One Dog’s Journey Back Home

I work at Go Dog Go in Oswego and Katherine, the owner of our shop, often helps foster senior dogs for Angels on Wheels Rescue. One dog she recently took in was a beautiful 15-year-old, partially deaf border collie who she affectionately called Lulu.

Click here to read this article in its original magazine format with additional photos .

Lulu had been pulled from a shelter in Joplin, Missouri. As most shelters do, they scanned for a microchip, but when they didn’t find one, Lulu began her trip to Oswego to join the Manola pack as a foster.

As Lulu began settling into the household, Katherine noticed that she wasn’t eating and wasn’t acting as though she was healthy. Katherine made an appointment at Critter Care in Plano and took her to get checked.

It was a good thing she did! They not only discovered that Lulu had an upper respiratory infection that needed treatment, but also that Lulu was actually Josie from New Mexico!

The veterinarian at Critter Care scanned for a microchip and found one. So why could they not find one in Missouri?  Who knows. It could be faulty equipment, but because Josie did, in fact, have one, it was eventually found!

A call was placed to the Carpenter family in New Mexico to give them the fabulous news that Josie was alive in Illinois. The family was overjoyed, but also in shock as Josie had been missing for a total of seven months. After three months of endless searching, they began mourning their beloved pet, assuming only the worst must have happened.

When they received the call, Jake, Racheal, Colt and Grace couldn’t believe Josie had traveled to Illinois. It was incredible news because Josie played a very special part in the makeup of this family. She was not only a pet and working farm dog, but also a companion to young Grace, a brain tumor survivor.

Josie and Grace were inseparable before Josie disappeared — and now, because of Josie’s microchip, she and Grace are together again.

The reason I have shared this story with you is simple: if your pets are not microchipped, they need to be. Collars and tags can be removed but a microchip will remain.