Reunited with terrier thanks to collar ID

[MiJodsR2BlinkinTite]

A few years ago now, due to the fact that we got fed up witih having to replace doggy ID discs, we got both dogs ID tags that are a rectangular shape and slide onto the collars so they are not so easy to lose as the discs; they are a brass plate which actually thread onto the collar and so can't get hitched up in anything or lost.

On these ID's we've put our home number plus mobile number. Plus the vet's number. Just in case.

I've never been so thankful that we had this done until today. Went up to the common with the two dogs; big dog as usual hung around me like a cold, little terrier put up a pheasant and went gadding off on his own agenda. I didn't think much of it, thought, ah well he'll come back as usual, and away we went. Five minutes later I realised he hadn't caught up, so I called and called for ages, then there came that horrible feeling that he wasn't around, full stop.

I'd parked the car in the lay-by, beside a busy main road. You then have to cross the road to get into the path which goes onto the common.

I did wonder whether he'd gone back to the car - both dogs regard the car as their place of safety and so I thought I'd back-track to the car to see if that's where he'd gone. I thought I heard a car hooter in the distance, but that's not unusual.

Anyway, got back to the car and no sign of little-un. So by this time at least three quarters of an hour had elapsed. With that my mobile rang, I answered, and a lady's voice said that did I have a little dog because if so he was safe with her in the village about a mile away!!!!

Relief or what!!! Apparently little dog had been in the middle of the road looking very lost, with a huge monster from the local haulage depot bearing down on him - and this kind soul had rescued him and took him to her house, from whence I collected him, poor little man.

But if we hadn't had this collar ID on him, which is very clearly visible and readable, then I'm not so sure this would have had such a happy outcome. Both dogs are microchipped and this is an additional safeguard, but there's nothing like having something which a person finding a dog can read easily and contact the frantic owner on their mobile.

I remember being out riding on this same common once where someone had found a dog with a similar tag on it, and I rang the owner on my mobile and doggy and owner were reunited.

(Please: no lectures about the folly of letting dogs run loose - my dogs are country dogs and aren't used to going around on the lead. Full stop.)

 

[Jake10]

Glad you were reunited Both of mine have those tags as well but are never off lead due to shoddy - read none existent - recall

 

[Cinnamontoast]

Mine don't go off lead without collars and ID tags. I'd wet my pants if they were loose without their tags. Big dog never goes far, puppies can be 'deaf'. All are chipped, but I don't think that's much good at times, nor is it immediate.

 

[orionstar]

Wouldnt leave home without them. We were having a puppy party in the garden with a puppy from the same litter as mine on saturday when my sister got a call to say both of her lurchers had opened the back gate and the front gate and escaped (not). The lady had been driving through the village and noticed them standing by the road and realised ther was no owner in sight so she put them in her boot and rang the number on the tags thank god! Luckily the mastiff had decided a jaunt around the village was not her thing and was sitting in the back garden with her teddy waiting for my sister to return. It was a good job that the dogs always have the tags on them or it could have been awful, and if I find the person who let them out *********.

 

[MiJodsR2BlinkinTite]

Yah know what you mean about people opening gates and letting dogs out coz where we live its on a corner so if people go in the garden gate they can then go down through the yard and there's another gate where they can go back onto the road (sorry, sounds complicated, but isn't, basically they can cut off the corner by going through our place).

We'd come in and wonder who'd left the gate open coz it would mysteriously happen and we knew it wasn't us ....we live on a rural road but its a rat run and when you let the dogs run out in the garden and the gate is normally closed shut, and then its open, you know that someone else has done it.

So what we think was happening, and we didn't twig for a while, was that some bone-idle person from the village (think we know who it was!) was coming around here with their dog early in the morning or when we weren't around, and opening the front gate, and letting their dog into our place where it could then go down through and into the yard and out again, leaving blimin great turds everywhere - which, without going into the forensics, we knew wasn't any of our hounds! plus terrorising the poor cat.

So we put a chain on the front gate, looks like Fort Knox but no more mystery turds.

 

[brightmount]

The other point to make is an ID tag can save you money if your dog gets lost! I picked up a golden labrador once that was wandering the streets, criss crossing the road. It had no tag, and in waiting for the dog warden, I missed my neice's concert The dog warden scanned it for a chip. No chip. So off it went to the kennels.

A day later I got a phone call from the owners who had got their dog back, but they were mad at having to pay the kennel fees! D'oh ... if their dog had a collar I would have taken it straight home and not missed my niece's concert! But maybe they wanted it to get run over, poor dog!

 

[Kaylum]

Excellent result. Mum was not so successful. Her rescue dog had a tag on and was chipped. To cut a long story short the people that found her found her without her collar on as someone had removed it and took her to the police station where she was not recorded as found and she never got scanned for a chip. After a few weeks of looking phoning around etc. mum put an advert in the paper and the people who found her had actually decided to keep her and got in contact with mum.