I brought him to the nearest Vet that I knew of and he and I decided we would work out the cost of the emergency surgery together (I've done this before). This poor dog looked like he never had a home. He was dirty, skinny and barely alive.

Later that day when the Vet called to say that my new buddy was doing well, he mentioned that they checked and the dog was chipped. It didn't take long to discover that he had escaped from his yard several months earlier and his family were desperately searching for him. Somehow he managed (or was taken) about 60 miles from his home.

The Vet got paid, I was not out my usual several hundred $$$, Pudgie was reunited with his family and they made out a reward check to the ASPCA in my name.

All my dogs are chipped and their bios and photos are on all the internet registries I could find.