An unexplained journey

Published March 30, 2010
By Laurie Arellano
Minot Air Force Base Public Affairs

MINOT AIR FORCE BASE, N.D. -- When the Conley family had a microchip identification device injected in their family pet Bonnie, they never imagined they would even be using the services of the pet recovery company, much less welcoming their dog back home from a four-month, 1,500-mile journey from their home at Minot Air Force Base.

The journey began when Bonnie, a one-year-old Siberian husky, went missing from base housing Nov. 1, 2009. She was in the back yard wearing a collar and was on a lead. But when Racheal Conley, wife of Airman 1st Class Aaron Conley, 5th Munitions Squadron, went out to bring her in, she found the collar still attached to the lead and Bonnie nowhere to be found. After calling, searching for some time and posting notices on base and around Minot, the Conleys believed she was long gone.

However, nearly five months after Bonnie disappeared, Mrs. Conley received a call notifying her Bonnie had been found in Los Angeles.

"I was speechless," Mrs. Conley said.

After making arrangements through the pet tracking company to have Bonnie returned to Minot, Conley picked her up at the airport March 25 and brought her back home. According to Mrs. Conley, Bonnie is pretty much her old self.

"She remembered us right away," she said. "She lost weight, but she's pretty much the same."

Mrs. Conley said Bonnie reintegrated into the family immediately, and that everyone is very happy to have her back.

"I'm very happy to have her back," said Airman Conley. "She woke me up the first night when she got home."

While they don't know how she got all the way to Los Angeles, the Conleys agree having the pet microchip was the reason they had their family pet back home with them in Minot. Airman Conley took his puppy to Minot AFB's veterinary services to have the microchip device injected as part of base housing regulations. The regulations require pet owners living on base to have the microchips on their pets.

Army Sgt. Michael Hudson, 5th Force Support Squadron Veterinary Services, said the story of Bonnie speaks for itself.

"That tells you everything you need to know about this program," Sergeant Hudson said. "The fact that you can get your animal back relatively quickly from practically anywhere is a pretty good deal."

Pet microchipping at Minot Air Force Base is mandatory for base housing residents and is open to all military ID card holders. Sergeant Hudson said the entire appointment takes about 15 minutes and the microchip implant is compliant worldwide.

"It was worth it," Airman Conley said.

The Conleys' son Garrett agreed when he exclaimed, "Bonnie's back!"