The Importance of ID Tags

This morning, after walking my own dogs, I drove to the store and saw a dog running in the street. I pulled my car over and coaxed the reddish, long-haired, medium-sized dog into my car. It was a friendly dog and hopped right in! First thing I checked was a collar -- ah, yes! Then, are there tags? Many times when I've "rescued" a street roamer, there's been a collar with NO tags. But, ah, thankfully, this dog's owner placed the animal's tags on the collar, including a city license that was actually up-to-date! I called Metro Animal Control, gave the staff member the dog's tag number, and was given the name of the owner and a phone number. I asked for an address, thinking I'd just drive up or down one of the close-by streets and be able to get the dog home. But, no! This owner's address was clear across town! I asked the staffer how he thought the dog could be in MY neighborhood, and of course, got the answer "don't know."

So, I called the phone number, thinking I'd get voice mail, but thankfully, the owner answered, and I discovered he and the dog did live a short distance away, so I was able to get handsome RED long-hair back home safely, and into the loving arms of the owner's little boy. I thanked the man for having up-to-date ID tags (in the form of current licensing) but cautioned he probably should update his address with Metro. Still, a happy ending!

How important it is to have our pets wear identification or at least a current rabies and city license tag. It's so much easier for pets to get home timely and safely when their collar has some type of identification. I've rescued several "street urchins" in the past, and rarely have those animals had a license or ID tag on their collars. Remind all your pet friendly pals to insure their animals have collars and tags just in case, as in what transpired today, their pet escapes the yard and runs down the street and hops someone's car! With identification, your pet will go home instead of going to the animal shelter or to someone's else's home!