A DOG owner who feared the worst after her much loved German Shepard Elsa went missing got a wonderful surprise last week when her pet was found – exactly a year to the day after she disappeared!
Elsa was discovered straying in the Finglas Cabra area by two kind ladies who wrapped her up in their beige woollen jumpers to keep her warm.
They then brought her to the Dogs Trust rehoming centre in Finglas where staff set about trying to see if they could find the owner.
But there’s only one sure way to reunite missing dogs and their owners, and that’s with a microchip.
A staff member scanned Elsa for a microchip, and to everyone’s great delight she was chipped, and even better, contact details were recorded.
Elsa rested her head on the laps of the ladies who found her while Dogs Trust contacted the number registered to the chip.
Megan, who had reported her beloved dog missing exactly one year ago, immediately began to cry when she heard that Elsa had been found.
Megan had never given up hope and said that she had never stopped looking for Elsa who went missing from Ballyfermot.
Megan, her partner and two children came rushing into Dogs Trust rehoming centre, bringing with them videos they had of Elsa playing, and a screenshot of the plea they had made on social media to help find Elsa.
Campaigns manager at Dogs Trust Ireland, Sarah Lynch, said the story highlighted the importance of microchipping.
“This is a perfect example of the benefits that a correctly registered microchip can bring,” she said.
“Microchipping your dog and having your up-to-date details registered against the chip is compulsory by law in Ireland since 2016.
“Sadly we see all too often stray dogs arriving into rescue centres and dog pounds either without a microchip or with incorrect details recorded against the chip they have, which makes reuniting them with their owner a sometimes impossible task.
“As Ireland’s largest dog welfare charity, we want to ensure that all lost dogs can be returned safely to their home where they belong, which is why we run annual microchipping campaigns across Ireland to encourage more people to microchip their dog and keep their most up to date contact details recorded against it.
“We are so delighted for Megan and her family, and extremely grateful to Elsa’s finders who kept her safe and brought her in to be scanned for a microchip.”
If you are unsure about your dog’s microchip details, you can check them with any of the government-approved databases; Fido, Animark, Irish Kennel Club and Microdog ID Ltd.
