Keep Up with Your PetDogs and cats like to roam, so pet owners are not surprised when they come home and occasionally are not greeted by the animal members of their family. Usually the pet returns before its owners become worried, but sometimes the hours ... the days ... and the weeks go by without a trace of the animal. The whole family wonders, What could have happened? Where is my pet now? Will he ever come home to us? The uncertainty, anguish, and fear experienced by pet owners over the unexplained loss of their furry companion is almost always tempered by the hope that one day it will return. But if it has been picked up by Animal Control and is currently in the Animal Shelter, that hope has a slim chance of being fulfilled --unless the owner has provided its pet an identification or rabies tag. Almost every day Animal Control takes dogs and cats to the Animal Shelter. Some of them are obviously strays or abandoned, suffering from neglect, malnutrition and/or disease. Some, just as obviously, are pets -- well-fed, healthy, happy animals who probably just got separated from their families due to satisfying a desire to see the larger world. Sadly, most do not have identification or rabies tags that can lead to a prompt return to their rightful homes. The Animal Shelter and Animal Control encourages all pet owners to make sure their pets are wearing a collar with an identification or rabies tag on it. Of course, some animals are good at taking off their collars, so if a pet is lost, please be sure to check with the Animal Shelter on a regular basis. By using collars with identification tags and by checking with the Animal Shelter when a pet is lost, a happy reunion between pet and family may be realized a lot sooner. |
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