PSA 4

Lately lost dogs have been drawn towards me.  Last weekend I found a dog wondering our neighborhood that jumped it's fence.  It was dark, hot and I felt awful for the thing.  With help from my neighbors we caught her and returned her to her home after a few hours of playing in my backyard.

On the 4th of July my neighbors had a little dog show up on their doorstep.  They are not dog people, so of course I went over to rescue her.  She was some sort of terrier/chihuahua mix that didn't weigh more than 8 lbs.  She had no collar or any sort of identification on her.  I walked the neighborhood - knocked on everyone's doors - and nobody claimed the sweet little thing. 

The little lost puppy

I wanted to keep her, but unfortunately if we would have kept her she would have been dinner for Grizzly Bear.  He was definitely not a fan of the new canine being toted around by HIS mom.

So the next thing I had to do was call our local animal control and it killed me!  It is the last thing I wanted to do, but I didn't want to let the poor thing back out on the street in the 104 degree weather. 

The animal control guy came and I gave him the third degree.  As soon as he got out of his car I asked for their microchip scanner (I wanted to watch him do this just in case he forgot about this all important step).  No microchip :(    I then asked a bunch of questions; what shelter will she be taken to?  What is their no kill policy?  Are they overfull?  All of the questions I didn't really want to know the answer to...they are a kill shelter and give the animal 4 days to be claimed.  If they are not claimed, they go on the list.

 I told him thank you and then said "well I'm not going to thank you because you are taking her to a kill shelter". So he took the darling dog and I walked back to my house bawling.  Really...full fledged sobbing!  My neighbor asked if I was ok and I promptly said "NO" (probably a bit more bitchy than I intended).  I ran up to my bed, cried for a good 15 minutes and had to go back down to our guests that were waiting for the 4th of July party to begin.

So, I want to make people aware of what they need to do with their pets so this doesn't happen to them.

-Make sure your babies always have their collars on.  On the tag should be the dogs name and at least two numbers that someone could get a hold of you.  Also helpful would be your name.

find these tags here

- Be aware of the areas your pets could get out.  It may be a loose fence, or a place they can scoot under or over.  If your pet is a jumper, make that fence a bit higher - or put a ceiling up so they can't get out.

- Know the reasons that your pet could be spooked and therefore run.  For my big boy, he is afraid of fireworks.  If he were outside and one went off he would definitely take off running to find somewhere to hide.

-Microchip all of your pets.  I can't stress this enough!  You never know if your dog/cat will escape, but if they do they should be micro-chipped.  It shouldn't cost more than $40.00 and it will be their unique ID that any vet clinic, rescue organization, or animal shelter will be able to read.  This microchip ID will eventually lead back to your information and then getting your pet back!

This is an advertisement for HomeAgain - my favorite microchip company!

- If you find a pet and have the ability to hold them until you find their home...GREAT!  Make sure to take some pictures and post them in your surrounding area with your contact info saying you have found a dog/cat.

- Make sure you always have a recent picture of your pet available.  If they ever escape, you will want to take that picture, make posters, and post them everywhere possible!

Moral of the story - always be prepared and ready to act if your babies are ever in this situation.  I can't imagine ever loosing mine!

I did call the shelter on Monday and our little friend has a forever home!