Thursday, June 10, 2010

Hopper, shih tzu

Stolen, Neglected Dog to be Reunited with Owner Through Microchip
May 12, 2010

In August of last year, Kishany Conroy’s three-year-old Shih Tzu, Hopper, disappeared from her property in Ramona. Conroy was sure she would never see her dog again, but today she received a call from County Animal Services and was told that her dog had been found because of a microchip. The dog is at the County’s animal shelter in Carlsbad and was part of a neglect investigation when the microchip was detected.

Conroy could hardly contain herself when she heard the good news that Hopper was safe and in the care of shelter staff. Once animals are brought to any County shelter, they are scanned for a microchip.

After a bit of detective work, Animal Services staff was able to track the microchip back to a breeder in Missouri and to a pet store in Virginia before obtaining the owner’s information.

Conroy was amazed that her dog had been found alive and that she could claim her dog from the shelter.

Hopper, who was covered in foxtail stickers and was literally one “solid matt,” was groomed right away at the shelter to make him more comfortable.

“Having your animal microchipped ensures that your pet has a ticket home,” said Dawn Danielson, Director of the County Department of Animal Services. “Animal Services strongly encourages all pet owners to have their pets microchipped as a form of positive identification and to keep your information current with the microchip company.”

“It’s also important for people to know that if they find a stray dog or cat, they should bring it to the animal shelter because there is always a possibility the animal has been microchipped and that we can reunite it with its owner. The person who kept this dog since August did not care for him properly. The pictures that our staff took really speak for themselves.”

Hopper as he was found:

Hopper after grooming:

Source: http://www.sdcounty.ca.gov/Portal/News/2010/May/051210shihtzu.html

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