Shelter helps save dog lost from Pennsylvania

COSHOCTON – Rachael Selders was a little skeptical when a family from Pennsylvania called and said their dog was at the Coshocton County Animal Shelter.

“It just seemed so farfetched,” Selders said.

However, it turned out the bloodhound named Kutter that was picked up by the dog warden was indeed theirs.

“He (Kutter) went missing from a private family camp in Parker, Pa., east of our home in Hermitage, Pa.,” said Debra Fair. “We were ecstatic (to find him). We were all devastated when Kutter went missing, it was four months to the day we got him home, but we searched, never stopping.. even with him being MIA the last two months… never ever gave up, nor would have.”

Kutter, who belongs to Debra, her husband Joseph and their kids, Dade, age 10, Wren age 7, Ryvr age 4, and Crüe age 2 ½, traveled nearly 133 miles and found himself in the County Road 23 area of Coshocton County.

“The dog warden picked him up on Nov. 14 and the person who called said he was nice, but just scared her kitty cats,” Selders said. “When we got him here he was vicious and hollering and jumping. We weren’t going to be able to adopt him out because he was too aggressive.”

Life could have been very bleak for Kutter, but through the power of Facebook shares his owners were found. Selders posted a picture of the dog on a Saturday in hopes of finding his owners and by Tuesday his family in Pennsylvania had seen him on Facebook and came to get him that Wednesday.

“We started posting right after he went missing (fliers, FB, websites etc, anywhere and everywhere), then the come home Kutter page was born not long after,” Debra said. “He went missing on July 18 of this year and the many great people we call ‘Kutter’s followers’ are the ones who really got the word to us and helped just by sharing possibilities to his page if we hadn’t checked ourselves.”

Kutter didn’t have a collar on and the microchip the family said he had couldn’t be read by the shelter’s scanner.

“Our scanner is old and only reads nine numbers,” Selders said.

The family, however, had papers for Kutter and showed Selders how he responded to their commands in German.

“They took him to their local vet and it turns out his microchip had fallen all the way down to his paw,” Selders said.

She believes Kutter’s story has several lessons in it.

“Microchips are very important and so are tags,” she said. “Also if you move or change your phone number, make sure to update your information (for your dogs at the county auditor’s office or the shelter). We also learned to scan the whole dog’s body when looking for a chip.”

Thankfully, the shelter now has the funds to get a universal scanner.

“We are so happy to have saved a life just through shares (on Facebook),” Selders said.

Debra said Kutter is very happy to be home.

“The kids all missed him terribly and so did we,” she said. “Kutter is their ‘fur brother’ and my ‘fur child,’ We are all thrilled to finally have him home and want to use his story to continue to bring hope to families with lost ‘fur babies’ as well as get awareness out there about the issues with the scanners. We are just over the moon we found him!”

You can get your pet microchipped for $15 from 4 to 5:30 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 6 at Tractor Supply in the Downtowner Plaza. No appointment is necessary. There is no exam fee, but a licensed vet is on duty. Also, the animal shelter wanted to remind dog owners that they can get their tags from Dec. 1, 2015 – Jan. 31, 2016 for $12 per tag. Late tags are $24 per dog. During this time frame tags can be bought at the county auditor’s office, the animal shelter, Buehler’s and Woodbury Outfitters.

josie@coshoctoncountybeacon.com

Category: People & Places