A St Bernard dog named “Chandler” found his way into the arms of his loving owner last week, after years of being separated. The dog went missing about 3 years ago, so when his owner got the call that the dog had been located, he was both shocked and overjoyed.
“It was amazing to see,” said Devine Animal Control officer Crystal Rodriguez. “I was trying not to cry when I saw them get back together. You could tell the owner seriously loved the dog, and the dog remembered the owner. He was ecstatic as soon as the man walked in.”
After the dog was lost or stolen from the Cibolo area years ago, it was presumably sold and gifted to another person who surrendered the dog to the Devine Animal Shelter recently.
The dog had been chipped by the original owner, but it took quite a bit of research to read the chip.
“The chip scanner at the vet’s office is different from the chip scanner we have or that he county has, so sometimes it takes quite a bit of coordination to get a pet back to its owner. It took a good two hours of researching online to find the owner of the chip. That happens fairly often when you see an older dog especially, whose chip may be registered with a company that is not around much anymore,” Rodriguez adds.
It’s always best to get chipped by your local vet for this reason, as it may increase the odds that the chip can be read by the local vet if the pet is lost in this area.
Lots of puppies, kittens, dogs and cats for adoption
If you are looking for a special addition to your family, please reach out to your local animal shelter. Pet adoption is a simple, fast, and easy process.
“We have 6 dogs (and puppies), and 5 cats (and kittens) here at the Devine Animal Shelter, and that number goes up daily,” said Officer Rodriguez. “Every single one of them is super sweet. I have the cutest little chow mix puppy named Marley, and 8 week old puppy named Zorro, who was allegedly thrown from a moving vehicle in the area. He amazingly did not have any significant injuries. We also have a really cute kitten who is almost litter box trained! He has one green eye and one blue eye so he is just beautiful. He loves to be the center of attention so I call him Elvis.”
We work with our local vet who helps us do a very low cost adoption ($115 includes spay/nueter, rabies vaccine, and heart worm testing). That fee is paid directly to the vet.
“Typically when families come down here, if you fall in love with a pet, I will sit down and do the paperwork right then and might even send the pet home with you that day, depending on circumstances. Then I will schedule the vet procedures for you,” Rodriguez said.
The shelter can work with families on the cost sometimes, especially with cat adoptions, depending on if you live inside or outside City limits and other circumstances.
Contact Devine PD if you are interested in adopting a pet at 830-663-4403.