Two different families want the same dog – microchip snafu complicates the situation


Microchips are supposed to be the gold standard for proving that a pet belongs to someone – unless there is a snafu. According to KXAN News, a couple in Austin, Texas, is hoping to get their dog back after he escaped from a fenced yard over the Thanksgiving weekend and bolted – the dog, Wiley, has been a member of Keller Davis and John Baxa’s life ever since they adopted him over two years ago from the Austin Animal Center. But he might not get to go home with them.


The odd situation

Davis and Baxa immediately set out to find Wiley after he escaped from Davis’ parents’ house in Addison. Davis told the news agency, “He kind of escaped underneath the fence, and we immediately started searching everywhere for him.”

Wiley was ultimately picked up by a city animal control officer and taken to the local animal shelter – but when his owner went to retrieve him, he learned that there was a problem. The microchip scanner linked Wiley to his previous owner. Davis believes that there is a mistake with how Wiley’s microchip number was entered – he explained:

On every single piece of this, the microchip number is a 14 digit number, and apparently it’s supposed to be, the one that they have for him is a 15 digit number. And that’s a part of the mistake.

Davis and Baxa have since learned that Wiley’s prior owner wants him back too – the shelter is holding Wiley until the ownership situation can be figured out.

What do you think? Should Davis and Baxa be reunited with the dog that they adopted from the animal shelter two-and-a-half years ago? Or should Wiley go back to the original owner? Please feel free to leave a comment below.

(Screenshot via KXAN News)

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