by Sandy Britt
February 25, 2009
Dennis Geary couldn't believe what he heard on his answering machine. A Montgomery County Animal Control officer asked if he'd lost a male German shepherd. Geary had lost a shepherd — almost nine years before in Port St. Lucie, Fla.
Dennis Geary of Lexington, Ky., was reunited with his dog Astro, who was missing for more than eight years.
Animal Control officers picked up the shepherd on Jan. 29 after receiving a call about it roaming a neighborhood in St. Bethlehem. Shelter Director David Selby said they found a microchip when scanning the dog. They called the registry and learned the dog, registered as Astro, was chipped by a Palm City, Fla., Humane Society, but the shelter's number was disconnected. Undaunted, the officers dug further. They found the shelter's new number and were told Astro had been adopted by a Dennis Geary from Port St. Lucie. But when they called the number Geary had given, it too had been disconnected.
After more detective work, officers found two Dennis Gearys. One lived in Trigg City, Tenn., but Astro wasn't his. The other lived in Louisville, Ky. Officers called and left a message.
Geary returned the call and told his story. His family had adopted Astro in 2000 when living in Port St. Lucie. About a month later, Astro disappeared. The Gearys searched for weeks with no luck. Back in 2000, microchips were rare. Geary said he didn't understand how they worked, so he never replaced the Humane Society's contact information with his own. But whoever had Astro either didn't want to find the owner or never thought to check for a chip.
Geary said it took a year before they were ready for another dog. They adopted Chase, a Labrador/poodle mix, around Christmas 2001, a year before moving to Maine. The family moved three more times — to New Hampshire, back to Florida and then to Kentucky. Geary never forgot Astro and kept his picture tucked in his wallet.
Geary said he almost didn't come for Astro. At first he told Selby he didn't think it would work with his other dogs and to just let him know Astro's fate. Since about 80 percent of pets are euthanized at the shelter to make room for new arrivals and because Astro was an older dog, his chance of adoption was about nil. "But a few seconds after I hung up the phone, I called David back and said 'I'm coming to bring him home.'"
Geary drove to Clarksville with his oldest son, Trevor. "When we lost Astro, Trevor was 11 ... Mark was 3 and Candra was 12. Now, nine years later, Astro is back and my youngest is 12. ... When I got to the shelter, I was still in a state of shock — driving all this way to get a dog I hadn't seen in nine years. What if he didn't remember me?"
Geary and his son greeted Astro together. "(Trevor) was as surprised as I was that he wagged his tail and licked both of us like saying, 'Where have you been?'"
A few weeks later, Geary said Astro and his family are getting to know each other again. Labradoodle Chase and Astro have become fast friends, but 1-year-old dachshund Dewey wants to make sure he'll still be the boss.
"I'm sure things will calm down. I'm so happy to have him home, and my wife and kids are glad. ... He's always wagging his tail. ... I just want you and David to know how much I appreciate the extra effort to get Astro home to us after nine years."
Seems it's not only cats that have nine lives.
Source: http://www.theleafchronicle.com/article/20090225/COLUMNISTS35/902250322
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