Roxanne, American Staffordshire Terrier

I'm certain that this story is an old story. But there must still be some dogs around that have tattoos. (My dog still has his, though by now it looks like a barcode after ten years.) They were the only form of permanent identification for a pet before microchipping. This story also involves a research lab; research labs legally purchase animals from animal control facilities that legally sell them in lieu of euthanizing them. This is yet another reason why it's so important to microchip companion animals, keep the registry up to date, and periodically have your microchipped pet scanned to ensure that the chip is still where is was injected (they can migrate, making it important that an animal's full body is scanned if the chip is not found in the neck area).


RESEARCH DOG SAVED BY TATTOO

Unconscious, just moments from the beginning incision, an eight-month old American Staffordshire Terrier lay on the operating table of a mid-western research laboratory. As the researcher shaved the dog’s abdomen (preparing it for surgery from which it would never awaken), tattooed numbers were uncovered on the skin of the dog’s inner thigh! The surgery was instantly aborted.

The doctor performing the research went right to the phone and called a toll-free number he had used several times before. Within minutes, a comprehensive nationwide search began for the owner of the tattooed pet. The number the researcher called was a 24-hour pet identification hotline operated by the National Dog Registry, the oldest and largest missing pet recovery system in the world, which is headquartered in Mesa, AZ.

When the operator at NDR ran a database search for the pet’s ID number with no successful match, she began the arduous task of networking with all other cooperating organizations that might have records on the number. The operator knew that without a registration in a national database (such as NDR’s), the tattoo was virtually worthless as an identification and recovery tool, and the dog on the table at the research laboratory would surely die.

NDR’s operator persisted in her efforts. One of the calls she placed was to the Breeder’s Action Board (BAB) in Michigan, a group that regularly works with NDR. (BAB is a non-profit organization promoting responsible dog ownership and public education.) Believing that the tattoo number might be part of their state pet ID system, BAB’s Betty Melia called the Michigan Department of Agriculture. The Department had the number on file, but had no current information on the owner. Persevering, Betty called the veterinarian listed as the dog’s tattooer and uncovered more recent information.

When she contacted Miron Duncan of Detroit, his shock and amazement confirmed that Roxanne, his AmStaff, had disappeared from his back yard three months earlier. Although he had searched the neighborhood and put up signs, Miron despaired of ever seeing Roxanne again. He almost could not believe that she had been found in a research lab hundreds of miles away, in another state.

BAB called NDR with Miron’s name and phone number. NDR notified the doctor at the research lab that the owner had been located. Roxanne was saved! "The research staff was overjoyed to hear from us," said Bette Rapoport, President of the National Dog Registry. "They said, ‘Don’t worry--Roxanne will be well taken care of until you come for her.’"

NDR called Carolyn Brown in Illinois, a pet tattooer who is part of our extensive international network of Authorized Agents. Carolyn agreed to take time off from work, travel to the laboratory to retrieve Roxanne, purchase a shipping crate, and place her safely on a plane home to Detroit.

Even though they had purchased Roxanne legitimately from a USDA-licensed animal dealer, the research lab requested that their name be kept anonymous. The lab contacted the dealer and was told that the dog had been purchased from a Detroit pound three months earlier. NDR’s follow-up investigation showed this to be true.

"Were it not for the absolute cooperation between NDR and BAB, no one would have ever known Roxanne’s fate," said Ms. Rapoport. "The research lab was kind enough to provide her with rabies shots, medications, and health exams, in addition to the necessary certificates to allow her to travel by plane."

On June 29th, near midnight, Roxanne was reunited with her delighted owner in Detroit. NDR continually explores ways to convince pounds that a tattoo search is absolutely necessary on every animal picked up. The one minute required to check for a tattoo can save many pets’ lives.

NDR’s non-profit Rescue Fund paid all the expenses for Roxanne’s return home, since the owner was unemployed and did not have the funds available to claim his pet.

NOTE: Special NDR awards of thanks were presented to Carolyn Brown in recognition of her outstanding help and professionalism and to the research facility staff for their extraordinary efforts and assistance in saving Roxanne’s life.

Source: http://www.nationaldogregistry.com/happy.html