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Woman who never stopped updating her lost dog's chip reunites with him after 11y
- ViktorRay 7mo agoThese microchips are amazing technology. I highly highly encourage all you pet lovers to obtain one for your little homie. You never know when you’ll need it.
- OptionOfT 7mo ago24 EU countries have mandatory dog micro-chipping. In Belgium there is a centralized database in which the data is maintained. When I moved to the USA I thought it was very weird that it wasn't done automatically, and that there are many databases out there. In fact, one went bust a while ago: https://www.cbsnews.com/pittsburgh/news/microchip-company-closes-pet-owner-next-steps/ https://www.cbsnews.com/pittsburgh/news/microchip-company-cl... Now what? Gotta pay to have 18 digits and an address inserted in a database? I thought it was very weird in the USA
- 3eb7988a1663 7mo agoThat is upsetting for what could almost certainly be run from a SQLite database on a garbage-tier host. Presumably 99.9% of all animals are registered one time and never again queried. Could be near zero operational burden, but of course, capitalism.
- sojournerc 7mo agoColoradan with all chipped pets for decades. Not sure where you're coming from. Our friend was reunited with a cat with a chip that was lost for a 6 months. Shitting on the US is great for karma these days
- deleted 7mo ago[deleted]
- gonzalohm 7mo agoDid your state chip your pet or was it a private company? I think they are saying that there are no centralized authorities and you depend on private companies
- sojournerc 7mo agohttps://www.petlink.net/microchip-search/ https://www.petlink.net/microchip-search/ It seems the various chip companies share registry data, doesn't have to be state run.
- kelnos 7mo agoLike many things in the US, there's no centralized authority that mandates this sort of thing. Some states have laws around this some don't. For those that don't, some counties or cities might have laws around this. Belgium of course has a stronger central government, small land area, and a small population, so I'm not surprised that something like that would be done country-wide. The shelter in my city chips every animal before anyone can adopt them. It's honestly bonkers to me why anyone who has a pet wouldn't chip them. It's cheap (especially when considering the cost of a regular vet visit), and can save you from lots of heartbreak later on.
- gonzalohm 7mo agoYeah, I moved to the US and I also thought it was weird. Same with vaccination stuff for dogs. You need to carry paperwork if you want to cross the Canada border. It's a throwback to the last century I guess.
- aa-jv 7mo agoI had moved into a new place, and it had a little garden, which attracted stray city cats. A kitten found my garden and adopted it, just moving in and living there. I invited her inside, fed her, took her to the vet, made sure she was okay. She had no chip, was definitely a stray. So I adopted her, got her chipped per the law, and she grew into a fine cat who loved her place with me - she was great. One time she got out, and I got the call. But it wasn't to get her back, it was to come get her corpse from under the car that had flattened her some distance from our home. In many ways, I wish I'd not gotten the chip, that was a really traumatic event which I'd probably have avoided, at least not knowing what had happened.
- arjie 7mo agoI wear one of these chips on my wristwatch since the 125 kHz RFID lets me open doors and use the elevator in my building without needing to pull out my keys. It’s entirely passive so I’m guessing that the chip in question carries an ID that is read by a reader and points to an ID on some pet identification database. So she was “updating the chip” less and “keeping the database up to date” more. Ubiquitous microchips are really quite amazing.
- zoklet-enjoyer 7mo agoI've had one in my hand for 12 years. It has my contact card on it.
- randerson 7mo agoI'm not even sure which of many questions to ask first.. - Are you a furry? - Do you tend to wander off and forget who you are? - Who would think to scan a human for a chip? - Is this a common thing to do and I just don't know it? - Did you put the chip there or did someone else? - Or was it some kind of freak accident?
- rimunroe 7mo agoYou can inject these things pretty easily. They're about the size of a grain of rice, and pretty popular in some circles.
- netsharc 7mo agoPopular in Sweden, apparently: https://geeksaroundglobe.com/6000-swedes-implant-chips-in-skin-future-or-frightening/ https://geeksaroundglobe.com/6000-swedes-implant-chips-in-sk... And when they used it as a digital identifier to check for the Covid-vaccination status, of course all the wormbrained screamed that "Covid certificate mandate leads to Swedish government microchipping its citizens!'.
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- TuringNYC 7mo agoThanks for the heartwarming story, loved it! Quite a nice change from all the depressing news otherwise.
- EGreg 7mo agoCan someone here explain what she was updating? If her dog wasn't nearby, what does it mean to "update his chip"?
- Baeocystin 7mo agoHer contact information.
- sjsdaiuasgdia 7mo agoUpdating her contact information with the database the chip was registered with
- gnabgib 7mo agoIt's an RFID, it just emits a unique token, which an online system links to records... she's updating the linked record.
- netsharc 7mo agoStupid people who don't understand how things work and then convey them imprecisely... Even with a job as a "journalist"...
- thelastgallon 7mo ago> her beloved pit bull, Forty-Cal, had been missing for 11 years. > He's super docile and friendly. Always has been. Are pit bulls known for being docile?
- thewoodsman 7mo agoHonestly, all the ones I've known have been super sweet dogs. I can never quite bring myself to fully trust them, but frankly I never fully trust any dog.
- sloped 7mo agoThis is the way.
- xoxxala 7mo ago“It’s not the dog, it’s the owner.” There is a self-selecting bias with pit bulls. People who buy and raise pit bulls often want a “mean” “tough” dog, so that’s what they get. You get a loving sweet pit bull if you raise them in a loving sweet way. Dogs are like children; they are very observant and pick up on even the tiniest of cues. Although, like people, some dogs (of all different breeds) are born more aggressive. That can usually be corrected with training. It’s mostly nurture, and part nature.
- tom_ 7mo agoNot typically - but when it's called Forty Cal, maybe? That's what, one bell pepper?
- doodlebugging 7mo agoOr maybe it's short for Forty Caliber. Pretty big difference.
- tom_ 7mo agoHm, that's a good point. I totally did not think of that as a possibility. But what are the chances? I mean, it's just a cute little pit bull we're talking about here! It's not as if it's even a big dog, like a golden retriever, or a nice friendly alsatian.
- _doctor_love 7mo agoMicrochipping dogs makes a lot of sense. What are the privacy concerns though? If someone wants to hunt a person down, I imagine the microchips in the dogs would make a great tracking device.
- xoxxala 7mo agoThey are very short range RFID tags that contain no personal information, just an ID number. They don’t make good tracking devices. Some owners do use GPS trackers or AirTag like devices.
- conductr 7mo agoMy dog wears an AirTag in her collar. The collar was designed for it and has a waterproof case for the AirTag.
- duskwuff 7mo ago> I imagine the microchips in the dogs would make a great tracking device. They don't. The range of a typical chip reader is a few inches - reading one requires handling the dog (and can be tricky if the chip's migrated from its expected position). It's not something that can be done covertly, or from a distance.
- randycupertino 7mo agoIt may vary by company but a lot of the time the chip company acts as a neutral intermediary. For example we adopted a homeless cat, and the vet found a chip on her, gave us the chip company info. The chip company wouldn't give us the owner's information but contacted them on our behalf and said we'd found her. They replied to the chip company who told us they moved away and we could have her. We love her so much!
- imp0cat 7mo agoYes, the data can help uncover Russian spies. There is a fascinating yt document about it https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xjo0iLssbI8 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xjo0iLssbI8 ( How I caught an Illegal Russian Spy )
- zzzeek 7mo agowas the dog a stray for 11 years? or just owned by someone? I'm not following what actually happened
- cloudbonsai 7mo agoI listened to the podcast linked in the article, and my understanding of the timeline is: - The owner originally had two dogs. Both disappeared from her backyard one day. One dog returned home. The other vanished without a trace. - Eleven years later, a random girl found the missing dog outside. She befriended the dog and brought him home. She talked with her parents and contacted ACCT Philly, who in turn found the original owner through a microchip. Does this make sense? To me, this story managed to be a rare mix of heartwarming, insightful and frustrating.
- kombookcha 7mo agoEleven years seems like a very long time to be a Philly street dog - kinda makes you wonder if it wasn't adopted by somebody in the interrim before ending up with the girl somehow.
- jollyllama 7mo agoWelcome to Philly.
- olalonde 7mo agoI wonder how the dog survived for 11 years... Surely he wasn't a stray that entire time?
- lofaszvanitt 7mo agoAliens abducted the dog. And now they gave it back.
- kelnos 7mo agoThe article mentions that the woman suspected the dog was stolen. So perhaps he did live with someone for many years, and was either found after running away, or... something.
- deleted 7mo ago[deleted]
- sillysaurusx 7mo agoI don't think it's legally required for vets to check chips whenever new "owners" take them in for a visit. I've been holding out hope for reuniting with my missing cat Salt, but wherever he is, he's happily in someone else's living room. And I doubt the microchip will bring him back anytime soon. Sadly cat snatching is a real thing that's happened to me possibly twice. The first time was confirmed beyond a doubt; I had to bust out my cat from her back porch at 2am or so when I was roaming the neighborhood looking for him. The only reason I was even in the vicinity was that it was the last spot the GPS tracker reported before he went missing. "Keep your pets indoors, then!" Yeah, yeah. The risks come with the territory. But my boy Pepper is still with me after a couple years, and I'm hoping a tag with "I have a happy home" followed by my number will keep would-be "do-gooders" away. (A lot of these crazy folks that snatch pets think they're doing the pet a favor by taking them.) Miss you Salt. Anyway, the point is, if vets were legally required to actually check the chips when they're brought in for appiontments, they'd quickly notice the discrepancy. They're the only entity in the world in a position to do something about it. But what vet is gonna try to take "your" pet away from you when you take them in just because of mismatched chips? Nobody, because pets are property, and that would be theft according to the law.
- akerl_ 7mo ago> The risks come with the territory To be clear here, the “territory” here is letting your pet free roam off of your property and expecting everybody else to be cool with that?
- Daneel_ 7mo agoExactly. Please keep cats indoors - they kill all the local wildlife. I have a cat and it stays indoors exclusively.
- sillysaurusx 7mo agoThis is a widely-cited myth, and almost impossible to measure in practice. What does "all the local wildlife" even mean? Is the threat here that birds are going to go extinct because of cats? Not likely, and the burden of proof is on the people repeating this mistaken belief. Using "think of the birds" as a justification for imprisoning your cat for their entire lives is also pretty crummy. It's called wildlife because they exist in the wilderness. Even if cats kill a large number of birds, so what? Those birds don't have a happy, loving home with emotional bonds to an actual human. If you think this logic is flawed, explain why you're fine with flies dying but not birds. I bet you've swatted a few in your time.
- aaron695 7mo ago[dead]
- tha_hnrain 7mo agoI don't mean to sound snarky, but I wonder if people would feel the same joy if they found their lost children after a long time, or if the joy would be muddled quickly due to complicated relationships :'( . We are a very peculiar species.
- deleted 7mo ago[deleted]
- mlrtime 7mo agoYou don't have kids do you? Let me put it this way: Your life is forever ruined if you "lose" a child. I would never stop looking. Arguably it is MUCH worse to not know what happened (no closure).
- deleted 7mo ago[deleted]
- IAmBroom 7mo agoI'm not entirely sure we're of the same species.
- jeffrallen 7mo agoI received an email about a lost dog 10 years after I adopted her and then gave her to another family. They got her back! Databases work!
- deleted 7mo ago[deleted]
- aucisson_masque 7mo ago>I had other animals in the house, as well, that were family pets, but Forty was my dog," she said. "I paid for him with my own money at 16 years old." ... I don't if it's an American thing but it's not something I'd say. The dog is an animal, it feels like it's compared to a car that she paid with HER OWN MONEY and then was stolen.. Tell me you loved him, it was the one you loved the most, stuffs like that but 'i paid for it with my own money'... She might as well has bought an iphone.
- mlrtime 7mo agoA dog is personal property (possession) under the law. What is your point?
- aucisson_masque 7mo agoIf you didn’t get my point the first time, I’m afraid you won’t get it. Still, let’s give it a try. I’m human, I do love my dog. I don’t consider it to be a table that has a 100€ price tag attached to it. If someone stole my table, I’d be pretty pissed of because he stole me money. If someone steal my dog, I’m pretty pissed off because I do LOVE it. when I find my dog back, I’d be happy, not because I found back my 100€ worth of dog but because it’s a living being that I missed emotionally. Hopefully you get the difference. I know some people who consider their animals like raw meat, 2€ a day worth of food + chained 24/24 to a tree = home guardian. I personally find that lunatic in 2026. Think it’s a cultural thing. When I see how globally Americans treat their dog, and you’re right to point out it’s a property according to law, because that’s how they treat them. It’s like the dog is a table or a chair, and if you’re not happy with it you abandon it like you would throw away a broken chair.
- Markoff 7mo ago"She brought him into the house with her parents and they made him some hotdogs." Is it common in US to feed dogs with hotdogs?
- squishy47 7mo agoAs long as they're not panting, I think it's generally not cannibalism.
- gonzalohm 7mo agoIt's common to give snacks to your pet. In the US and anywhere
- boomboomsubban 7mo agoIf you found a dog on the street then you probably don't have any actual dog food. A hot dog seems like one of the best options in an average fridge.
- Markoff 7mo agosausage I can understand, hotdog as sausage in bun is beyond my understanding
- OkayPhysicist 7mo agoAh, there's the confusion. We typically refer to both the sausage itself, and the complete dish (with bun and toppings), as a "hot dog", especially if the sausage is a generic Frankfurter or Vienna sausage. If someone said they fed a dog a hotdog, I'd assume it's just the sausage.
- alkyon 7mo agoReminds me of this superb part of the Odyssey where Odysseus is reunited with his dog, Argos, after 20 years of absence. Odysseus was in disguise, but it's only him that could pass the test and recognize the returning king, after which he died. https://scaife.perseus.org/reader/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0012.tlg002.perseus-eng3:17.290/ https://scaife.perseus.org/reader/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0012.t...