What is the longest your sheltie went missing for?

3

3dmodeler

Forums Regular
Microchips are not a guerenteed way to recover your cat or dog. If the person who picks up the animal does not take it to the shelter, then there could be no way that you may never see your pet again.

A good point is this case. Cat is returned home 12 years after it became lost.
http://ca.news.yahoo.com/blogs/good-news/woman-reunited-cat-12-years-disappeared-172829030.html

Has anyone here thought of gps tracking? 17 years ago, I made a gps tracker for ham-radio. At the time, none existed in the commercial market. I have though of making one for pets but there could be some issues.

Owner forgets to replace batteries or charge collar.
This is true. The way around this is though electro mechanical electrical charging. Ie magnet bounces up and down past a coil, charging the nicad battery as the dog runs or walks. The disadvantage it would be a bit bulky in design.

Other option, recharging though electrostatic coupling. The unit would have a receiving coil that would pick up the magnetic field as it sleaps, charging the unit for the next day. This would keep the cost of the unit down "no bouncing magnets and coils". The disadvantage, the dog would have to sleep with his head in roughly the same location every night. The collar would also slowly discharge once it was activated and die entirely.


Just wondering if anyone has experiences with a gps collar or thought of it as a option?
 
There is actually one that is commercially available that has an app to your smart phone. It's all not very much money. The transmitter (on collar) is rechargeable. You set a "zone" at your home and if the dog goes out of it your phone is alerted or such. Yes, you have to recharge -- you could buy 2 and alternate if they are not very much money.

True that chipped are not a guarantee. I have a high school friend whose boxer bolted, ran across an open field to the busy road across the field, a white SUV was seen pulling over, the dog got in, and they drove away. Dog had no collar but was chipped. They have not recovered the dog. Either the people did not bother to or do not want to have a chip checked. In that case, collar and phone number would have probably enticed them to call, unless their intent was to keep the beautiful dog.

My dogs are chipped and collared. However, a GPS chip or GPS on collar would be even better and the technology is commercially available. I think in all my years only once would I have needed it, when my Quay and I were almost hit by an R/C jet and he bolted and pulled out of collar. Thankfully, parking patrol on horseback tracked him and he returned to me when they got me close to him.

GPS certainly would be the BEST option.
 
We had a former breeder dog foster who escaped from her foster home's fenced backyard and was missing for 6 weeks.

We heard nothing - no sightings nor any calls for that amount of time. One day, we received a call from a farmer who found a Sheltie in his barn about 10 miles away. As he reached for her, she bolted, but he was able to grab her Martingale collar off.

So although she was micro-chipped, we got the call based on her rescue tag, which was on her collar with our phone number.

I had two dogs show up at my house and I was able to track down their owners by their ID tags on their collars.

So my point is, yes, get them micro-chipped, and GPS if you wish, but don't forget to include a tag on their collar with your address and phone number. I think most people will look at their tags first.

There can never be too much identification on a pet. Of course, those who are just wanting to steal a pet, will disregard all of the information.
 
We lost Bitsy Boodle for an hour when she was a puppy. She was chasing a deer and got tangled in the underbrush and was stuck!

No, it did not cure her of chasing deer. :rolleyes2:
 
Mine haven't gone missing per se. Deska ran off in a thunderstorm, but I could see him - he was on the top of a hill, and Tully ran off for an hour chasing rabbits, got regular reports from walkers in the area, which was an enclosed reserve so she could only go so far.

But I do often pick up stray dogs (I back onto an off leash reserve). All but the most recent dog have had microchips so eventually end up back with their owners (even if it's via the previous owner). The recent bulldog didn't have a chip or collar so ended up in adoption and a friend who found an older Goldie who had a chip that wasn't updated has ended up keeping her.
 
F-kap went missing for over a week when he was 3. Somehow he'd gotten his collar off and jumped the fence, he wasn't chipped. I was so devastated, I looked for him every day. If I wasn't eating or sleeping (which wasn't often) I was looking for him all day and into the night. I put up hundreds of flyers (not joking!). Finally a sweet couple found him COVERED in flees, ticks, and mud. They spotted the flyers and called, it was the happiest day of my life.:sadsmile:
 
Well once I lost Tarra for a day! A lady called and lectured me for Tarra being out, but I'm pretty sure she just picked her up when she was going potty. I didn't have a back yard then. I can thank her id tag got that!
 
I have had 2 rescue shelties escape in the 8 years I've been having shelties. One was gone a week & was found over 2 miles from where I live. She had been spotted but finally was caught when she was in someone's yard. Their dog sort of cornered her til the owner of the property could get his kids to catch her.

The other sheltie was being watched by a friend at her house with a kennel. When she went in to feed her she shot out past my friend & escaped. We were frantic & searched for days. Finally we discovered she was staying in the wooded area alongside my friend's property. She was even coming up to the house but would bolt if you tried to catch her. Traps didn't work either. We tried for months to trap her & even had a vet come out to tranquilize her with med laced hot dogs. No luck. Finally after about 8 months she let herself be caught by my friend.

I do believe microchipping works too. A GPS tracker would be nice. Wish there was one that could be like a pacemaker. Collars can be caught on stuff or removed. Shelties are some of the hardest to catch if they don't want to be.
 
how long have you had a lost sheltie

I have had 1 went missing for 2 weeks, another for a month and 2 for a year or more but they all were recovered.
 
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