Coaster, a hound mutt

Microchip allows injured dog another Christmas
Sunday, January 4, 2009

BENTONVILLE, Ark. – When the police officer placed the badly injured dog in the back of a squad car, the dog's life had an expiration date measured in hours.

Police Sgt. Robert Burkhart found her motionless and cold on the side of Walton Boulevard near Bella Vista Road. The dog, hit by a car, was injured. He gently picked up the hound-based mutt, then took her to Sugar Creek Animal Hospital on Northwest J Street.

Without tags on the collar, the dog's future appeared certain: Police policy is to euthanize injured animals if they are found without a way to identify the owner.

"She came in and I said, 'This is somebody's dog," veterinarian Darlene Wier said. "No dogs are going to die on Christmas Eve."

With that, staffers pulled out a wand, scanned the dog's neck. They found the thing that would save the dog's life – a microchip placed just beneath her skin.

The dog – Coaster – belongs to Stephanie Comstock. The microchip was placed when Comstock adopted Coaster from the Bella Vista Animal Shelter two years ago. That tiny device, no larger than a grain of rice, was not only responsible for saving Coaster's life, it ensured she was able to go home to her family for Christmas.
The story of how Coaster ended up injured on the side of the road began at 6 a.m. Wednesday.

"I was taking her and the other dogs out just like I always do to walk them and feed them when (Coaster) decided to bolt," Comstock said. "Over the last several weeks she had been doing fine but she was a street dog and every now and then she gets a burr in her and just wants to run."

Usually, when Coaster decides to go for a run, she stays within a three-house radius of the Comstock home, then comes home. Wednesday morning, when Coaster did not return home, Comstock's children began combing the neighborhood in search of their beloved pet, Comstock said.

Sgt. Burkhart found Coaster in front a quarter-mile away from where Comstock had taken her for a walk that morning. Less than an hour after running off, Coaster had been run over by a vehicle and was a patient at Sugar Creek.

The children were still out looking for Coaster when Comstock got a call at work from Sugar Creek letting her know they had the dog and – although she was a little banged up – she was OK.

"This is the first dog we had that had a chip in it. Before, when you lost a dog, it was just gone. So to have the chip in there and to be able to get them back is just great," Comstock said.

The microchip planted between Coaster's shoulders meant that Comstock could tell her kids that their dog was alive and well.

"There is something to be said about living in a smaller town. I moved here from Los Angeles and the probability of somebody calling and going through the effort to find us – it just would not happen in a big town," Comstock said.

"I like the energy of a big city but there is not much that can beat raising your child in a small town where everyone looks out for you," Comstock said as she gently stroked Coaster's head.

Microchips containing a pet owner's contact information can be placed in dog or cat by local veterinarians or animal shelters.

"The main benefit of having the microchip is so (veterinarians) can easily locate the owners if a dog or cat is found. With the chips, the dogs can be found and returned home," Sugar Creek office manager Melissa Freeman said.

"Collars can get loose and fall off or if the dog is stolen, the collar can easily be taken off – but the microchip cannot be removed," Freeman said.

"(Coaster) is a lucky dog," Wier said, noting that all pet owners should have their dogs and cats microchipped. "We love a microchip."

Source: http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/fea/pets/stories/010509dnpetschip.1c77859.html