Finding a Lost Dog
Dave Schuler had the distress of having one of his dogs escape the yard over the weekend. Thankfully, she was found safe and sound three hours later.
He outlines an 8-step plan for what to do if you find yourself in that situation. It’s a good one.
I would add one thing, which you should do now if you haven’t already: Have your dogs and cats embedded with a scanable microchip. Your veterinarian can do it for a relatively small cost and if your pet is found, any vet or animal shelter will be able to quickly identify it and notify you.
UPDATE: In somewhat related news, Gone Hollywood head writer Allie has won her suit to get her stolen dogs back.
Yes, that’s something that’s been suggested: what to do before the dog is lost. It would include having the dog microchipped (all my mine are), having your neighbors’ telephone numbers in hand, and knowing how to reach the non-emergency numbers of local police districts and animal welfare agencies. Printing out a copy of my tips wouldn’t be a bad idea, either. 😉
I guess times have changed. My dog charlie ran away regularly, and there wasn’t much we could do once he bolted. He always eventually turned up somewhere, miles away, at various country clubs, residential homes, gas stations — all of which always had two things in common: food and female dogs. We fed him well, but I guess the companionship of Lucy, our other dog, wasn’t enough. Anyway, we didn’t do much of anything when he ran away. I guess we should have had him fixed. Maybe that would kept him closer to home. He was a great dog, though. A free spirit.
We should all have chips implanted. 🙂
I will testify until the cows come home about the microchip.
My beloved dog who is lying at my feet is safe and sound due to it.
One of my dogs turns 10 today. You’d need a trail of t-bones to get her to run away.
Microchipping is a good way to head off the sort of difficulties that Allie found herself in. It provides documentary and registered evidence of ownership. AKC registration of purebred dogs helps in that respect, too.