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So, we've been in the house less than a month and already we had our first Lost Dog. At least Seattle has the good sense to send us BIG lost dogs. Not a fan of the ankle biters.
We had a nice thunder and lightening storm on Tuesday night and this lovely lady arrived in the backyard, dripping wet and happy to see us. She and Bailey played for a bit while I peered hopefully into the street, looking for the owner. No such owner was in evidence.
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It got to be around 10 pm. Still no owner. So we dried her off and tucked her into Bailey's crate for the night with a cosy blanket. After a little whining, she settled right now.
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The next morning I called Seattle Animal Control and gave them my information. If the owner didn't contact them within the next few hours, they would come to retrieve the lost pup. Initially I was going to take her to our vet to see if they could scan her for a microchip but Chris argued persuasively that an owner would contact the pound immediately. Let them do the work. So we did.
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And by the time I got back from my bike ride around 9:30 am, the dog was gone. Evidently the owner had retrieved their girl, although there was no note (or Thank You) to indicate her coming and going. The pound called and confirmed that the owner, indeed, had been by.
So, here is my issue. Everyone, at one time or another, makes mistakes. We have all been THAT BAD DOG OWNER. We have forgotten, on occasion, to bring along the plastic bag, or our dog runs out into the street, causing a driver to brake sharply. We're human, after all. But I have VERY little patience for folks that don't tag their dogs. It is so very easy to put a name and phone number on a dog tag. It costs $5. If you're going to the trouble of feeding and caring for your pet, do this one extra thing. Plus, it's required by law. Seattle requires each dog/cat/goat to be licensed and up to date on rabies vaccines.
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Having our pup tagged has saved our bacon on a number of occasions. Most recently, he sauntered off my parent's property while we were distracted by garden activities. Kind citizens walking by on the trail called us promptly and we dragged his sorry self back to the yard.
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The dog this week even had a collar. Why bother to collar your dog if you're not going to properly equip it with a tag? Had this owner been responsible, we could have called her immediately and she would have had her dog back, safe and sound, 10 minutes after the pup arrived in our yard. Frankly, I hope this taught her a valuable lesson. DON'T BE A BAD DOG OWNER. TAG YOUR DOG.
