Tag Archives: microchip

Mitch – A True Survivor’s Tale

Mitch Collage

This is a true survivor’s tale – a story about a dog named Mitch, a Border Collie Mix who slipped out of his collar and went missing  on 1/20/14 just two weeks after being adopted by a new family.  Immediately after he got loose on that cold winter’s day, his family posted him on Lost Dogs Illinois.  As the weeks went by, they responded to each sighting, started a Facebook page dedicated to finding him, and never gave up hope.  Little did they know that Mitch had  been traveling from Burr Ridge to Countryside, surviving on his own for 6 months. During that time, neighbors were feeding him, the vet clinic was trying to lure him in, and the police were trying to catch him, but Mitch was in survival mode and evaded everyone.  And then, out of the blue, over a year since he’d been lost, a jogger contacted the staff at the Barker Shop in La Grange about this dog he kept seeing.  The shop posted the sighting on their Facebook page, and other people started posting that they too had seen this dog!  The Barker Shop Rescue Team went into action; set up a feeding station and then a humane trap, which they placed in the snow.  Mitch entered the trap right away but the door got caught in the snow and wouldn’t close.  They then moved the trap to an intersection, as Mitch watched their every move.  Once the rescue team returned to their cars, Mitch started sniffing around and got into the trap.  Success!  He was taken, inside the trap, to the vet clinic, where he was scanned for a microchip.  Once the chip information came up on the scanner, Mitch’s owners were called and there was a very, very happy reunion. Smart, brave, resourceful Mitch had survived the Polar Vortex and the Blizzard of 2015.  He did not starve, nor was he killed by coyotes.  Missing 1/20/14,  Reunited 2/08/15.  Welcome Home…at last, Mitch!

Bobbi “Marley” Story

Rescue is never ever what we anticipate.

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We have literally been through hell these last few weeks.

We wanted to share with you that as of tonight, Marley (Mia) has been safely reunited with her rightful owners. It is a very long story, but we can assure you that she is safe, loved and so wanted.

We discovered that Marley’s microchip was misread at the shelter when we tried to register her. We learned that she was reported missing during the Polar Vortex in February 2014. We are still reeling in this discovery.

We had a very difficult decision to make. We’ve long been advocates of keeping animals safe and we have also shared countless stories of lost dogs and reunification.
We wanted to do right by Marley. We knew that she was found in deplorable conditions. It was easy for us to assume the worst. It was easier to believe that she was better off in rescue.

We were faced with a moral and ethical decision. We prayed like crazy and knew that we had to do the right thing and it was up to the owner to show us how much they truly searched and cared for this dog.

With the help of CACC and rescue friends…our prayers were answered.
Records of their search were shown via microchip and at the shelter. Mia’s owner just gave birth on October 1st and was still in the hospital when she received our phone call through the shelter. She literally discharged early, with her new baby and drove directly to the shelter to be reunited. There was no mistake that this dog was loved, wanted and missed. We are thankful that we could witness the reunification and feel the out pour of emotion. We are also grateful that they want us to stay in touch and visit this special angel.

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Thank you Making A Difference Rescue for sharing Mia (Marley) story.

https://www.facebook.com/Makingadifferencerescue

Lost Dogs Illinois: More than a posting service…..

stray dog free

You know Lost Dogs Illinois provides free posting of lost and found dogs in Illinois, reuniting over 22,000 dogs in our nearly 6 years of existence, but did you know we do more than that?  Take a look below and read about the other services we proudly provide to the Illinois dog community:

www.lostdogsillinois.org is the LDI website packed with educational and resource materials to help prevent losing a dog and guide lost dog owners on how to find their dog.  Articles providing resources and action plans are just two of the great resources.

Lost Dogs Illinois has partnered with Helping Lost Pets (HeLP). HeLP is a totally FREE, map-based national lost/found registry which provides 4 different flyer templates.

Tips, articles and other useful resources to assist in finding a lost dog or a lost dog’s owner are posted daily on our Facebook page.

Community Outreach Events are an important way for LDI to spread the word about our services, provide educational handouts and provide free microchip scans for dogs.  Also, thanks to an ASPCA grant, LDI is now able to make engraved id tags on the spot at events and provide them at low cost to pet owners.

We believe microchips are an essential part of identifying lost pets and LDI donates microchips to be used by shelters, rescues and animal control agencies at low cost clinics.

Pinterest, Instagram and Twitter are three important social media platforms that LDI also uses.

Education for Animal Welfare Professionals; LDI believes in working not only with the public but animal welfare professionals by presenting best practices for starting a lost dog recovery team and increasing return to owner rates for shelter/rescue/animal control staff.

Also, for owners of lost dogs and finders of lost dogs we don’t just post the dog; they receive an informational email and are directed to our website for tools and resources in lost dog recovery.

So, there is a lot more going on at Lost Dogs Illinois than just the lost and found postings on our Facebook page!  We thank you for your support of all our work.