Back home again
It had been almost six years since Annette Wulff had seen her dog, a boxer puppy named Lady.
She got Lady as a companion for her other dog, Madison, but Lady disappeared from her yard. Over the following years, Madison died and was replaced by a Labrador-chow mix named Corby.
The memory of Lady gradually receded, along with Wulff’s hopes of ever seeing her again.
One morning a few weeks ago, Wulff received a call from Mike Thames, an animal control officer with SpokAnimal CARE.
“Are you missing your dog?” he asked her.
Wulff was sure she had seen Corby in the yard when she got home. She peeked out the door just to be sure.
“No. My dog is in the yard.”
“You’re not missing a boxer?” Thames asked.
Wulff told Thames about the puppy that disappeared from her yard six years ago, and Thames agreed to bring the found boxer, a 7-year-old female, to Wulff’s house near Minnehaha Park to see if she recognized her. Wulff was skeptical but knew she could identify Lady based on two distinguishing markings.
Lady had a white patch of fur around her neck that looked like a bow and an upper lip that stuck to her tooth when she opened her mouth. It made her look like she was smiling all the time.
When the dog bounded from the truck, there was no doubt. Looking like the surprise gift that she was, there was Lady with the white bow around her neck and a “smile” on her face.
It is difficult to say where Lady has been for the past six years, but it was the microchip that reunited her and Wulff.
During a routine call, four miles from Wulff’s house, Thames learned of a female boxer that had wandered into someone’s yard and was being cared for by the homeowner. Animal control officers for both the city and the county have microchip readers in their vehicles and when he scanned the friendly boxer, he found a microchip that traced back to Peone Veterinary Clinic. When the clinic was contacted, its database listed Wulff as the registered owner.
Lady has settled into her old home as if she never left. She has resumed her duties as yard patrol and gate keeper. She immediately took to Corby, the other dog, and is starting to figure out how she is supposed to act toward Nardo, a 12-week-old kitten that shares the house.
Lady knows she is not supposed to chase the kitten – and so does Nardo. The kitten confidently darts around Lady, taunting her, testing the last remnants of Lady’s self-control. But Lady is still the easygoing, happy dog that she was as a puppy.
Wulff’s story has convinced her friends and co-workers to microchip their pets.
“If they get lost and you get them back one day, one month or six years later, it is worth it,” said Wulff as she admires an old friend that has become her new companion.