Koenig’s Nighttime Escape

Koenig is a 13-week old German Shepherd puppy. His owners, Titus and Amy, installed a wooden fence to contain their pets after one of their other German Shepherds was resilient to the voltage from his invisible fence. Despite their best efforts, Koenig and his older brother, Thor, still found a way to escape the safety of their backyard!

A recent storm uprooted a tree, and unbeknownst to Koenig’s owners, it punched a hole in the fence — that both dogs could fit through. “I thought it was just too quiet sounding outside and when I looked, I discovered Thor standing on [the road outside the fence] but Koenig was nowhere to be seen” said Titus. He, his wife, and their neighbor went searching all through the neighborhood on foot and in the car, stopping to ask if anyone saw him, but to no avail.

In between searching, Koenig’s owners alerted AKC Reunite, their local and state-wide “lost pet” sites, and social media of Koenig’s absence.

“We put out food and water, left the garage door open all night – and I even took off the socks and t-shirt I was wearing hanging them from tree branches high enough up that a dog could catch the scent” said Titus. “It gets dark early now, and we soon lost enough daylight to spot a black puppy. We even slept on the sofa to more easily hear him if he came home during the night.”

The next morning, while hanging lost pet posters, Titus received a call that someone found Koenig hiding in a bush!

Titus and Amy were responsible pet owners and had Koenig microchipped and enrolled with AKC Reunite’s recovery service, so if something like this happened, he would have an extra layer of protection. Thankfully his enrolled microchip helped bring him home!

“[An] enrolled microchip helps in two ways in a situation like this. First, as the owner you know if he gets to a vet [or shelter] he can be identified. And second, by making it known he has a microchip, it may discourage someone from just keeping him rather than returning him to us” said Titus. “By the grace of God, we got Koenig back safe and sound. He could have been hit by a car, injured by another animal, stolen — the possibilities are endless,” but thankfully he was returned!

You can’t prevent the unthinkable from happening, but you can be prepared. Make sure your pet is microchipped and enrolled with AKC Reunite so if they get lost, our 24/7 recovery specialists are available to help.