A lost dog in Florida decided to cope with his situation via retail therapy.
Employees at a Dollar General in Bradenton called police this week reporting a “giant dog that wouldn’t leave,” police said in a now-viral Facebook post that includes body-cam footage of the canine lumbering around the store.
The 135-pound dog, whose name turned out to be Bentley, had entered the store on his own and “spent a couple of hours browsing” before it was closing time and staff didn’t want to simply turn the gentle giant out onto the street.
Bentley had a microchip, and officers were able to track down his owner. The dog had apparently broken through a gate at home before his attempted shopping spree.
Pet microchips are about the size of a grain of rice and are implanted under the skin. A microchip contains a unique ID number that can be read by a microchip scanner, which most veterinarians and animal shelters have. The ID number is then part of a registry where it’s linked to the name and contact information provided by the pet’s owner. (It’s important that owners keep their information up to date via the microchip company.)
While Bentley was only lost for a few hours, in some cases microchips help people reunite with their pets years after they’ve been missing. Earlier this year, a family in England reunited with their cocker spaniel, Cassie, who had been stolen from their yard eight years previously. Authorities found Cassie during a raid on a puppy mill, and tracked her family down via the chip.