Lost Pets
Lassie Come Home - I
Remember those Lassie episodes where, separated from
Timmy and her family, Lassie traverses streams, fields,
hills, fights off wolves and overcomes all obstacles
to find her way home to be reunited with the ones she
loves? We were all on the edge of our seats 'til she
was safely home.
I wish I could say all pets go to the same extremes, but the truth is when a pet goes missing, often the animal is scared, confused, and possibly injured. It may not have the resources or wherewithal to find us, so it's up to us to do everything in our power to locate our pet.
Often, our pets don't go far. One of my clients had her beloved bulldog escape from her yard and four frantic weeks later she found him-about three blocks up the street.
But whether they're crouched under a bush next door or wandered miles from home, one thing doesn't change: we love our pets and can't rest until we have them back, safe and warm with us.
Luckily, we have today's technology to help. Here's a brief review of what's available to shepherd lost pets back home. ID Collar - Complete with pet name and phone number (I don't recommend an address for security reasons), we hope someone will find our pet and call. And that's the problem; it's a passive solution, dependent on others.
Tattoo's - Although still used, I don't recommend tattooing. There's no industry standardization and just because an animal is tattooed with an ID number doesn't mean whoever finds the animal knows who/where to call. Microchips - Microchips are safe, easy, affordable and the best way to permanently ID your pet. The chip itself is implanted by injection (two seconds and you're done) where it can be "read" by scanning a hand-held detector. The chip can't be altered, fade, or have hair grow over them like a tattoo, though they can "roam" so should be read by someone experienced. Registries nationwide share information so all you'll ever need is one phone number. Best of all, shelters are not allowed to euthanasia an animal that has a chip implanted!
