|
REASONS PET GO LOST
There are a lot of reasons pets go lost and I’ll be touching on the few that I am aware of here. This is of course not an all inclusive list nor is it intended to be. It will however provide some understanding to why pets are lost and hopefully that information will enable pet owners to better control their pets’ environments and keep them safest from harm. I will also admit to a little self-promotion here as it would be nice if this should convince anyone to help out their local animal shelters by donating anything they can from time to money. The number of unclaimed and un-owned animals in the shelters continue to astound me on a daily basis and I just wish there were more things I could do for our companion pets of this country.
- Theft
- Especially from a corner lot
- From the back yard
- by simple advantage; the animal is found and “stolen”.
- For Dog Fighting
- Pit Bulls for instance but many breeds are trained for fighting
- For Dog Fight Training
- These sick people will steal anything from kittens and puppies to adult dogs that might look good as training aids for their fighting breeds. Dog Fighting is a Death Sport so only one animal ever lives through the training OR the fights; the most able dog. All others will perish, almost certainly.
- NEVER approach anyone involved in dog fighting, even if you are positive they have your pet. These people have no more respect for human life than they do for the dogs they put in the rings. They ARE dangerous people. Get the authorities involved; call your local SPCA and report them.
- They literally lost their way. For all the homing instincts and stories about cats and dogs traveling fantastic distances to get “home”, some pets do actually find themselves lost and simply can’t get back home. These poor animals are subject to
- Freezing or over heating in the elements
- hunger
- unintentional poisoning
- intentional poisoning
- Illness
But the good news is, these pets are often still nearby. Just like people, when they get lost, they often go almost in circles. Don’t forget, they get hungry too, so refuse areas around restaurants, fast food places, anyplace that has edible trash, are good places to check often while you look for your pet. This is clearly a case where the better you know your pet, the better your chances of finding it.
- They were not wearing any license tag, rabies tag or identification tag to identify them. We put our pets name and our phone number on their collars with a permanent marker plus we make sure they display their rabies tags just in case something should happen and they bite someone.
- Or worse yet, they weren’t even wearing a collar. Such pets are often immediately labeled as strays or even feral, which will only hasten their trip to euthanasia or result in little effort to find their owners.
- We found a cat once without a collar. But, it was obvious the cat HAD worn a collar from the displaced fur. Apparently the cat got hung up somewhere and was able, probably luckily, to pull out of its collar to get free. But since it was obvious from looking at its fur that it had had a collar, simple work of mouth caused the owner to show up that very same afternoon, before we had done anymore than called the shelter and animal control office.
Learn to think like your pet! Don’t expect them to think like you! It might be logical to you to go “home” when you get hungry, but it’s not to a pet. They’re going to sniff the air and the first good smelling morsel they pick up will be where they head. That could be a tossed out hamburger or, worst case, something poisonous like antifreeze, rat poison, or any number of dangerous things out there. It is not necessarily true that an animal will not eat anything that’s not good for it. Their senses are easily fooled by our worldly scents and food, medicine and even poisonous treatments. Else rat poison would never work, would it?
When your pet IS found, it’s not only common sense but good manners and good feelings to let the places you called know you have it back. They will appreciate it as they can remove it from their lists and will know there was at least that one success on what might have been a very harried day for them.
|
