Pets In The News

Oct 14, 6:05 AM (ET)
 DOWNEY, Calif. (AP) - Kobe the terrier is back with his family after a 1,400-mile trip. The small white pooch vanished from his Bellflower home last month and was found by a stranger in Denton, Texas. A microchip implanted in his neck contained his owner's information. AVID, a Norco-based company that produced the chip, flew Kobe from Texas to California and on Thursday he was reunited with his owners, the Ontiveros family, at the Southeast Area Animal Control Authority in Downey. "I'm really happy," said Stephanie Ontiveros, 12."We're glad that there were plenty of good, helpful people out there," said her father, Jayson Ontiveros. Kobe got the chip when the Ontiveros family adopted him from the SAACA.How he got to Texas remains a mystery. A driver may have spotted Kobe wandering, thought he was a stray and took him along, animal control authority spokesman Aaron Reyes said. AVID Vice President Peter Troesch said his company's chips are implanted in some 2 million cats and dogs in the country. Because to the chips, he said, an average of 1,200 stray animals a day are returned to their homes.

A breakdown patrol man who came to the rescue of a woman motorist has managed to get her car started using her dog.
Juliette Piesley, 39, had changed the battery in her electronic key fob but was then unable to start her car.
When AA patrolman Kevin Gorman arrived at the scene in Addlestone, Surrey, he found its immobilizer chip was missing.
Ms Piesley said her dog George had eaten something, and realizing it was the chip, he put the dog in the front seat and started the car with the key.
Mr Gorman said: "I was glad to get the car started for the member.
"They will now have to take George [the dog] with them in the car until things take their natural course.
"It is the first time that I have had to get a dog to help me to start a car."