Over the past few days I’ve found three lost dogs wandering in San Luis Park while I was running. While one had a harness and a rabies tag, none of them had any ID that was very useful to me-like a number to call. Fortunately, I was able to get the dogs into the dog park area and there was someone there with a cell phone who could call the animal rescue people.
One dog I found seemed to have had an encounter with a car or something bad-he had some wounds on his front and was limping. I was just glad I found these poor dogs before they were run over.
While owners can take steps to keep their dogs from escaping, dogs are quite good at getting out and about. That is why it is a very good idea to have your contact information on your dog’s collar. Hartz, the company that makes a variety of pet products, sells very nice custom ID tags on their web site. The tag is only $2.95 and I got mine in just a few days (Isis’ previous tag had been worn down).
Some people have actually told me that they do not put an ID tag on their dog because they worry that weird or dangerous people will find the information. If you are really worried about that, you could create an extra free email account and put that on the tag. That way if someone finds your dog, s/he can contact you while you will be safer from weird or dangerous people.
Our pets depend on us to keep them safe and we are obligated to not let them down. If you don’t have an ID for your pet, then you really should get one.
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