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MORRIS – You’re kidding!
That was my reaction when someone from Skinner Animal Clinic in Wilmington called during my son’s wedding Sept. 6 to say she had my missing cat.
Hope had disappeared July 15 when she escaped from my son’s apartment in Morris. But because all our cats were microchipped when they were kittens, the miracle had occurred. We would get Hope back.
To help ensure all pets are microchipped, the nonprofit Lost Dogs Illinois has partnered with Joliet Township Animal Control, www.joliettownship.net/animalcontrol.html, to offer free microchips to the first 50 dogs at JTAC’s microchipping clinic scheduled for Saturday.
Cats and additional dogs will be microchipped at the discounted price of $15, said Susan Taney, director of Lost Dogs Illinois.
Keeping our fur babies healthy and homed has been challenging ever since we lost our Channahon home last fall. Two of them – Midnight and Faith – moved with me into a Joliet apartment and the other two – Frances and Hope – went to my son’s apartment in Morris.
That’s when the trouble began. Frances and Hope would not stay put. Our cats were accustomed to roaming around our Invisible Fence-protected yard and disliked confinement.
Eventually, Frances escaped and then “adopted” Amy Pilz, who is providing a temporary home for Frances. Hope, however, did not turn up.
We called Grundy County Animal Control. We called HomeAgain, the company with Hope’s microchip information, which sent out an alert. We ran Hope’s photo on Facebook, which is how we found Frances. We even set out a humane trap on the apartment fire escape, but someone stole it and threw Hope’s food bowl and blanket in a dumpster.
In the meantime, Hope found herself a new home. One July night, Jim Bokus of Morris heard a cat crying outside. Bokus’ cat, 20, a former stray Bokus adopted 15 years ago, had recently died. So Bokus opened the door, petted Hope and then fed her. Hope hung around his apartment all weekend, he said.
On Sunday, Bokus and his wife left Hope outside for six hours while they ran errands. She was nowhere in sight when they returned, so Bokus assumed she had gone home, until later that day, when Bokus happened to open the door.
Because Hope was well-groomed, Bokus assumed she had an owner, but he could not feel the microchip. Almost three months later, Bokus took Hope to Skinner Animal Clinic for a check-up. A quick scan revealed the microchip.
Shelly Murrell, an office worker at the clinic, said reunions often happen if the pet has proper ID, such as a microchip and a collar with current rabies tag.
Kathy Miranowic, marketing manager for HomeAgain (public.homeagain.com), said HomeAgain has reunited 14,000 pets with their owners since the company began in 1997, all because of microchipping and HomeAgain’s network of more than 1 million volunteers and 15,000 veterinarians nationwide.
To make that happen, owners need to register the microchip with the pet’s information – don’t rely on the veterinarian to do it for you, although some vets do provide that service – update the address and contact information when that changes, Miranowic said.
However, a microchip is not a tracking device, said Susan Taney, director of Lost Dogs of Illinois (www.lostdogsillinois.org), as some owners mistakenly think. It’s simply an effective identification tool.
“It’s amazing how many people think a microchip is a GPS,” Taney said.
IF YOU GO
WHAT: Microchipping clinic and pet blessing
WHEN: Oct. 4. Pet blessing is at 10 a.m. Microchips available until 1 p.m.
WHERE: Joliet Township Animal Control, 2807 McDonough St., Joliet
ETC: First 50 dogs receive free microchips. Discounted microchips at $15 to cats and additional dogs until 1 p.m. JTAC registers microchip information.
CONTACT: 815-725-0333