At the end of “The Price is Right” show, Mr. Baker tells audiences to have their pets spade and neutered. I’d like to add another plea for pet-owners: GET YOUR PETS LICENSED!
Today I encountered a wee Yorkshire Terrier in the middle of A Street as I waited for the green light by 10th. Running scared down the road, the little thing was confused and alone. I, marked by years of Yorkie-loving, jumped from the driver’s seat of my Nissan Altima, stopped traffic with one hand and plucked the dog from death. Okay, so maybe it would’ve made it to safety just fine, but it’s true that the Yorkie was lost. No collar (so no tags) and no one looking for him. After posting a few signs in the area, “Little Dog FOUND. Call _______ to claim,” we sat in the church office for a few hours — he in my lap, me trying to figure out what to do with him. Lo and behold, a public health coworker of my mother’s wanted a little dog. So tonight he rests in great foster care, perhaps a great permanent home.
All worrying about the dog’s true residence could have been eliminated by the proper licensing. My call to Animal Control could have resulted in his immediate return to “home.” But now… who knows? If his owners want him back, I hope they have the common sense to call the AC office in the city health department.
This same story happened with a very sweet orange cat just three weeks ago. Except I didn’t find anyone who wanted to care for it — I do believe it’s living at the Human Society now. (Huh? What’s that? Yes, I said “living.” Don’t tell me otherwise!! I’d like to continue living in my naive world, thanks.)
Get your pets spayed and neutered… and licensed!
11 Comments
rebecca Sep 25, 2003 10:44 PM
good news for the yorkie! he was placed back in his home tonight. turns out his owners were on vacation and his temporary caretakers were having him groomed when he made his escape… sneaky pooch! so perhaps he was licensed afterall and had lost the collar just prior to getting bathed.
alls well that end’s well. : )
chloe Sep 26, 2003 11:38 AM
remember when I got spayed! you dropped me!
adam Sep 26, 2003 2:15 PM
fyi, if you ever find a stray, hurt, or dead animal you’re always supposed to contact animal control. the local aspca keeps tabs on all animals. our cats have digital ids — i highly recommend it.
rebecca Sep 26, 2003 3:29 PM
adam, do they do digital id’s in lincoln? no one from animal control mentioned such an idea to me. cool!
no, no, no nooneee… YOU dropped chloe right after she was spayed. she spent the entire rest of the night shuddering and shaking on mom’s poor baby. i thought we were gonna kill you that night!
rebecca Sep 28, 2003 5:40 PM
for the record, i DID call animal control right after i found the pooch.
bethany Sep 28, 2003 8:52 PM
hmm…so if i take maggie’s collar off and drop her on a street, some other family will take her? ….interesting.
lindsay Sep 28, 2003 10:05 PM
i don’t understand why you hate maggie so much!
sarah Sep 28, 2003 10:19 PM
noooo! not maggie!!! bethany, don’t plot against our beloved household pet, she has stayed with us through the years. you might say she has grown up with us (or we with her…)
and despite the occasional seizure, she’s a precious little pooch.
rebecca Sep 28, 2003 10:40 PM
maggie watches movies and eats grass… what more could one want in a dog? (bad bethany!)
bethany Sep 29, 2003 4:05 PM
i don’t really hate maggie….but it’s fun to act like i do. i shall have a moment of sadness when she dies, but then i will move on.
rebecca Sep 29, 2003 10:07 PM
i know, b. i was just thinking of you today with great fondness in my heart! : )