Control spokesman Bob Ballenger speculated the dog had been living outside on her own for at least a year.
       Lukee, with coat matted, dirty and covered with oil spots, was found running through the streets of the Los Angeles suburb of Baldwin Park, about 30 miles west of her original home. In the report Ballenger explained that "pound workers scan for a microchip twice, once when they pick up a stray animal and a second time when the animal is about to be put to death." He added "I don't know what happened the first time because they didn't find anything; they found it the second time.''  Los Angeles County has since begun to implant microchips in every dog and cat they place in a home, according to Ballenger.
             
       Ideally, our pets will never become lost; we will train, contain, and protect them all of their lives. Unfortunately, there is always a margin for errors, even in the most loving and responsible homes. Having an identification system that facilitates the return of a lost pet is a "must," for just in case. 
       Traditionally, dogs have worn collars and identification tags with the owners' name, phone number, and the promise of a "reward" for return of the pet. While a collar and ID tags allow the most immediate and direct return of the pet to the owners without the need for an identifying agency, they can be lost or removed.
       A microchip is permanent identification device. It is a tiny pellet, about the size of a grain of rice, that is implanted under the dog (or cat!)'s skin between its shoulders. It takes a minute to implant and is as painless as a vaccination. The "chip" is programmed with a specific, unalterable code that links the dog to its particular owners through a registry that keeps a database. The microchip is read by a scanner similar to the ones used in grocery stores. Scanners are used in many veterinary offices, animal shelters, and animal-control agencies across the country. When a lost pet is brought to one of these locations, the code is retrieved and called in to the registering database, whose phone number is part of the information contained on the chip.
       As weirdly "big brother" as microchipping concept may sound, it has been an increasingly popular system for pet recovery that has been effective in helping many lost pets find their way back home. Of course there can still be problems. Older scanners may not be compatible with every brand of microchip. Recently a universal scanner was developed, allowing a variety of microchips made by different manufactures to be read with one device. Some local dog agencies may not have a universal scanner, and some people who find lost pets may be unfamiliar with the technology. When traveling with a dog that becomes lost, the microchip would identify the dog's home address, but not identify your out-of-town location. Using replaceable key tags on the dog's collar that list your name and a number where you can be reached at each stopping point is a simple but important step that can help lost pets be quickly returned to away-from-home owners.    
       If you are interested in having your pet microchipped, contact your local veterinarian for information. When you have a microchip implanted your vet will provide you with an enrollment form and collar tag for the pet registry. Be sure to complete the form and return it immediately, so your dog's information is in the database as soon as possible. Using a combination of microchip, collar and ID tags, and possibly a tattoo as well, chances for recovering your dog should he or she become lost are greatly increased.
One can only hope it wouldn't take as long as it took Lukee to find her way back home!


An excellent list of lost and found pet resources, provided by Robin Kovary, the American Dog Trainers Network helpline director and canine behavioral consultant, can be found at: http://www.inch.com/~dogs/lostpets.html