Info about ear tattoos from 90's - Page 1

Howdy. I recenly rescued a male GSD that is in bad shape. I have had him to the vet and it seems that he is approximately 10 to 12 years old. He has a tattoo in his right ear that I can not make out. The last two are 46 but the rest is not readable. It looks like it might possibly be 4H146. My question is, what type of number/letter combinations were used in the USA during the early to mid 90's? I am just trying to ascertain who this dog is, out of curiosity. I was told his parents came from Germany but he was born in the US and that his first name is Norris. That is all they knew about him, except that he was supposed to be a retired police dog from somewhere in Ohio. If anyone could explain to me how the tattoo's usually run, I would appreciate it. Thanks.

The tattoo is normally seven (7) characters if applied in the U.S.A., and six (6) characters with a empty space after the first two characters that has this symbol "/" to indicate a space. Unless the full tattoo can be identifed as following the S.V.'s protocol, it is probably unique to the breeder who produced this dog, as mine are. Mine follow this sequence: the first two (2) are the kennel initials, the second two (2) are the last two (2) digits of the year, the fifth character is the litter identifying character, and the final two (2) digits are the last two digits of the puppy's A.K.C. registration application. Many breeders follow a similar protocol. You may try the A.K.C.'s website to look for him by first name (if indeed that is his registered name). You will need to go to their online store to do a pedigree search. Their goal is to sell you an online research pedigree, but I would only purchase it if I was sure of the dog's identification. You may also try the GSDCA to see whether they have any records that match your boy's tattoo. You can also try the O.F.A. database if he was tested by them. Again, the issue will be the correct name of the dog. I took a quick look. You can do the same at this link: http://www.offa.org/results.html?sort=3#results Good Luck, Bob-O

Thank you very much.