Better the Odds of Finding Your Lost Pet
8 Feb 2007
Discovering that you have a lost cat or dog is one of the worst feelings a pet owner can have. Not knowing whether your animal is alive, injured, stolen, or worse, is a great cause of anxiety and distress. All too often, a simple trip to the park, or quick jaunt around the block can end up with the heartbreak of a missing animal, as they slip out of the collar, or run off when playing unleashed.
Odds are typically fairly slim of getting a lost dog or lost cat back, but even more so if the animal is not wearing an ID tag. According to the Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association, based on a survey done in Montgomery County, Ohio, lost dogs are returned to their owners 2/3s of the time, and lost cats are found 50% of the time. Of those animals, half of the lost dogs had identification, and only 20% of the lost cats had ID. On a nationwide scale, the numbers are even more startling. Only around 27% of lost dogs are returned, and a mere 4% of lost cats are reunited with their worried owners.
An owner can improve his chances of finding his lost animal by being active in searching for the missing pet. Contacting animal shelters, veterinarians, and other animal groups can help. Talking with neighbors, mail carriers, local children, and other people who live or spend time in your neighborhood can also increase the chances of finding your lost dog or cat. Putting up flyers and actively looking daily in the neighborhood can also help. Occasionally, though, the lost animal will simply come home.
In Alabama, according to the Alabama Pet Registry, people are much more careless with pet IDs. At the Florence-Lauderdale Animal Shelter only 25% of lost dogs are reunited with their owners, and a staggering 90% of the reported lost dogs had no ID, and 99% of the lost cats had no ID.
ID tags can fall off or be broken, especially if your lost dog or cat has been in a fight, so other permanent options exist also. Tattooing and microchip implants can help and are great ways to make sure that your lost dog or lost cat does not become another unfortunate statistic, and that your whole family is whole and happy again.
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