Missing golden retriever makes it home as another family dog remains untraced

The first relief to one Surrey family was the arrival of a set of paws, long known to it, at the doorstep.

Allegra is a gold retriever that was lost when released in a garden in Chilworth, but found by police searching. The disappearance, in which another dog, Cresca, was also involved, soon became the kind of local concern that spreads faster than any handout: a dog spotted here, a possible sighting there, and a growing chorus of conversation on the internet attempting to patch up the holes.

This is after Allegra and Cresca disappeared in Surrey Police on 20 January, which had called on information. Allegra was afterwards found, and Cresca was not found by the officers. The force said it was not ignorant of rumors circulating on social-media that a silver van was in the neighbourhood when the dogs vanished, although it noted that officers had spoken to the owner of the vehicle in question, and that they had eliminated him. Among the noise there was one distinct practical aspect, which was that the two dogs were microchipped and could easily be recognized.

This fact is important since it is usually the identification that transforms a “spotted a dog” into a same-day reunion. Quite often individuals who encounter a loose dog find the collar, rather than a database, as a quick way home and so a convenient phone number is visible. According to one of the animal-welfare guides, identification is kept by only 33% of the owners of pets, a gap that can extend a search that would otherwise take hours to days. It is also the reason why a few professionals refer to a straightforward, stratified solution, collar details, tags and microchip, as a more powerful netting than any individual step.

However, that does not mean that microchips are magic. The chip must be scanned by a scanner and the registration information must be up to date. When the owners change the house or numbers, they may turn an otherwise useful chip into a dead end, and some advice suggests that a vet should be scanned with the chip periodically to ensure that it remains readable. The advantage is durability: in case a collar gets lost or taken off, there is a microchip that will connect an animal to an owner when it is taken to a shelter or veterinary.

To a person who sees a dog running loose, animal-welfare organisations would recommend that you handle the animal calmly: restrain it only when it is safe to do that, do not run after the animal when it may cause traffic accidents, and be careful of a tag that lets you contact the owner at once. In case of lack of visible identification, the most common course of action is to mark the animal with a chip on a shelter or a veterinary practice instead of attempting to handle the search effortlessly. The advice provided by American Humane emphasizes that it is imperative that the animal should be scanned in case it does not have a tag.

Shelters are in the meantime usually the clearing house of first resort that families look around. The only method one county animal services department recommends to ensure a missing pet is not in the area is to visit the shelter immediately, as possible, and see with your own eyes how clearly a description of one can be over the phone and how clearly it can be when you look in person. They also record the place in which an animal is found, make contacts with the animal owners in case of identification, and also take photos of animals so that they can be listed publicly.

In the case of the Chilworths, the family has found both thanks and business to transact with now: Allegra, and Cresca yet to be found.