Microchip Brings Dog Home from BC to Montreal
Pollux the dog somehow traveled from Montreal, Quebec to Kamloops, BC – a journey of almost 4,245 kilometres or 2,637 miles
I never cease to be amazed at some of the journeys our pets can make, all on their own. I also never cease to be amazed at how effective microchips can be at bringing back our lost or stolen pets.
This story definitely falls into the ‘amazing’ category.
From the Toronto Star –
A Montreal pooch is about to return home from a shocking, unscheduled, 4,500-kilometre journey that over the last year allowed her to see more of Canada than most Canadians do.
The black Labrador named Pollux, a rescue dog who hated water and rain, bolted from the backyard during a soggy day in June 2010 and left her east-end Montreal home.
Her owners believe she fled through an open gate. It’s unclear what sorts of adventures the littlest hobo had next.
All they know is that she finally wound up just outside Kamloops, B.C., where she was found last month.
“She went from the east side of town to the west side of the country,” joked Isabelle Robitaille from her Montreal home on Wednesday.
How she got to B.C. remains a mystery. Details of the trip remain a secret to everyone but Pollux.
Pollux was returned thanks to her microchip –
Fast-forward to Canada Day 2011 and a shocking phone call from the SPCA branch in Kamloops: a dog with a microchip implanted in her skin and containing Robitaille’s contact information was found in B.C.
“I said, ‘Send me pictures,’ because I didn’t believe it,” Robitaille said.
“And they sent me a picture and it was her.”
Here’s the only part I find a bit confusing –
The Labrador retriever had been named Suki by her saviours in the southern interior city of Kamloops, B.C. She has lived there at least a month after being found about 65 kilometres outside the city, in a rural area.
While it’s great that Pollux is home, and that someone at the shelter thought to check her for a microchip, why did it take a full month (‘at least’) before that happened?
I’m so happy for that dog. I can never stress to people how important a microchip is. I also cannot stress how important it is to UPDATE the current owner’s information on a microchip. I found a stray dog at the beginning of the week and she was microchipped. However, the microchip was traced back to a pet store and the owners didn’t update their information to the microchip company. I was reluctant to turn her into TAS/THS right away so I posted a bunch of posters, posted her picture on the THS & TAS website, etc. and luckily, her owners called late last night yesterday. Thank goodness they found her.
What amazing story. It is hard to imagine what kind of adventures of the dog from the time that he got lost and being found. I am glad that the microchip helps another people to be reunited to their lost pets.
“Here’s the only part I find a bit confusing –
The Labrador retriever had been named Suki by her saviours in the southern interior city of Kamloops, B.C. She has lived there at least a month after being found about 65 kilometres outside the city, in a rural area.
While it’s great that Pollux is home, and that someone at the shelter thought to check her for a microchip, why did it take a full month (‘at least’) before that happened?”
— Just wanted to answer this question. It took a full month for her microchip to be checked because when the family called SPCA, the shelter did not have the space for Pollux/ Suki. It took about three weeks before Pollux/ Suki was dropped off at the SPCA.