This is the story about the day I took my cat to the vet, and found a lost dog along the way.
It was a wet and windy day, and I had the cat locked away in a plastic travel box on the back seat of the car. I was driving down Ballarat Road, and as I approached the intersection with Duke Street in Braybrook, I saw a dog run across the three lanes of in the middle of a 70 km/h zone, narrowly missing traffic, then stop in the middle of the median strip.
I had to slow down to miss the dog, so I pulled over into the empty right hand turn lane. I ummed and arred about stopping to pick him up, when the dog made a break for it across the other three lanes of traffic, and disappeared into the bushes on the other side of the road – a second lucky break for the dog!
By this point I figured I might as well get out in the rain and track down the dog, especially since I was already on my way to the vet.
After parking my car on the other side of the road, I saw the dog shivering and wet beneath the bushes, but it was too afraid to come out. I then remembered the bag of cat food in the car, so I grabbed a handful, and eventually I coaxed the little dog into by arms.
I then had the realisation – how am I supposed to drive across town with both a dog and a cat inside my car! Luckily there was a shopping strip nearby, so I headed over and asked if they had any cardboard boxes, which I was able to put the dog into.
It was now time to get back in the car, and the cat in the back didn’t seem to be any the wiser. However for me, the dog wasn’t happy about staying in the box – as I drove down the road, he kept on trying to poke his paws out, followed by his head. I had to pull over the car and try to cram him back in, but my attempts were in vain – i admitted defeat, and let him ride on the front seat.
I eventually made it to the vet, and left the car in the car as I carried the dog in my arms into the vet. After a quick checkup the dog was given a clean bill of health, and the vet found a microchip, so the odds of him finding his way home were good.
As for the cat, she just needed a few routine vaccinations, then was on her way back home.
Follow up
My wife rung up the vet latter that day to see what happened to the dog – turns out the vet couldn’t find the owner via the microchip register, so had to send him off to the Lost Dogs Home at North Melbourne.
On lost pets
Apparently not all vets are allowed to ring the owners of lost animals when their details come up via microchip, thanks to the Domestic Animal Act (1994).
A state law means that vets cannot reunite lost animals with their owners, much to the dismay of pet owners
Estelle Griepink And David Jeans
May 05, 2015In Yarra Ranges, vets have come under criticism for refusing to scan the microchips of lost animals due to the little-known state law that fines clinics $700 for contacting the owners instead of notifying an animal pound.
Hundreds of people had blasted a vet on Facebook recently for refusing to scan the microchip of a lost pet found in Launching Place.
But posters on the Yarra Valley Noticeboard page were unaware that, under the Domestic Animal Act (1994), only vets with a S84Y agreement with councils were allowed to tell owners they have their pet.
I’ve also discovered that there are FIVE different registries for microchipped animals – too bad if someone looking up your lost dog only checks four of them, and your dog is listed with the registry they missed.
Cute little dog. He appears to be ok so hopefully he has a caring owner who will welcome his return. Kind of you to help him.
Seeing a lost pet get sent to the pound is always concerning, because you don’t know what happens to it next. But at least it gives owners *somewhere* to go looking for their pet, as opposed to searching the classified and putting up ‘lost dog’ posters.