Microchipping

[DogMa]

I own Sadie, a microchipped, AKC registered, rare black mini schnauzer bitch who is now 9 months old. On June 15, she escaped from my yard. I put up signs in the neighborhood believing that if she was at the pound or another local shelter they would find the microchip and call me immediately. On the 22nd, I found my dog at the local animal control. She was up for adoption and spayed. Animal control officers scanned her again but could not find her chip due to mishandling and/or faulty scanning equipment. After some work on the equipment, and once I took the scanner in my own hand to scan, her chip was detected. I had to pay $117 to get my own mutilated bitch back. I paid $750 for Sadie....her pedigree was exactly what I wanted. I was to breed her to my excellent quality stud. A waiting list for 8 of their puppies already exists at prices rangeing from $550-$750 each. I am still in shock and am not sure what to do at this point. Any comments??

[carrie]

Crikey!!
How did you stop youself from..... well let's leave that!
Go see a lawyer, first write to the kennels and state what happened and how shocked and dissapointed you were not to recieve a letter of apology for their failure to detect the chip. Express your concern that other dogs from the shelter may have been rehomed when they had responsible owners waiting for them. Also state how much you paid to get your dog back and how upset you are that after taking the trouble to have your dog chipped it was their incompetence that the dog was not returned to you as soon as it arrived at the shelter.
If you get a reply take it and any other paperwork from the shelter to a lawyer.
This is a rare and devastating thing to have happened, please don't let it put you off having other dogs chipped. Always have a tag on their collar too with your phone number and that the dog is chipped on it. This helps a great deal if the dog is lost and also deters thiefs.
Good luck let us know what happens.

[KYS]

First, I am very glad you found your dog.

I agree with Carrie, see what your rights are in your state and see
if the scanner was faulty or just
does not scan your particular chip.
They have attorny's that
specialize just in animals.
Hopefully you can get your answers
with your first consultation before
it costs you a arm and a leg.
If you end up in small claims court
gather as much proof as you can.
Such as letters from puppy buyers on your waiting list.
Letter from your bitch's breeder etc. etc.
Please keep us informed of the outcome.

[lhg0962]

On one hand, I know you are disappointed at what happened , but if you love your dog the way most of us do, I know you're glad to have her back, regardless. I know that things like this happen, hopefully rarely, but was it incompetence or just a chip that was hard to scan? Did your dog have on a tag? It is amazing that they operated and placed the dog for adoption in such a short amount of time. Maybe you could focus your energies on revising their system, rather than hiring a lawyer. You're not going to get back what you have lost that way.
I have two purebred Golden Retrievers that I chose to have spayed as early as possible. I simply wasn't up to the "puppy" task.
Sorry for your trouble. I was just trying to think of a way to turn this into something positive. It could be your MISSION!!

[carrie]

That is a really good idea, to try and be positive but I would be so so angry! It's upto you but the previous suggestion is much healthier than my original one!!