I dropped Sam off at the vet at 8am this morning. He'll have his actual surgery sometime between 12 and 2, they said, and I can come pick him back up around five. Poor Sammy. A full day of cowering in the vet's office, barking for attention, having surgery, and then lying groggy in a cage until he's cleared to go home. Plus, since he's been fasting since last night, he's going to be hungry throughout the whole thing.
But neutering is just a fact of life when it comes to pets. If you're not planning to breed them, spaying or neutering is the responsible thing to do. And while Sam is a beautiful boy, I'd be morally remiss if I allowed his congenital disorder (lack of common sense receptors in the brain, or sensicus obsoletus) to continue on to a new generation.
In addition to neutering, Sam will also be getting a microchip today. I used to be indifferent to microchips; I saw the use of them, but we never had any problems with losing our dogs. When Bud and Thor dug out of the yard, we'd always find them wandering the neighborhood, and the longest we ever lost them was about an hour. So really, I didn't quite see the need.
That changed a few years ago when I saw firsthand the value of microchips. Now I'm not entirely sure how much of this I can tell, given there may still be lingering legal proceedings, so I'll abbreviate and some of the place names may be changed, but the gist of the following story is very true.
My friend S. had a dog named Goliath who was huge. He looked like an Akita mixed with a wolf. He was also a total sweetheart: he was very aware of his size and so would stand still and hold his head down for you to pet him, and his tail would wag very carefully behind him. Calmest dog I've ever met. Absolutely beautiful.
Size comparison: Goliath with S.'s other dog, 50lb Kay, and one of her cats, Lu
Over winter break of 2006-2007, S. boarded Goliath at the vet's office where she worked while she went home to the panhandle for Christmas. While at home, she got a call from a vet tech there saying Goliath had gone into abrupt heart failure and had died. While upset, S. accepted this, since Goliath had been heartworm positive when she first got him, and although he'd been treated, further heart troubles were not improbable. When S. asked that they keep his body until she could return to pick him up, the vet tech told S. that they'd already cremated him.
S. mourned the abrupt loss of her dog, and many of her friends who knew him missed him, too. Now fast forward nearly a year, to the late fall/early winter of 2007.
S. got a call from animal control in a city a few hours' drive away saying they had her dog. S. looked at her two remaining dogs sitting right in front of her, and told the man he must be mistaken. The man said they'd picked up this dog roaming the streets, had scanned him for a microchip, and found he was registered to her. When he began to describe the dog to her, S. told him she'd be there as soon as she could.
One anxious 3-hour drive later, S. was reunited with Goliath. She'd thought her dog was dead for nearly a year, and yet here he was, alive and well. A dream come true.
Goliath with Kay after his return home
So what happened? Apparently the vet tech who'd told S. Goliath was dead had actually sold him to a man who'd offered big bucks for such a unique dog. The man had been keeping Goliath at his home a few hours away, until Goliath escaped the yard a couple months later. He'd then been roaming the streets of the town for months until animal control finally succeeded in catching him (apparently his size and appearance had been causing a bit of a stir). They'd done a routine check for a microchip, found Goliath's true owner, and reunited the pair.
Handsome man!
What a fairy tale ending! I can only imagine the emotional roller coaster ride it must have been for S. She is taking legal action against the vet tech and the vet's office, I believe, so that's why I've left her name out.
Her story, although a rare one, is enough to convince me to microchip Sam. It's a one-time procedure and costs less than an X-ray, and the potential benefits are huge. I saw how happy Goliath was to be back in his rightful home with his true owner and his old playmates, and I've become a believer. So if you're dithering on whether or not to microchip your pets, remember Goliath! He didn't run away from home; he was kidnapped, and his microchip brought him back.
All that said, I'm still a nervous wreck for Sam. I don't like spending an entire day without him here. And I know he's probably anxious and alone now, and that later he'll be in pain. Poor Sammy! I just want you home!
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