Would You Give An Adopted Dog Back?

[Dame Aussie]

if this was my dog I would move heaven and hell to get her back. No if, buts or maybe's. The rightful owner has turned up, it was not their fault the dog was in the pound system long enough to be put up for adoption, it is not the pounds fault nor the new owners. But that dog is mine and I would be getting her back no matter how nasty it got.

Years ago I did ask the question about what would happen if a dog was adopted out and then the owners turned up. The answer was the dog would have to go back and we were instructed to tell all new adopters if the original owner turned up within a certain time frame ( which I forget ) then they would have to hand the dog back. In fact it was on the paperwork they signed that they would give the dog back.

Me too.

And yes many rescues and pounds have this as a clause. Its pretty rare but I've seen it happen.

[Alibi]

Even microchipping isn't fail safe though, I had to change my address on my last dogs details and found out after 8yrs of having her chipped her number was mixed up with another dog (guessing the chip stickers were mixed with another dog that got chipped at the same vet that day) so there was no chance I would have been able to get her back through her chip.

[OSoSwift]

I know of a local who had one dog and three cats chipped. She got them rechecked and two of the cats and the dog had chips that were not working and had to be replaced.

[Her Majesty Dogmad]

Even microchipping isn't fail safe though, I had to change my address on my last dogs details and found out after 8yrs of having her chipped her number was mixed up with another dog (guessing the chip stickers were mixed with another dog that got chipped at the same vet that day) so there was no chance I would have been able to get her back through her chip.

That's right, as a rescuer I do all my paperwork when dogs are adopted and send it off.

I just asked for a list from the council of all the dogs registered in my name and guess what? Some of the dogs i have adopted out and completed Transfer of Ownerships on are still in my name ...

[lilypily]

Today's paper letters to the editor section was full of letters re: this subject. The majority of people were saying to give the dog back. Some letters were not nice at all to the new owners. I bet they are in hiding at the moment and keeping Mia indoors.

[GbDb]

Even microchipping isn't fail safe though, I had to change my address on my last dogs details and found out after 8yrs of having her chipped her number was mixed up with another dog (guessing the chip stickers were mixed with another dog that got chipped at the same vet that day) so there was no chance I would have been able to get her back through her chip.

That's right, as a rescuer I do all my paperwork when dogs are adopted and send it off.

I just asked for a list from the council of all the dogs registered in my name and guess what? Some of the dogs i have adopted out and completed Transfer of Ownerships on are still in my name ...

Yep, and then there is my latest pet peeve: UNREGISTERED microchips.

Microchipping simply isn't enough! A microchip has to be registered, or it is completely useless!

I kept hearing very sad and frustrating stories about unregistered microchips from my rescues, but it never really registered with me (no pun intended) what it meant, until someone posted the following link:

http://petaddress.com.au/

To my horror, one of my boys wasn't registered either!

It's easy. Just go there and type in your pet's microchip number to see if it is indeed registered, and/or to update your contact info.

If you can't find anything, please immediately contact your registry, so the problem can be fixed before the chip info is ever needed.

[Bjelkier]

Even microchipping isn't fail safe though, I had to change my address on my last dogs details and found out after 8yrs of having her chipped her number was mixed up with another dog (guessing the chip stickers were mixed with another dog that got chipped at the same vet that day) so there was no chance I would have been able to get her back through her chip.

That's right, as a rescuer I do all my paperwork when dogs are adopted and send it off.

I just asked for a list from the council of all the dogs registered in my name and guess what? Some of the dogs i have adopted out and completed Transfer of Ownerships on are still in my name ...

Yep, and then there is my latest pet peeve: UNREGISTERED microchips.

Microchipping simply isn't enough! A microchip has to be registered, or it is completely useless!

I kept hearing very sad and frustrating stories about unregistered microchips from my rescues, but it never really registered with me (no pun intended) what it meant, until someone posted the following link:

http://petaddress.com.au/

To my horror, one of my boys wasn't registered either!

It's easy. Just go there and type in your pet's microchip number to see if it is indeed registered, and/or to update your contact info.

If you can't find anything, please immediately contact your registry, so the problem can be fixed before the chip info is ever needed.

This happened to someone I sold an older dog to. She got it worked out but I felt terrible to muck them around like that.

[~Anne~]

Even microchipping isn't fail safe though, I had to change my address on my last dogs details and found out after 8yrs of having her chipped her number was mixed up with another dog (guessing the chip stickers were mixed with another dog that got chipped at the same vet that day) so there was no chance I would have been able to get her back through her chip.

That's right, as a rescuer I do all my paperwork when dogs are adopted and send it off.

I just asked for a list from the council of all the dogs registered in my name and guess what? Some of the dogs i have adopted out and completed Transfer of Ownerships on are still in my name ...

Yes, I regularly got the same result. The database details are only as good as those who comply and those who enter the details.

[melzawelza]

Even microchipping isn't fail safe though, I had to change my address on my last dogs details and found out after 8yrs of having her chipped her number was mixed up with another dog (guessing the chip stickers were mixed with another dog that got chipped at the same vet that day) so there was no chance I would have been able to get her back through her chip.

That's right, as a rescuer I do all my paperwork when dogs are adopted and send it off.

I just asked for a list from the council of all the dogs registered in my name and guess what? Some of the dogs i have adopted out and completed Transfer of Ownerships on are still in my name ...

Yep, and then there is my latest pet peeve: UNREGISTERED microchips.

Microchipping simply isn't enough! A microchip has to be registered, or it is completely useless!

I kept hearing very sad and frustrating stories about unregistered microchips from my rescues, but it never really registered with me (no pun intended) what it meant, until someone posted the following link:

http://petaddress.com.au/

To my horror, one of my boys wasn't registered either!

It's easy. Just go there and type in your pet's microchip number to see if it is indeed registered, and/or to update your contact info.

If you can't find anything, please immediately contact your registry, so the problem can be fixed before the chip info is ever needed.

Pet address is great but NSW people need to know that the NSW companion animal registry (compulsory government run registry) does not participate. So if your pet is only listed there it won't come up if you search pet address.

[Little Gifts]

I just checked using that website (thank you GbDb!) and had to update our contact info for Stussy and Wolf. Even worse - no record of Tempeh's number! Not happy about that and will be ringing NPR tomorrow! My worst nightmare!

So now all I need to do is have all 3 scanned by my vet to make sure the chips are reading and they contain the same number.

My advice is don't assume everything is ok just because you paid your money and sent off your form.

[Rascalmyshadow]

Don't ever completely trust microchips I know of a dog that was picked up as a stray went through all correct channels, and was adopted by the person that found him.

A few months later he needed surgery, when the vets scanned him they picked up two chips, the original one that no one else had found and the new one he got at the shelter. His original owners were contacted, they had moved from Melbourne to Queensland and didn't think they would see him again so had bought another dog. Luckily his new owners were given permission to keep him.

[Kajirin]

There really needs to be one national registry so all scanners work and scan the chips properly

[~Anne~]

There really needs to be one national registry so all scanners work and scan the chips properly

Sometimes it's not the scanner but the person checking. They may only check a limited number of databases.

I get your point though. I think it is the 'stupid of the century'. We are one country yet we operate under several different animal related laws which are governed at State level. You'd think that the relevant State government departments could collaborate so that their laws were all complementary. Surely it can't be that hard.

Edited November 4, 2013 by ~Anne~

[tdierikx]

We've had dogs into our rescue with chips in very strange places - they can move, but some pounds will only scan the shoulder area where the chip is supposed to be...

Some pounds don't even have a chip scanner... which is even scarier...

I agree with Anne - there should be ONE national register that ALL chip details are entered into. If you are holidaying interstate with your dog, and it goes missing, at least you may have some chance at having it returned.

T.

[Dame Aussie]

Yep. Chips move quite often IME, usually down around to the front legs or chest for some reason. Where I worked we would run the scanner all over each dog a few times.

[melzawelza]

I've almost missed a chip in a dog before. Scanned and scanned.. nothing. Ended up on the fourth scan finding it tucked right inside the dog's armpit. A lot of people may not have been so persistent and never found it.

[Maddy]

Based on the information in that particular story.. yeah, I'd just give the dog back.

My reasoning is entirely practical though- after a week or so, I wouldn't be especially attached to the dog and as long as I got the adoption fee back, no real loss. I guess you could think of it as some unexpected dog minding.

[moosmum]

I haven't voted.

It would depend on too many other factors. In this case, yes I would likely give the dog back, but as a child I was forced to do just that only to have the dog spend the next 2 years of his life trying to get back to me. He would turn up dragging a chain and I would have to go through the heart ache of handing him back over and over again.

When a friends GSD disapeared he didn't wait long enough to get another. He was always comparing the younger GSd to the old. The new dog went missing for a week and was found with a young boy who adored him and wanted to keep him. The friend took the dog back. I asked him to give him up.

He didn't, but was killed not not long after in a motorcycle accident. I hope the mans family managed to get the dog back to the boy.

Edited November 4, 2013 by moosmum

[curly]

For the record, if anyone pinched my dog in this way, he'd be home before the sun went down. I don't care what any sales receipt might say, my dog will never be given up, he is chipped and and has multiple registrations in my name. Chip moved or didn't scan? Don't care. If I had to walk the streets calling him I would. The good part is he'd do anything to get back to me, so it wouldn't really matter if he was behind a fence.

And once he's home, I can prove he's mine.

(PS, yes, I'd consider the dog 'pinched'. The new owners might have bought him, but they know where he truly belongs and refuse to give him back.)

[Sares]

I've almost missed a chip in a dog before. Scanned and scanned.. nothing. Ended up on the fourth scan finding it tucked right inside the dog's armpit. A lot of people may not have been so persistent and never found it.

I agree it happens, I had a Rotti that was chipped as a puppy, he was very healthy and didnt need a vet visit for around 11 years until arthritis started to get to him. But at 11 years old, the Vet tried to scan for his chip and couldnt find it anywhere on him. I had to convince them it was there as I know he was chipped but they kept asking me if I was sure.

Of course I was sure!

But after much scanning, we never found the chip.. I think it moved to his insides somewhere.