What would you do if your dog or cat was missing? Anyone whose beloved pet is gone for more than a few hours would go search the neighborhood, ask their neighbors if anyone had seen the animal, put up posters, and put an ad in the local paper.
In most areas, you could check with the local shelter to see if anyone had brought in an animal matching the description or picture you'd left. Here in the Saint John Valley, there isn't a shelter to check. If you own a pet, be sure you know who to contact to report a lost animal. Each township has a designated animal control officer who receives calls regarding loose or stray domestic animals' if you're missing a pet, this is the person most likely to hear if it turns up somewhere. Be sure your dog is licensed, since the license tag may help animal control trace the dog to you. Don't count on that tag for full identification, though, since license information is kept in the town offices and may not be accessible during night and weekend hours. Unfortunately, there is no official identification for cats so the towns have no way to trace the stray cats that get picked up.
The best way to recover a lost pet is to have some form of direct identification on the animal. Regardless of how much personality your pet has, most people are not simply going to recognize an animal when it is out of its yard. And the further the pet wanders, the smaller the chance of someone recognizing it and bringing it home to you.
I.D. Options
1) The most obvious is a collar with a tag containing your name and telephone number. This is easily visible to anyone who handles your pet, and provides a direct link to you so that your pet can come home immediately. Be sure to check the tag regularly to be sure information is still legible, and get a new tag right away if any of your information changes.
2) For pets that can't or won't tolerate collars, consider a tattoo with the same information. Tattoos can be applied to any body part, most commonly inside the ear flap or on the belly or inner thigh. The tattoo may be hidden by fur, so you may have to keep the fur on that area clipped short or the tattoo will be overlooked. The information applied is permanent and unalterable, so think carefully before having a tattoo applied. Some body parts (such as cat ears) may be too small for much information to be applied, and tattoo application does require sedation so that the animal is not frightened and does not experience pain during application.
3) A microchip implant provides a more flexible option for identification. This small, inert chip is inserted under the skin with a needle and provides permanent identification. A microchip scanner, usually available at animal shelters and veterinary hospitals, can detect this chip under the skin and link to a national database to determine the animal's identity. And while the chip's serial number cannot be altered, all the information linked to it can be changed with a simple phone call. So if you change phone numbers (even temporarily, while on vacation), if you move, even if your pet goes to live with a new owner, all information can be transferred to insure that the pet is safely returned to its home.
If you find a lost pet, be sure to check for all forms of identification. Remember, tattoos can be hidden and microchips are not visible, so be sure to comb or clip the fur and have the pet scanned for microchip presence before assuming the animal is a stray. Even if you want to adopt the animal, remember someone else could be sadly missing it at home. Not ever stray cat or dog is just 'dumped', although that is the case far too often.