Adventures of Joey: Locked Out on a Cold Winter’s Night

About Michael John Scott
Mr. Scott is the owner and publisher of Mad Mike's America. He is a U.S. Army veteran, career law enforcement executive, and dog trainer. He is a university professor, and criminal justice consultant, holding several degrees, including a master's in criminal justice and human services. He has completed the requisite coursework toward his doctorate, and is still working on his dissertation.
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I have chipped every dog I have owned for the past 24 years and never had a need to use it until a recent cold and dark night.

Joey, a male Australian Cattle Dog, resting comfortably after his adventure. Thanks to HomeAgain for the image.

I left for an appointment at 5:30 and thought of taking my beloved dog Joey for the ride with me. Because it was so cold out, I decided not to bring him. What I didn’t realize is that he was outside when I left. I thought he was warm and comfy in his bed. Because I am awakened by his jingling tags, I take his collar off at night. Since Joey is so good staying in the invisible fence boundaries with or without his collar, I got lax about putting the collar back on him every morning.

So I panicked when I returned two hours later and discovered he was missing and his collar was on the bedroom floor. The only ID he was wearing was his HomeAgain chip. I prayed that someone would know to scan him. Just as I was about to call the police, I got a call from Animal Control telling me they had Joey. Apparently he went a few streets away and when a neighbor retuning home opened his car door, Joey jumped in for warmth. The neighbor called Animal Control to pick him up; the officer scanned Joey resulting in our happy reunion! Thank God for Home Again, a kind neighbor, and the officer at Animal Control.

Many thanks to Helen Carli, Brookfield, CT and HomeAgain for sharing this story.

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