Lost dog's microchip reunites him with owner

To the Editor:

My husband and I came home Sunday evening to discover a strange dog in our driveway.

I immediately recognized the dog as a West Highland White Terrier. When we got out of our car, the dog scampered over to us, jumping excitedly. It allowed us to pet it. The dog was wearing a collar, but no tags.

The dog followed us into our house. He was hungry and gobbled our Jack Russell's food, and he was so thirsty he jumped into the bathtub to lick the water dripping from the faucet.

Knowing there was nothing we could do that night, we went to bed ... and the dog got in with us. It was evident he was someone's pet, and I knew a family somewhere was missing him.

My husband and I work out of town, and we didn't get back home Monday until evening. Through some perseverance, I managed to contact someone at Greencastle Veterinary Clinic. Although the clinic was closed, the woman I reached was willing to stay until I could get there to have the pooch scanned for a microchip.

We got a hit, and the woman at the vet clinic checked to see if the dog was a patient at the clinic. He wasn't, so she have us a sheet of numbers for microchipping companies so we could attempt to find the dog's owners.

We got lucky on the second call, and it turned out the dog had come from a few miles down the road from us. The relief in the owner's voice when I spoke to him on the phone made me just want to burst into tears -- and when I handed the dog back to his human, I did cry. It was a beautiful moment, and I was thankful my husband and I were able to make it happen.

I love my dog very much -- that's why he has been microchipped since he was a puppy. I get nervous thinking about losing him, and knowing he has that chip gives me some peace of mind.

This letter serves two purposes.

The first is to advocate microchipping -- it is inexpensive (S.P.O.T. in Cloverdale does it for $10), and is obviously effective.

The second is to remind owners who have gotten their pets microchipped that getting a lost pet returned is a lot quicker if you attach the tag with your dog or cat's identification number on it to the animal's collar. Also, be sure to keep your contact information current with the microchipping company.

I would like to thank the woman at Greencastle Veterinary Clinic (I was so excited I forgot to ask her name) who went above and beyond to help us out, and I'd like to commend the Westie's owner for microchipping his pet and keeping his contact information current.

Microchipping can lead to happy endings. Now I know that for sure.

Jamie Barrand

Greencastle