The owner ended up calling me, the breeder and keeper of copies of puppy records, like Chip I.D., etc. She told me that her puppy had no collar or I.D., and she had not registered the chip. She had forgotten that the chip number was in her puppy binder, that we provide at time of pick up. 

This was a really good time to get that puppy's chip registered. Which she did. She also posted signs around her neighborhood about her missing puppy before the end of the day. I wanted to go help, but they lived more than four south of Dallas, and my arrival would be well after dark and the closest town was 13 miles away. 

The temperature had begun to drop perilously closer freezing as the sun sank down below the horizon, a dangerously cold night for such a small dog. He was lost in the middle of farmland where hawks and coyotes trolled for their next meal. 

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In another part of the country, a beautiful show dog had gone missing while visiting his owner's sister just before Thanksgiving. How could this happen? Well the dog escaped and went exploring. A little bit more than a month passed when the male's owner got the call. She was told that her dog had finally been found and returned to her sister's home. She drove to pick him up and amidst her joy at finding her dog, she realized there was a problem. 

That was not her beautiful and beloved show dog. This dog was a lovely little girl. No stem on apple! However, this dog was chipped and registered. It was not an issue, but this came into play a month later when a beautiful male Havanese was taken to a veterinarian's office. He was identified and reunited with his owner almost three months after chasing his nose began. It is because his chip was registered that he was able to go home.
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​The puppy lost in countryside did not have a tragic ending only because the nothing could catch it. That puppy ran three miles through the night on his little Havanese legs! In the morning, one of her neighbors called her and asked if the little black and white, lickity puppy she found at her backdoor was the same dog and to his owner's delight, it was him. Safe and sound. 

Moral of the Story:
Register your puppy's chip! Put a name tag with a phone number on your dog's collar. There is such a wonderous variety of collars and tags. It can even be incorporated onto the collar itself if a hanging tag does not appeal. Just make sure that it isn't faded! 

​Call your vet if your pet shows any of these signs immediately or the 24/7 Animal Poison Control Center Hotline at 1(800)213-6680  
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Prevention:  
Put a gate around your tree.  It is a very good preventative and  protective  election or pets and small children it.  This is written with cats and dogs in mind but small children are included as with drinking  out of the tree water bowl in reference to cats and dogs.  Regularly pick up fallen pine needles and any reachable foreign matter.
 
~In Memory of Zaney~

References:
“Know the Signs of Poisoning in Dogs and Cats.” Pet Poison Helpline, 3 Mar. 2020, https://www.petpoisonhelpline.com/pet-owners/basics/signs-of-poisoning-in-dogs-and-cats/.

“Make a Happy Home for Your Pets.” The Spruce Pets, The Spruce Pets, 24 May 2019, https://www.thesprucepets.com/.

Valeris, Amanda Garrity and Monique. “Impress Guests with These Picture-Perfect Christmas Tree Looks.” Good Housekeeping, Good Housekeeping, 17 Dec. 2021, https://www.goodhousekeeping.com/holidays/christmas-ideas/g2707/decorated-christmas-trees/. 

For pet owners can be a huge reassurance due to any emergency where you may have to pull or jerk your pet to safety should there be an problem.