Recovery Stories
We are proud to share the following heart-warming stories from AKC CAR. Here are just a few of the happy endings we experience every day.
Cairn Terrier-Arkansas
It has been almost five years since our pair of Cairns were chipped. It was not more than six weeks after having the chips implanted, we had our first incident. My wife and I were in and out of the back yard with the garage door open, when our male, Archie, took it upon himself to use the doggie door and head out through the garage. All the while we were in the backyard busy. 30 minutes later we realized what had happened and we and our neighbors set out to scour the area. Archie is "all boy" and I love him like no other so, we were heart broken when the search turned up no recent sign. This was not the first time Archie had taken leave but it was the first time since he had been chipped. This gave us some hope.
After putting up reward posters and waiting two long days, we received the call from AKC CAR that Archie had been found and taken in to the local shelter, in the next town. We were the happiest parents in the world! Archie has since escaped once more and this time he was found over 20 miles away, taken to a local shelter, scanned and then we were called. Twice this technology has proved most promising for any chance of recovery. We even gave our daughter a chip for Christmas for her chocolate lab, Coco. Awesome gift!
Thank you so much for the fact in knowing there is "Hope for Their Return" when one of our four-legged family members goes astray.
Schnauzer-Oregon
Our three year old Schnauzer, Freda, has always been a "follow the nose" runner. We thought that this had stopped until two days ago when she slipped out of the yard. One minute she was there and the next, she was gone. We live in a small town so my husband and I, along with two neighbors, searched our area and beyond. Since Freda is small and friendly, we worried that someone would keep her. About an hour later, our neighbor, who is the alternate contact to be notified if we cannot be reached, received the call that Freda had been found. She was one block away from home and found in a backyard, playing with a four-year old little boy. The tags alerted the mother and she called AKC CAR. This one incident was more than worth the microchip!!!!!
German Shepherd-Nevada
I live out in the country and when I left the house I did not see my German Shepherd, Dante’, jump the fence and begin following me. By the time I arrived to town, 24 miles away, my cell phone rang and it was AKC CAR. They reported that my dog had been found out on a two lane highway and was almost hit by a truck. A wonderful lady saw Dante’ and stopped to help. She called AKC CAR and they called me with her phone number. She was on her way into town so we met up. Dante’ got to ride into town in one of those fancy, new mustangs! To me the lady went above the call to find me so I could have my baby back. I have always told people about chipping but now I am a firm believer!
Chocolate Lab-North Carolina
We bought our lab four years ago as a puppy and had her microchipped, then enrolled with AKC CAR. We had a dog stolen in the past and wanted to be safer with this one. A year later, Cocoa was out on her run and when we went back, she was gone! Her collar was still there but no Cocoa. We reported her missing with the vets, shelters and AKC CAR. Three years passed and we never heard anything about Cocoa. My wife and I work the third shift so, we were sleeping the afternoon that my brother in-law got the call that our dog was in the Rockingham County Animal Shelter. My wife did not believe it so, she called and sure enough, it was Cocoa. Now she is back home, snoozing on the couch.
Shih Tzu-North Carolina
Saturday September 9, 2009, I dropped my son and my Shih Tzu, Libra, off with a friend for a sleep over. I then headed to Charlotte around noon, for a 40th Bday celebration with college friends. It was 8pm when I noticed a missed call and message from an 800 number. The message was AKC CAR telling me that Libra had been found! This was not a call that I was expecting so I panicked. I called the 800 number back and was given the number of the person that had found her. Turns out, my son and his friend had put Libra out in the fenced back yard and she found a hole under the fence. No one even knew that she was missing! Luckily, she was only a few houses away at a neighbor’s and the woman knew the family that my son was staying with so, she took Libra down to their house. Ironically, I had just received Libra’s AKC CAR collar tag the Friday before this happened. I am so thankful for this service and that we had a happy ending.
Black Lab-Minnesota
On 10/9/08 I noticed my dog, Siren, missing at 2:30 PM. As close as I could figure, she had been missing possibly for two hours. I searched locally with the help of some friends for about an hour. Finally, with a heavy heart I called AKCCAR. While crying the whole time, I gave them my information as well as my dog's. I gave up looking and stayed at the house in case she returned. Nine hours later and with the help of some flashlights and a 4 wheeler, she was found. I phoned AKCCAR back and told them, I think they were just as happy as I was. Although we found her ourselves, just knowing that I had this resource to assist was comforting. I cannot imagine what others do without that comfort. I have seen far too many Lost and Found posters, and usually they stay up for months. I was lucky enough to find her myself. I do want to say Thank You to the women who answered both times. They were empathetic to me, they listened and were quite thoughtful in their replies. Thank you for this wonderful service.
Maltese-California
In April our family moved into a new home and lost our tiny blind Maltese "Mandy" when the phone company technician left a door open. We immediately searched the neighborhood, made reward signs, and knocked on doors. At 7:00pm that evening, I called the AKC Pet Recovery hotline and was amazed to hear a person answer that late! She was very helpful, and I was very grateful to hear that a neighbor had called the AKC number on Mandy's collar earlier, to report finding her. I was given his phone number and happily picked her up. My phone number had changed due to our move and the volunteer was unable to contact me. I am so glad I called in! Always keep your information up to date!
Welsh Terrier-Washington State
We recently had a new garage door and opener installed. It is very sensitive and has not closed completely once or twice. Soon after, we had a call that caught us quite by surprise. We were called by the AKC CAR pet recovery center telling us that our dog, Gabi, had been located at a certain address. Being at home we were quite surprised as we'd just come in from playing with her in the back yard. My wife asked me to check the yard, thinking, "Was this a joke?" To our dismay, she was gone with the open door leaving a tell-tale sign.
We walked the block over, to the gentleman that found Gabi, quickly to pick her up, and thank him profusely. We are thankful that Gabi had her AKC tag with ID number prominently displayed, and that an honest person found her and was kind and responsible enough to call us. It has become very scraped up though, and we need how to go about replacing it! Thanks, AKC!
