It’s really important for a dog to have some kind of ID at all times, whether it be a tag with contact information or an implanted microchip, because you never know what can happen.
Years ago, several weeks after Wen had moved to a different house with Casey, Buffy, and Poo, she decided to go for her usual nightly walk around the neighborhood. She made sure that the three dogs were secure in the huge fenced backyard and off she went on her walk.
About forty-five minutes later when she arrived back home and went to the back door to let the dogs in, the two Scotties were waiting at the door, but where was Buffy, the Cocker Spaniel?
Wen searched the backyard for Buffy, but she was nowhere to be found and there seemed to be a fresh hole dug under the fence by the gate to the front yard. Buffy must have gone under the fence to try to follow Wen on her walk.
It was definitely panic time and Wen jumped in her car and drove the entire route that she had just walked, but there was no sign of Buffy anywhere. Since she was such a sweet friendly dog, Buffy would go up to anyone or probably get in someone’s car if called, so Wen feared the worst: either someone had taken her or she had been hit by a car and was injured or dead.
It was dark by this time, so Wen finally gave up her search and went home. She was very upset that she had not found Buffy because if she was out there roaming around, she would never find her way home, since they had just recently moved.
The phone was ringing as Wen opened the front door and she ran to answer it. The caller asked if she owned a Cocker Spaniel named Buffy and Wen was ecstatic because the girl said that she and her brother had found her at the Pizza Hut that was several blocks away. They also owned a Cocker, so they had grabbed Buffy so that she wouldn’t get hit by a car.
The Pizza Hut was across a very busy street from Wen’s neighborhood and it was a miracle that Buffy had successfully crossed the street through the traffic!
Wen offered the girl a reward and said that she would meet them at the Pizza Hut, but the girl wouldn’t take any money and said that they would be happy to bring Buffy home since they were only a few blocks away.
Wen realized that if it wasn’t for her phone number on Buffy’s tag, she wouldn’t be seeing her dog again so soon. Even though her veterinary clinic’s information was also engraved on the tag, at that time the clinic was closed, so no one could have referred the people to Wen until the next morning.
It was a happy homecoming when the people showed up with Buffy and Wen had learned a valuable lesson from the ordeal. She never left home again without the three dogs safely inside the house and all of us MacDuffs wear our IDs at all times (with the exception of the bathtub) ever since!
Buffy
