By: Jessica Gonzales

Microchipping is important for you and your pet. Being reunited with them if they are ever lost is easier if they have a microchip. In 2011, I acquired Beuford from my aunt and uncle. They were unable to keep him because they were moving. As soon as I got him I brought him in and made sure he had everything he needed or so I thought I did. He had vaccines already, so I had him neutered and continued him on heartworm medication. He was a great guy, energetic, overgrown puppy and very protective of our household. He loved being outside and going for rides, whether he was in our vehicle or in the back of the truck. All you had to do was tell him to “load up”. He was a very smart dog. He used to let himself out of the fenced front area by opening the gate door. At times, I thought he had his own key. He would also put himself back in before we got home. This was witnessed a few times. He was amazing and I was looking forward to spending so much more time with him. Training him would have been so easy he was learning so much. See I thought I had provided him with everything he needed. What I did neglect to get for him was having him microchipped. Big mistake, because after having him with us for 9 months I got home and Beuford was gone. I just figured he had let himself out once again. So the children and I start going around looking for him. We went down to the creek to see if he had made his way back there and couldn’t get back even though he had never really ventured that far. I started asking the neighbors and no one had seen him. I drove up and down our road with the windows down and the children calling out for him. I live in the country so I called the Sheriff Department, surrounding vet clinics and animal control for my county just hoping maybe he would have been taken in if he had been found wandering. To no avail, he was nowhere to be found. See even though he was very protective of the family, if we were not around him was just a friendly guy. He was never aggressive he just always put himself between us and other people some strangers some not. Anyone could have easily opened car door or tailgate and he would have “loaded up”- he loved car rides. What makes things sadder for me is that if I would have had him microchipped, I would still have him here with me today. All anyone had to do was take him into vet or shelter and he would have been scanned. They could have seen he belonged to someone and would have contacted us so we could get him back. That was one of the hardest lessons I had to learn. Not only did I lose a part of our family I let him down by not having him microchipped. I just told myself that hopefully whoever had him treated him well and loved him as we did. Needless to say, when we finally decided to get another pet he was microchipped. This was not a scenario I want to repeat again.