Lost Dog Returned Thanks to Microchip
Published: May 7, 2005
A 14-year-old Pekingese named “Toy” was reunited with her family on April 28, 2005, at the Animal Rescue League of Iowa, Inc, (ARL) at 5452 NE 22nd St., more than a year and a half after she went missing from her Las Vegas home.
Little Toy was brought into the ARL on Sunday, April 24, after a person found her running loose on a Des Moines street. She was not wearing a collar or tags. The staff at the ARL scanned her for a microchip and called her registered owners, Jacqulyn and Charles Richey, who live in Las Vegas. The couple hadn”t seen Toy since the dog disappeared from their backyard in October 2003. They searched for her for six months before adopting another elderly Pekingese from a local shelter. That dog passed away last week. Charles Richey flew to Des Moines last week to retrieve Toy.
“The story of Toy epitomizes the Animal Rescue League of Iowa”s message of the value of microchipping your pets, but more importantly, her story is a beautiful example of a lifetime commitment to a pet by her family—no matter the time, no matter the distance, no matter the inconvenience,” says Tom L. Colvin, ARL executive director.
“Anyone can lose a pet at anytime, even a little dog like Toy. This is why all pets need to wear proper identification in both the form of a collar and tags as well as with a microchip.”
The Animal Rescue League of Iowa microchips all dogs, cats, puppies, kittens, rabbits and ferrets prior to adoption. The shelter also holds low-cost microchip clinics for the public throughout the year. The next clinic is Saturday, May 14 from 10 a.m. to noon at Iowa Pet Foods in West Des Moines.
“The other important message from this story is of the good Samaritan who brought Toy into the ARL. People should not assume that a loose dog knows its way home. We applaud the gentleman who brought Toy to the Animal Rescue League. Without him, this reunion could not have happened,” said Colvin.
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