Don’t Distribute Posters of Lost Dogs
Posted on August 7, 2007
Filed Under Dogs, Pets |
You should think twice before you start distributing posters of that lost dog you found! Why? Because some unscrupulous individuals must just falsely claim that the lost dog is theirs — then turn right around and sell it to an animal testing center.
If you tack up posters of a lost dog that you found, such individuals will call you, claiming that the dog is theirs, and simply describe the photo and/or any verbal descriptions you included on the flyer.
One woman wrote to syndicated columnist Heloise about such a lost dog scenario. She found a lost dog; it had a collar, but no tags. She took the dog to her vet for a microchip scan, but the dog didn’t have a microchip. No lost dogs were reported at the local humane society.
She then called the local no-kill shelter, as the lost dog was older; she reasoned that he might be less likely to be adopted due to his age. The wise workers at the no-kill shelter strongly advised her not to distribute posters of the lost dog to avoid attracting people who would sell it to an animal testing center.
The no-kill shelter workers also advised her to only give very general information about the lost dog, not specific details, so the rightful owner would have the info necessary. For example, you could say that a lost dog is a husky, but don’t say that it has one blue eye and one brown eye on your poster. The woman left general information with several veterinary clinics in the area, another helpful idea. And she kept the lost dog in the front yard so the rightful owners would recognize him if they were driving through the area looking for him.
Sure enough, she got a call five days later about the lost dog. The caller was frantic; it was her father’s dog, and she was caring for it while her parents were on vacation. She described the dog very specifically over the phone. And when the owner came to retrieve the dog, the woman who was smart enough not to post flyers received a thank you card and a big bouquet of flowers!
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