Episode 26
Chip, Chip Hooray! Reuniting Lost Pets
In this episode of Animal Posse, Dixie speaks with Jeanette Garlow from MicrochipHelp.com and Lost Dogs of Illinois about the critical role of microchipping in pet recovery. Jeanette shares expert insights on why microchips fail, how to track down chip data, and what steps to take the moment a pet goes missing. Whether you're a seasoned rescuer or a concerned pet parent, this episode arms you with the tools to turn heartbreak into homecoming.
đź’ˇ Bonus: Learn how grassroots groups are revolutionizing lost pet recovery through teamwork, technology, and tireless compassion.
#LostDogsOfIllinois #PetMicrochip #LostPetRecovery #LostDogs
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Transcript
Welcome to Animal Posse, the podcast dedicated to the
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:people and rescues making a
difference in the lives of animals.
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:Welcome everybody.
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:We're gonna have an
interesting show today.
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:We are gonna be welcoming Jeanette Garlow.
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:She is the director for microchip help.com
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:and also the co-director
for Lost Dogs Illinois
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:. Jeanette: Hello.
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:Dixie: Hi Jeanette.
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:How are you?
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:Jeanette: I'm good.
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:Dixie: To get started, tell me
a little bit about yourself.
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:Jeanette: This is Jeanette Garlow.
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:I am the co-director
for Lost Dogs Illinois.
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:I have been with Lost Dogs, Illinois
for nine years now, and I am also
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:the director for Microchip Help.com
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:and I have been with Microchip
help for nearly nine years as well.
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:Started that almost a year after
my start with lost Dogs Illinois.
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:And we reunite, lost and found
dogs with their families.
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:Dixie: What prompted you to get involved
with helping people find their lost dogs?
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:Jeanette: As most people in
animal welfare, i've always
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:had a passion for dogs.
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:Just even as a toddler, I
would gravitate to dogs.
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:I have always had empathy for
dogs and shelters and I know, deep
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:down that some of these animals
are there and don't belong there.
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:That there's homes they belong in.
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:And I had a friend about over
nine years ago who lost her
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:dog and I was helping her.
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:I was very involved with
helping her find her dog.
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:And that's when I learned
about Lost Dogs Illinois.
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:And just felt like that was
something that aligned with
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:everything that I felt in my heart.
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:That's how I got involved with the
organization, fell in love with what
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:they do and that's where I started.
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:Dixie: Yeah.
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:I'm very passionate about helping
people find their pets as well.
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:I started some groups on Facebook.
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:Jeanette: Yeah.
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:Dixie: Several years ago and I
got involved 'cause it's an easy
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:way to help people from home,
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:Jeanette: absolutely.
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:Dixie: Everybody can do it.
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:And I know I got in touch with you
because we had a cat pop up on our
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:group and it had a microchip, but
the microchip didn't go anywhere.
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:And that would be what's called
like a dead end microchip.
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:And normally I'm pretty good
at tracking them, but with
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:this one I got really stuck.
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:So I sent that information over
to you and you were able to pull
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:up that information right away.
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:The cat did end up going home.
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:We did find the owner and I know we
did tell the owner to go ahead and
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:make sure that all the information
for the microchip was updated.
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:Can you explain what a dead end
microchip is and why it is a common
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:problem with pet reunification?
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:Jeanette: Absolutely.
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:So as I said, I'm the
director for microchip help.
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:We have researched, oh, about 1500 chips
just last year of the dead end microchips.
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:And what they are either a microchip
that is registered to an owner.
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:The owner information has not been
updated either it's the same owner
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:with a new address and phone number.
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:They've moved, they haven't updated the
chip or it the owner had rehomed the dog.
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:And therefore the information
is updated as well.
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:Or we have many scenarios where the chip
has just never been registered and and.
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:You have to look for the facility that
microchip the dog or cat and contact
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:them, get the owner information.
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:Sometimes that information
is also outdated.
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:And then you have the scenario where
the microchip is just impossible to
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:find even who the manufacturer or the
implant facility, person or facility
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:that, that actually microchip the.
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:Those are a little bit more of a challenge
but it without, we find that 30 to 40%
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:of people don't ever register their
microchip and facilities and rescues.
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:Assume that people go home and
follow directions, read the
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:paperwork, call the chip company,
make sure their information's in.
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:People get home, they're excited to
have their new animal, or they get
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:home from picking up their animal
from a shelter after being reunited.
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:If it's been missing a while, they forget.
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:They don't think about
it, they don't realize.
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:But super important to make sure that
even if you do register, that you
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:call back later and make sure that
the information was input correctly.
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:We're all human and sometimes
numbers are entered wrong.
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:So we always suggest that, but
anytime you have an address or phone
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:number changed, super critical that
you contact the chip company and
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:change that information with them.
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:That's really the only way that.
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:That there's gonna be an easy way
for your animal to be reunited.
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:If there's no ID tag on, which of course
we recommend ID tags first and foremost,
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:and the microchip as well to back that up.
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:'Cause those are sometimes missing.
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:Super important.
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:We also recommend you have an alternate
contact on your microchip that you trust,
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:either a family member or a close friend
in case something happens to you or
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:you're out of town, you can't be reached.
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:And always make sure that gets
updated to somebody you trust as well.
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:We've had cases where the alternate
contact was an ex and they really
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:didn't own the dog anymore, but
they were contacted and picked
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:the dog up and things like that.
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:Super important to, to be aware of who
your microchip is registered to, and
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:the contact information be current.
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:Dixie: Can you take us like, I
guess through the beginning of
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:basically like what is a microchip?
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:For people that don't know
what a microchip is, and they
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:always hear this term, you're
gonna get your pet microchipped.
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:Or they adopt an animal from the shelter
and the shelter says, okay, it is
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:microchipped Can you explain what that is?
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:A little bit?
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:Jeanette: So a microchip is about
the size of a grain of rice.
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:It's implanted under the animal skin,
usually between the shoulder blades,
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:and what they do is they each contain
a unique identification number.
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:So when a lost pet is found, a microchip
scanner, which picks up the frequency of
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:that microchip, reads the identification
number, and then it displays it on the
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:screen so that microchip is supposed
to be registered with a database.
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:Which links it to the
owner's contact information.
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:So it's basically a little chip that,
that goes under the skin that contains
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:a unique number, and that number is
linked to the owner if it's registered.
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:Dixie: So if somebody picks up a
pet and the pet is microchipped,
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:you'd wanna take it to a vet or a
scanning station and get it scanned.
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:To see if it has a microchip.
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:Jeanette: Yes.
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:A vet, A lot of police departments
have scanners, animal control
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:facilities can scan the dog, like you
said, a vet even like a pet smart,
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:they oftentimes will have a scanner.
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:But if you call around, you can almost
always find something really close by.
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:And yes, as soon as that chip number comes
up on the scanner, that, so once you pull
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:that chip number up, if you check Aha,
this is how it should work if you go onto
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:the pet microchip lookup database online,
it will tell you where that microchip is
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:registered, if it is registered, and then
you would call that microchip company and
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:you would owner information from that.
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:Super important to have your animal
microchip and, registered because
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:without a caller, an ID tag on.
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:That's really the only way
somebody can know that is your dog.
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:Dixie: Absolutely.
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:And another thing that I would like to
mention too, 'cause I think there's this
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:misconception that a microchip is GPS.
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:And it definitely is not GPS.
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:So if your pet does go missing, you wanna
notify that microchip company as well
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:to tell them that your pet is missing
because it doesn't have any kind of GPS.
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:Yeah.
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:You're not gonna be able to find
out from that microchip where
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:your pet is actually located.
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:Jeanette: Correct.
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:People do think that they are
GPS also, but they are not.
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:They have to physically be taken somewhere
to be scanned to get that chip number,
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:and that's the only way you're gonna
to know if the dog has a microchip.
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:Dixie: Now, have you ever come across
any situations to where the microchip has
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:migrated to another portion on the body?
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:I know they insert it between the shoulder
blades, but I have heard that they could
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:also move like down the arm or a little
bit off to the side of the shoulder.
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:Jeanette: Oh, yes, they definitely can.
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:And yes, there's, we've
definitely run across that.
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:A good facility will know to scan the
dog or cat thoroughly like an s pattern
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:across their body from their shoulder
blades, to their back end and down their
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:legs, up and down their legs as well.
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:It does happen, see they're implanted
and they're supposed to grab into
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:the muscle tissue right there.
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:They do over time
sometimes they can migrate.
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:And we always recommend once when
your dog is microchipped, to keep
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:'em quiet for 24 hours, no baths.
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:Not a lot of huge playful activity.
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:'cause you know you wanna let that
kind of settle into the tissue.
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:Dixie: Can you run us through the
process of somebody contacting
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:you for a dead end microchip?
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:What is step one?
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:What do you do?
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:And also is this something that
people can do at home on their own,
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:Jeanette: On their own?
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:Some of it they can, yes.
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:If the chip is registered,
it should be an easy process.
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:It's how it should work.
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:So how we work?
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:Let me explain I guess how it should
work and then what to do if it doesn't.
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:So when a, when you find an animal,
if you get the dog scanned, and as
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:I mentioned before, if the dog has
a microchip and you put the number
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:into the pet microchip lookup tool.
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:It's called aha.
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:It's the American Animal
Hospital Association.
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:They have a registry and it shows
where the chip is registered and it
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:may show the chip is registered into
what company, along with the contact
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:information for that chip company.
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:or.
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:It may show that the microchip is not
registered, but it might show you what
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:company to call to find out who the
chip was sold to, like if it was sold
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:to a vet, then you can contact the vet
clinic and find the owner information.
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:Very often.
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:When a good Samaritan finds an animal
and calls a vet clinic, they will try
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:to contact the owner themselves rather
than giving out personal information.
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:That is the same with same be
true for most chip companies.
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:A lot of times the information is
private, but they will reach out to
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:the owner for you and get in touch
with them and have them contact you.
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:But.
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:When you contact the microchip company,
they should be able to provide you
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:who they sold the chip to so that
you can contact that facility.
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:Or another scenario is when
you put the number in aha.
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:It might show a list of manufacturers
that possibly manufactured the chip.
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:And with those cases, very often
you're gonna have a dead end.
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:And as I mentioned there's
different scenarios for dead end.
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:It could be outdated information,
could be the dog was re-homed and the
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:information isn't current again, or that
you can't find any owner information.
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:So in that case.
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:We recommend you submit to
us to microchip help.com.
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:It's a quick jot form, so you
would just fill out that form.
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:It comes to us directly, to
our nonprofit organization.
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:And the case gets posted to our group.
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:We have a group of about 20 volunteers
right now all across the nation.
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:We do the same thing.
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:We get the chip number from your jot form.
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:It'll have all your information where
the dog was found, the microchip number,
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:how long you're gonna hold the dog,
if the dog gets taken somewhere else.
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:We get cases from shelters, police
departments that clinics as well.
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:And we work with a lot of animal control
facilities throughout the nation.
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:So we're pretty busy.
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:I.
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:But if you're a good Samaritan,
yes, you can take those steps, as I
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:mentioned before, get the chip number,
check aha check if it's registered.
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:Contact the chip company.
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:If the chip company
contact the owner for you.
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:Great.
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:If they provide you information
some will, not all will.
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:It depends if there's a privacy
on that information or not.
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:So yes, you can do these things at
home, but when you hit a dead end,
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:submitting the form to us is super
helpful because, and depending on the
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:scenario when you submit it to us, as
I said, it gets posted to our group.
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:We look up the same thing
that you would've done.
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:We look up the chip number, we check
aha, we call the manufacturer, or
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:we, we have agreements with them.
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:So we get owner information.
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:As a shelter or police department
would, animal control facility would,
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:because of our nonprofit and because
of the work that we do we've made
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:agreements with the chip company so the
information isn't held private from us.
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:So we get the owner information or we, if
it's one of those chips where you couldn't
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:figure out who the manufacturer was.
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:We work really hard on trying to get
some information on who the chip came
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:from, who the chip was sold to, trying
to get owner information that way.
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:And we take that information if it's
outdated owner, if we have an owner's
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:name and the information's outdated, we
have a few paid subscriptions that we use.
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:And we do background searches skip
tracing, if you wanna call it that.
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:And we work on reaching that
owner or a family member, people
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:at the address things like that.
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:We so we're really diligent
about trying to make sure that
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:we have turned everything.
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:That we can to find this owner.
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:Yeah, ask, I think if there's
anything else that I missed.
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:So yeah, that's basically
what we do in a nutshell.
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:Dixie: I know it works.
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:'cause like I said, I had that one that
I totally hit a dead end on and you were
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:able to come through with that one now.
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:Another thing too that I would like
to mention, just from like the chips
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:that I have gotten and the groups that
I work on, 'cause sometimes people
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:will contact me, give me the chip,
is I find a lot of times they'll take
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:the animals maybe to a vet clinic.
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:They'll get 'em scanned, they'll
start doing the process and they
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:never ever hear from the owner.
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:And so at that point they
start going into panic mode.
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:I found that if at that point if I text
who the owner is, usually the owner will
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:come through right away and reply to the
text and be like, oh yeah, that's my pet.
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:I've been looking for my pet.
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:So do you think it would be helpful
when you bring a lost pet to the
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:vet's office to scan if it does scan
for a chip to tell them to maybe
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:text the owner instead of calling?
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:Because I think sometimes with the calling
they, you get those kind of robocalls and
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:a lot of people just tend to ignore those.
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:Jeanette: 100%.
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:Yes.
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:We work with one large animal
control facility and they do
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:not have the capability to text.
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:And I do feel that is a definite
detriment because you're right,
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:people think everything's a scam.
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:They don't answer, they
don't pay attention.
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:I don't know if it.
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:What the actual screen is
showing when those numbers call.
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:But we find the same thing that
when we text and especially we
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:like to text a photo of the animal
that it really makes a difference
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:in the responses that you can get.
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:We always call first just to
see if it's a working number.
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:We listen to see if the owner.
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:Has an outgoing message with their
name, so we know we've got the correct
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:phone number because sometimes you're
calling and texting someone that
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:you know the number really isn't
current, but you don't know that.
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:So we always call first and then we
follow up with a text with why we're
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:calling and with a photo of the animal.
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:And it helps tremendously if the phone
number's correct and if it's not, they'll
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:say, I'm sorry, this is the wrong number.
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:She used to have this number
before, or something like that.
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:So definitely, I agree with you
a hundred percent that texting.
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:Is way better than the
phone calls and emails.
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:We follow up with emails as well.
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:But again, not everyone's
checking emails as often.
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:So texting is definitely the
quickest and most successful way.
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:We Facebook message, we do all
kinds of things to reach owners.
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:We spend a lot of time,
exhausting everything we do.
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:LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, anything
we can find on these owners just in
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:case they're not getting the messages.
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:If the phone numbers aren't
working and emails aren't going
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:through and things like that.
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:But yes, I agree.
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:Texting is huge.
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:I wish all the facilities
could start with that,
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:Dixie: You said you have a
group about 20 volunteers.
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:Do you ever recruit new volunteers
if people wanted to assist with this?
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:Jeanette: Oh yeah.
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:We're always open to
taking new volunteers.
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:We like people that are self-starters,
don't mind making phone calls that like to
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:do detective type of work and are adamant
about finding families non-judgmental.
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:We don't judge the owners.
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:We feel everyone should
be able to have a dog if.
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:As long as they're not abusing
or neglecting, things like that.
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:But yeah, we're always looking for
volunteers that fit that kind of slot.
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:Dixie: Okay.
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:I'll include a link to your
site too in the description so
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:that way people can contact you.
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:Jeanette: Thank you.
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:Yeah.
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:Dixie: If they're interested.
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:So I'd like to move on to your work
with Lost Dogs of Illinois and,.
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:If you could go over when your
pet goes missing, what are the
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:top three things maybe that you
should do to try to locate your pet
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:? Jeanette: We have a list of
five things people should do
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:when their pet goes missing.
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:So first thing we and these
aren't necessarily all in
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:order, depends on the scenario.
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:Dogs are missing from accidents,
car accidents, or from a pet
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:sitter, things like that.
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:But if the dog's missing from home we say
immediately put out food, water and your
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:dog's bed or an article of your clothing.
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:Even a used pillowcase at the
location where your dog was last seen.
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:A lot of times dogs will circle
around and come, just come back
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:to the area they took off from.
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:That's just their instinctual.
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:Pattern.
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:If they're chased however, or,
pushed out of the area for whatever
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:reason then, that's harder for
them to make their way back.
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:But scent items are huge.
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:So food, water, your dog's
bed, or an article of clothing.
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:Then we also suggest getting the
word out by flyers and yard signs.
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:We suggest going door to door, giving
flyers to everyone in the area.
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:Having a picture and a phone
number on that flyer is huge.
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:All over the neighborhood.
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:Then we say contact your local
animal shelters and animal control
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:facilities, vet clinics in your
area, and definitely report your
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:missing dog to the police department.
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:We recommend if you can either
email them or bring over flyer
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:a flyer of the, of your dog too.
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:So they have picture, very important.
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:We say instruct everyone that's helping
you not to call or chase your dog.
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:When a dog's been missing for a while,
they go into flight mode, fight or flight
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:mode, and they won't even sometimes
recognize an owner right away because
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:they've been, out for a while and they're
just trying to stay safe and get food.
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:Just trying to cover their basic
needs and they're not really
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:paying attention to who it is.
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:They're just.
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:Taking off whenever
anybody tries to pursue.
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:So we instruct that anyone that is
helping you and anyone in the area not
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:call or chase a dog we recommend luring.
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:So sitting down with treats
waiting for the dog to come to you.
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:And then obviously post to PetFBI.org,
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:which is our sister
organization that will.
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:Get your dog registered and posted
to Lost Dogs Illinois right away.
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:They are our database and lost Dogs.
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:Illinois is our Facebook page.
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:We send tips and flyer templates ready for
you guys to print, for anybody to print.
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:So you don't have to worry
about trying to make those up.
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:They're ready.
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:You send them to you, you just print them.
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:But social media.
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:Is huge.
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:Next door is huge.
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:Any of the local often found
Facebook groups are very important.
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:Not everyone's on social media.
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:So the flyers are number one
to get everyone in the area
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:able to see your animal.
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:Making your dog famous is what we say.
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:Yeah.
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:So those
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:are really the five things.
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:Yep.
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:Dixie: So you said that you
should always go to the shelter in
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:person to go look for your animal
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:Jeanette: the stray holds, can be short.
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:If your dog is not microchipped it
could be three days for the stray hold.
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:So we recommend you go in person.
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:Definitely keep checking the
website, but if you can go in
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:person at least once every few days,
you know , it's really helpful.
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:Dixie: Now, would this be true, even
if your dog is microchipped, would
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:you still go check the shelters?
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:Jeanette: If it were my dog, I
would go still check their shelters.
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:Microchips can be missed.
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:It's not super common,
but they can be missed.
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:And especially as we talked about,
they can migrate it's not 100%.
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:And you may think your chip is registered
and maybe it isn't, or, maybe the
389
:phone number was entered wrong or maybe
the shelter overlooked the research.
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:If it were my dog, yes, I
would say definitely go every
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:once, at least every once.
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:Every three days or so
just to, for peace of mind.
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:At some point if your dog's
missing a long time, that might
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:not be something you can do.
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:But definitely check the microchip.
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:I mean that, that's on the list as well.
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:I guess I skipped over that, but
definitely when you're contacting
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:animal shelters and all that, make
sure you contact the chip company
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:and report your dog is missing.
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:Dixie: I agree with you too on that.
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:And I find too that people don't
understand that a lot of the times
402
:the shelter staff is also very busy.
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:When an animal comes in, they may not
be able to scan the animal right away,
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:or they may quickly scan the animal, and
if the chip has migrated, then you know,
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:they may not actually detect the chip.
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:I've heard of a couple of situations
where the chips can actually go bad
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:after a certain amount of time as well.
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:Jeanette: I've heard
409
:that, but I have not.
410
:Actually ever had evidence of that.
411
:So I cannot confirm or deny that.
412
:I have never heard someone say, my dog
is chipped, but the chip didn't work.
413
:In nine years I have not come across that.
414
:So I can't confirm or deny that.
415
:But I will say that, sometimes
animals have been, dogs are
416
:cats have been scanned in.
417
:When they come into the shelter
and they've found no chip, but they
418
:also scan when leaving with a rescue
and then the chip is detected.
419
:So again, chips can be missed.
420
:And I have definitely
had that scenario happen.
421
:I wouldn't say often, but occasionally.
422
:So you know, don't always
100% rely on that microchip.
423
:Dixie: And I can see how that could happen
too, because it is a frequency, so if
424
:it's a chip and the scanner doesn't have
that particular frequency to detect it,
425
:then you know, it could just be a matter
of the scanner that's being used as well.
426
:Jeanette: It could be.
427
:I would hope that the facilities are
using the scanners , that can scan all
428
:the frequencies that are out there.
429
:They should be using the correct ones.
430
:But, there are things that interfere with
scanning too, if you're around a lot of
431
:metal it, there are scenarios for sure.
432
:Dixie: Now when it comes to
people finding dogs, what are
433
:the first steps they should take?
434
:Jeanette: So similar we still always
suggest flyers but we have our five
435
:things to do if you find a dog as well.
436
:If you go to our website, you could see
that, but you just, obviously you check
437
:if the dog has an ID tag on, take the dog
to the nearest shelter or veterinarian's
438
:office to scan for a microchip.
439
:Notify the police department animal
control facilities to make sure that the
440
:owner hasn't reported the dog missing.
441
:Call the animal control agency to complete
a found dog report or bring a flyer to
442
:them same as you would for a lost dog.
443
:Create lost or found dog flyers.
444
:Post them around the area.
445
:Very important 'cause not everybody,
again, is on social media.
446
:And then again, post to
our group pet fbi.org
447
:to, to get the dog.
448
:Registered and posted to Lost
Dogs Illinois or whatever
449
:state the dog is missing from.
450
:And next door we always recommend, and
the local lost and found Facebook groups.
451
:There's a lot of Facebook groups now for
all different kinds of lost and found
452
:pets and there, a lot of local pages.
453
:So those can be super helpful.
454
:But again, not everyone's on social
media, so the flyers are really important.
455
:So that's really those five
things are what we recommend.
456
:Dixie: I know a lot of people tend
to lose hope when they do lose a dog.
457
:So do you see an average amount of
time with a reunification happening?
458
:Jeanette: I wouldn't say there's
an average amount of time.
459
:But we do tend to, the more you make
your dog famous, the more likely.
460
:The dog will get home,
as quickly as possible.
461
:We have cases of dogs missing
for, a couple hours to a couple
462
:of days, to a couple of years.
463
:There's really all kinds of scenarios.
464
:The microchip obviously is when they're
gone for a longer period of time.
465
:That is really the key
to getting your dog home.
466
:Dixie: Absolutely.
467
:And one thing that I did wanna end
on too before we close out this
468
:conversation is that I know a lot of
people, they're always, oh, I'm busy.
469
:I can't volunteer with a group.
470
:I'd love to help animals, but I can't
help animals because I'm busy with work.
471
:But what you do with the Lost Dogs
Illinois, and then the microchip help.
472
:That's all stuff that you can do.
473
:From home and so you
could do it on your own.
474
:Absolutely.
475
:Time schedule, especially like with
the Lost Dogs, any of the lost pets,
476
:you can go scour through the Lost Pets
groups and just do what I call matching.
477
:You go look for photos of found
pets and you compare 'em with lost
478
:pets, and a lot of the times that's
how these pets are getting home.
479
:So do you have any concluding
message for people and can you give
480
:us more information on how people
can get involved with your groups?
481
:Jeanette: Yeah, of course.
482
:If you're in Illinois Lost Dogs, Illinois
is always looking for people to help
483
:our volunteers actually pick up shifts.
484
:So you can pick times that work for you.
485
:You can do hour, an hour,
two hours, however many hours
486
:you wanna put in on a shift.
487
:And we have a calendar, our volunteers
put themselves in those shifts.
488
:When you take those shifts, you
cover incoming loss and found dogs.
489
:You message owners you send flyers
to them, give tips what to do.
490
:So anybody really can do that because you
can really make your own time, make your
491
:own schedule for when you're available.
492
:We, weekends, evenings,
we work around your work.
493
:So very easy to do.
494
:And then as far as and to
volunteer for Lost Dogs, Illinois,
495
:you just go on our website, we
have an application form there.
496
:pet fbi.org
497
:Is our partner organization.
498
:They are our database.
499
:They have their Facebook
pages for different states.
500
:So if you are in another state,
you can go to pet fbi.org
501
:and sign in volunteer application There.
502
:And then for microchip help.com,
503
:if you go to our website,
it's near the bottom.
504
:There is also a form to volunteer with us.
505
:It's a little different as far as time
commitment because when you pick up
506
:a case, you're not gonna know whether
you're gonna reach an owner in five
507
:minutes or you're gonna be working
on trying to find family members or
508
:some connections to other people.
509
:You could be working on it for days.
510
:I hate to say that, but it happens very
often where you don't hear back from
511
:anyone and you're just trying and trying.
512
:We don't give up.
513
:So we do spend a lot of time.
514
:That's a little different scenario.
515
:But again, when you pick up a case,
you pick up a case when you have time.
516
:There are definitely ways to get involved.
517
:As you said, the matchmaking that
isn't an actual position that we have.
518
:But we have a lot of fans that
go to our page and kind of
519
:do that stuff on their own.
520
:Then they comment on our posts and
they've matched many dogs that way.
521
:Whatever your level of commitment
is . It all helps for a team takes
522
:a village to get these animals home
and any help is always appreciated.
523
:Dixie: Thank you for the work that
you do and I, like I said, I can
524
:definitely attest that it works
because you did get a cat home.
525
:Jeanette: Thank you.
526
:And we loved helping.
527
:Dixie: Thank you so much, Jeanette,
for speaking with me today.
528
:I truly appreciate it.
529
:Jeanette: You're welcome.
530
:Thank you so much.
531
:Dixie: Now, before we end this episode
, I just wanted to go over some of
532
:the tips if you lost an indoor cat.
533
:We covered some of the tips for dogs,
so I just quickly wanted to go over some
534
:things that would be pertinent for cats.
535
:And the reason I say indoor only is
because if it's an indoor outdoor
536
:cat, it changes things a bit
because your cat is outside already.
537
:So for an indoor outdoor cat,
your cat may have been trapped.
538
:Your cat may have accidentally
hitched a ride with somebody
539
:and ended up somewhere else.
540
:So the first tip specifically is
gonna be for indoor only cats, and
541
:that has a lot to do with scent.
542
:A lot of people will tend to put a scent
item outside, like dirty towels or dirty
543
:clothes some stinky cat food, like tuna or
something that your cat really likes, and
544
:Those scent items that you would put
outside definitely are gonna help.
545
:But with an indoor cat, your indoor cat
is most likely hiding really close by.
546
:So I find that the best thing to
do is actually just lock up any
547
:other pets that you may have.
548
:Open the door, put your scent item
right by your door, and most of the
549
:time your cat is gonna run back in.
550
:And then of course, you'd wanna follow
through with the other things that
551
:Jeanette suggested as well, like calling
the shelter, doing your flyers, not
552
:chasing your cat because your cat is
gonna be terrified , even though this
553
:might be the sweetest cat inside.
554
:If you're outside, your cat is not knowing
what's going on, and your cat's still
555
:gonna be scared of you, so you wanna
just lay low and let the cat come to you.
556
:Don't try to go grab your cat,
you may have to use a humane trap.
557
:I do find that works most of the time.
558
:'cause your cat will get hungry, you put
it really close to your house wherever you
559
:have someplace that they could be hiding,
like some bushes or something like that.
560
:and if you follow those tips, most of the
time you can get your indoor cat home.
561
:But I'm gonna say opening
that door, that's a thing
562
:that seems to work the best.
563
:So thanks everybody for listening
and we'll catch you next week.
564
:Bye.
565
:If you are enjoying our show, please
consider leaving us a donation.
566
:A hundred percent goes to our animals.
567
:Paws in
568
:the night Claws in the
fight Whiskers twitch and
569
:tails
570
:take flight
571
:They’re calling in Stories to spin
From the wild to the heart within
572
:Broken wings and hopeful springs
We’re the voices for these things
573
:animal posse hear the call.
574
:We stand together.
575
:Big and small Rescue tales We’ve
got it all Animal posse Saving
576
:them
577
:all
578
:The vet’s got tips The rescuer’s
grit The foster homes where love
579
:won’t quit From a pup in the rain to
a bird in pain , Every soul’s worth
580
:the
581
:strain
582
:Animal posse
583
:Hear the call
584
:We stand together Big
585
:and small Rescue tales We’ve got
it all Animal posse Saving them all
586
:Every caller tells a tale, every
howl a whispered wail, we rise up.
587
:We never
588
:fail.
589
:This
590
:is
591
:the
592
:bond
593
:The holy grail
594
:Animal posse Hear the call We stand
together Big and small Rescue tales We’ve
595
:got it all Animal posse Saving them all
596
:Every caller tells a tale Every howl
a whispered wail We rise up We never
597
:fail This is the bond The holy grail.
598
:Song by Suno.ai