Brownwood Animal Control officers received a new microchip pet scanner Thursday as a result of one pet owner’s tragic loss.
According to Sandra Mann, the owner of a male Shi-Tzu named Dexter that was recently hit by a car, she thought having her pet microchipped would help her to be reunited with her pet if he was ever lost. Unfortunately, that was not the case when Dexter somehow escaped out of the house while she was at work.
When she heard the dog was missing, she immediately left work and began looking for Dexter. When she didn’t find him, she called the Corinne T. Smith Animal Center (CTSAC) to see if he had been dropped found and left at the shelter. She also called the Brownwood Police Animal Control officer.Sandra was able to talk to animal control officer Judy Williams who had been called to pick up an animal carcass which was just one block behind the Mann house. Williams followed policy and procedure, since he did not have tags, and put him into a bag and dropped him into a special dumpster at CTSAC, which would then be picked up and taken to the landfill. Williams described the dog, which was a recently groomed Shi-Tzu male matching Dexter’s description and Sandra knew it had to be him. She was heartbroken that he didn’t have his collar on that day and saddened to know that although he was microchipped, Officer Williams had no way to identify him because she had no scanner equipment available. It was thought that the garbage truck had already taken the contents of the dumpster to the landfill; however, the animal cruelty investigator at CTSAC Amy Abernathy climbed into the dumpster and found the bag containing Dexter, and Sandra was able to take him home to decide how she wanted to dispose of his remains and say goodbye.
Sandra stated that the Brownwood Police Department was very instrumental in helping her locate Dexter’s body, that they were compassionate about the situation.
According to Sandra, the death of Dexter (pictured left) was very hard to take because she had adopted him through the CTSAC at a special time in her life. After going through a divorce, she adopted Dexter and quickly gained an amazing companion. Dexter had been blind in one eye when she adopted him, then later developed cancer, had two surgeries to remove the masses and before his death was in remission and doing well, according to Sandra.
“I was devastated, I wanted to, well you know, that was my dog and I just wouldn’t throw him away. I wanted to bring him home,” said Sandra. “I don’t want any other family to have to go through that. A pet is part of your family, and to think that he was put into a dumpster and possibly at the landfill—to not be able to bury him was unbearable. Dexter deserved better.”
Sandra and her mother Johnnie Golden learned that the Brownwood animal control officers had once had scanners to check animals that were found running loose or run over, but for some reason these were no longer available, whether they had been stolen off of the trucks or had broken was unable to be determined according to Assistant Chief of Police James Fuller.
Seeing the grief the incident caused her family, Mrs. Golden decided to raise funds to purchase an AllFlex ScanFlex universal scanner to donate to the animal control officers so that no other family had to endure such a situation in the future. With being able to identify all domesticated animals that are microchipped; especially when they are found dead, the owners will have a choice of how they want to dispose of their remains. Williams explained that most veterinarians and the staff at CTSAC have microchip scanners and will scan an animal typically without any charge in hopes to return them to their rightful owners.
“It breaks my heart to see my child or grandchildren hurt like this,” said Mrs. Golden, who explained that the whole family was grieving the loss of their friend Dexter. She also stated that the Brownwood Police Department was very receptive to the idea of the new scanner donation. The scanner cost was just over $300 and that donations for the purchase of the scanner were obtained from friends and family through calls and solicitations on Facebook.
“I want to say thanks to Doris Parrish, Leona Jerden, Tracey Thomas of San Saba, Bart Johnson, Ed Golden, Leona Cleveland and A.J. Saltz of Williamsburg, Virginia,” said Mrs. Golden. “Dexter’s family says thank you from the bottom of our hearts.”
Officer Williams explained that she personally tries to locate an owner through the dog’s tags first, and will now scan for a microchip as well. If owners are not able to be located, the dog will be placed at CTSAC until the owner can be located. Using the scanner will help in getting contact information for owners; however, owners should check to make sure that the microchip has been properly registered. Sometimes the owner has to go online to register the chip at the manufacture’s website. If the information in the chip is not accurate, it does no good to have them microchipped warned Williams.
“When the owners have the animal microchipped, they have to register it. A lot of people think once the microchip is inserted that all is said and done, but you have to register your microchip. If your phone number or addresses changes, you have to register that, or it won’t do us any good because it is just a series of numbers,” explained Williams.
Assistant Chief Fuller stated that animal control officers and the staff at CTSAC don’t get the credit they deserve, that in fact, they are often stereotyped in a bad manner. He explained that CTSAC is a very compassionate facility.
“It’s not the dog pound. It’s also called the humane society for a reason,” he explained.
Mrs. Golden also encourages the public to go by and visit the Corinne T. Smith Animal Center, to see how hard the staff works to keep the animals fed, watered and comfortable, to help find owners of lost dogs or to help find adoptive families for those who are abandoned.
“I would also like to encourage people, instead of people complaining about the CTSAC facility & employees, spend a day volunteering with your time or/and donating money, they both are needed & appreciated,” said Golden.
Although Sandra will never replace her furry friend Dexter, she has adopted a new dog, Tucker (pictured below) from a rescue service in Austin.
For information about CTSAC, adopting a dog or cat, or donating to CTSAC, please
