Tuesday, October 27, 2009
Kevin E. Schmidt Brent, left and Brendan Cone talk about the return of their family pet Max, after missing for the past four-years. The family recieved a phone call Monday October 26, morning from the Rock Island County Animal Care and Control, or RICACC. The now-four-year-old shar-pei had a microchip, implanted between its shoulders as a puppy and when scanned with a special device, the microchip revealed the Cone's contact information.
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Brent Cone lost his dog Max when the family pet was only three months old. That was four years ago, but when good luck and modern technology reunited them Monday, the lapse in time didn't matter.
"He recognized us," Cone, of Coal Valley, Ill., said. "Right when I yelled his name, he came right up to me."
The reunion occurred after the dog was brought to Rock Island County Animal Care and Control, or RICACC, as a stray.
The now-4-year-old shar-pei has a microchip, a device the size of a grain of rice that is implanted between its shoulders. When scanned with a special device, the microchip reveals the owner's contact information.
"I thought being microchipped that we'd see him again someday, but I wasn't counting on it," said Cone, who bought the dog for his son Brendan, 10. "You just hope that someday they get scanned."
Max was microchipped by his breeder before the Cones took him home at 6 weeks old. Less than two months later, the dog disappeared. The Cones put up posters, checked all the local animal rescues and even listed Max on a national Web site, but they never found him.
Sam DeYoung, operations director for the shelter, said stories such as this are the reason owners should microchip their pets. The shelter is receiving more strays that are chipped and easily reunited with their owners, but the majority of animals brought in do not have microchips.
RICACC has reunited pets with their owners after a significant period of time before, thanks to the microchip technology, but DeYoung said that, in her experience, the Cones' case is the longest time a pet had been lost before being returned to its owner.
Cone has no idea where Max was for the past four years, but wherever it was, the dog was well-fed and cared for.
Even after such a long separation, he said Max's personality and quirks are still the same, and the dog is getting along well with the Cones' new dog, 2-year-old Emmi, also a shar-pei.
"He's bossy, kind of rules the roost," Cone said. "He's sleeping in the spot right now out by the kitchen table, right where he always did when he was a puppy."
Source:
http://www.qctimes.com/news/local/article_913e0e5e-c2b7-11de-aacd-001cc4c03286.html
"He recognized us," Cone, of Coal Valley, Ill., said. "Right when I yelled his name, he came right up to me."
The reunion occurred after the dog was brought to Rock Island County Animal Care and Control, or RICACC, as a stray.
The now-4-year-old shar-pei has a microchip, a device the size of a grain of rice that is implanted between its shoulders. When scanned with a special device, the microchip reveals the owner's contact information.
"I thought being microchipped that we'd see him again someday, but I wasn't counting on it," said Cone, who bought the dog for his son Brendan, 10. "You just hope that someday they get scanned."
Max was microchipped by his breeder before the Cones took him home at 6 weeks old. Less than two months later, the dog disappeared. The Cones put up posters, checked all the local animal rescues and even listed Max on a national Web site, but they never found him.
Sam DeYoung, operations director for the shelter, said stories such as this are the reason owners should microchip their pets. The shelter is receiving more strays that are chipped and easily reunited with their owners, but the majority of animals brought in do not have microchips.
RICACC has reunited pets with their owners after a significant period of time before, thanks to the microchip technology, but DeYoung said that, in her experience, the Cones' case is the longest time a pet had been lost before being returned to its owner.
Cone has no idea where Max was for the past four years, but wherever it was, the dog was well-fed and cared for.
Even after such a long separation, he said Max's personality and quirks are still the same, and the dog is getting along well with the Cones' new dog, 2-year-old Emmi, also a shar-pei.
"He's bossy, kind of rules the roost," Cone said. "He's sleeping in the spot right now out by the kitchen table, right where he always did when he was a puppy."
Source:
http://www.qctimes.com/news/local/article_913e0e5e-c2b7-11de-aacd-001cc4c03286.html
1 comment:
Thats great! Ran across this while trying to find the owner to a dog I found wandering around!
Great story.
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