Microchip Used To Find Owner, Police Say
January 3, 2012
SEVERNA PARK, Md. -- A North Carolina family got a late Christmas gift when Maryland police helped reunite them with a dog that had been missing for more than four years.
Dodger, a Collie mix, went missing from the Willey family's Owings Mills, MD home in 2007 while family members were away. The family conducted a search and contacted local shelters, but the dog wasn't found.
Police said a good Samaritan found an older Collie mix in Severna Park on Dec. 27 and took it to Anne Arundel County Animal Control. The dog was found on Honeysuckle Lane.
Dodger was reunited with family members in late December.
The dog was microchipped, and animal control workers contacted the microchip company for information about the dog's owners, police said.
The company was able to contact a member of the Willey family in Virginia, and that family member put the company in touch with the dog's owner, who now lives in Cedar Ridge.
The owner, William Douglas Willey, and his sons visited the police department Dec. 30 to be reunited with the dog.
Police said the dog had abrasions on his face and teeth missing and that it wasn't clear where the dog had been.
"Dodger’s return to his family underscores the importance of using microchips for tracking and also registering our pets."
- County Executive John Leopold
"Animal control staff are elated to reunite 'Dodger' with his family and wish them the best of luck in the future," the police department said in a news release.
Authorities and county officials are using the case as an example of why microchips are important for pet owners.
“Dodger’s return to his family underscores the importance of using microchips for tracking and also registering our pets," said County Executive John Leopold.
A microchip can be implanted by a veterinarian.
Source: http://www.wxii12.com/r/30125397/detail.html
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