Monday, December 9, 2013

Serious Mischief! This Time of Year

 

 

Hi Y’all!

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This time of year, the Holidays, is a time when many families are traveling with and without us, their furry protectors and companions. 

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Seat belts and crates or carriers help protect your pawed friend. 

 

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However, things happen…bad things…sometimes beyond our control…Human or furry friend’s…

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Many shelters and breeders as well as your local vet will microchip us.  This isn’t the end all…First, not everyone who finds us looks for the chip…and not all scanners can read all chips. 

Dog tags?  I wear tags,

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though I’ve lost a couple I still have the one that can be scanned; but suppose someone finds me and doesn’t know they can scan my tag with their cell phone?  Or they don’t really want to find my owner?  They simply remove my collar and tags.

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I don’t like the sound of that!  Never seeing my Human again?  That would be awful!    

They tattoo race horses.  Is it an option for dogs?  P1300224

Race horses are tattooed on the inside of the upper lip.  There is one central registry for them.

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A friend with a Labrador had his dog tattooed.  The Labrador was tattooed on the inside of the rear thigh with AKC and his registration number.  Be sure to specify the registry in front of the number.  P1300241If you don’t have a registered dog, use your driver’s license number with the state in front of it. 

I think some of the European countries have central registries for identifying missing pets. 

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I’m never outside of the house without at least one of my Humans, usually both.  Even fenced areas are NOT safe for us to be outdoors alone. 

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There are thieves out there who search neighborhoods for unsupervised dogs…and I’m not talking about the storied “dog catcher”.  These are the BAD GUYS who will remove your collar and tags and make money selling you!

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If your dog is stolen, and they steal us from cars too, your only chance is if a vet scans you and finds your microchip and the new owner is honest enough to return us.

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If you are lost or stolen, have your humans trained so they automatically contact the animal shelter or humane society in your area and neighboring areas.  Shelters do scan incoming animals for microchips.

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As added protection tell your humans they should never admit to a stranger that you are NOT neutered.  Say we are neutered even if we aren’t.  Additionally, a microchip AND tattoo may be advisable.  Remember, a tattoo is more easily spotted on short haired animals than long haired ones.

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Click HERE for more information about microchips, their cost as well as their safety. 

Click HERE for tips on keeping you, the family cat(s) or dog(s) safe from thieves.

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The best way to keep us safe is to never allow us outside unless you are with us.   But remember, sometimes things beyond anyone’s control can result in us getting lost, so be sure we are easily identified so we can be returned safely to you! 

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The best gift you can give us this Christmas is to be sure we are properly ID’d and registered, preferably with microchips and tattoos in addition to tags on our collars.  Also take the time to go outside with us and keep us inside, in a crate if necessary, when you can’t be with us.

P1300271  Y’all come back now!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

16 comments:

  1. Have a marvellous Monday Hawk.
    Best wishes Molly

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  2. All good tips! When I first started dating Aaron he was not a dog man. He grew up in a family where the dog was either left outside to roam or tied to a tree in the backyard, and if the dog disappeared... Sigh...

    It took me a while to retrain him. He didn't understand why I wouldn't leave the pups outside when we left or why the pups are not off-leash in unsecured areas (we have so much traffic...). I only had to show him a few newspaper articles of dogs disappearing or being poisoned to change his mind. Of course, it helped that he had fallen madly in love with my Sammy. LOL - that's when I knew I would marry him - when Sam became his most valuable treasure.

    Monty and Harlow

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  3. That is an interesting point of view :D

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  4. Those are a lot of important tips. I can't think of much more heartbreaking than losing your dog and not knowing where he was or how to get him back. We live in the city and our yard is fenced, and I agree, it is important to never leave the dogs unattended. You look like you have a lot of land to roam. How big is your backyard, Hawk?

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  5. Great tips Hawk - very important information that I hope all dog owners take to heart.

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  6. Great idea with the tattoo, I had never thought of that. These two are always supervised, but like you said, you never ever know.

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  7. wow what a great post today! Great info and great tips! One thing I never thought of was using your licence number for the dog tattoo when your dog isnt registered! What a great thought!
    Love your pics as always, but really great post today! :)

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  8. Such good advice, Hawk. I hear stories all the time about people whose dogs are stolen. I don't think anyone would steal my dogs, since they're seniors and not purebred. And they bark ferociously at anyone who approaches the house and yard. I let people think that they're ferocious man eaters, so no one will come near. In fact, we'll probably always have grow rescue mixes, so to avoid this stealing thing.
    www.dogtreatweb.com

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  9. Great advice Hawk, I went out and got padlocks for our gates to make sure our pups are safe outside.

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  10. THANK YOU SO MUCH for this HAWK!!

    We all need to be more vigilant with our puppies and everything you mentioned makes so much sense!

    HAPPY WEEK and again you are so SMART!!

    SOphie

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  11. Good reminders. Lady is always afraid of losing us! Lee and Phod

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  12. Excellent post, Hawk. That is all very good advice, and I hope everyone follows it. Bad things sometimes happen that we can't control, but if we do everything we possibly can to keep our pets safe, hopefully we can avoid that.
    Jan, Wag 'n Woof Pets

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  13. that was a whole lot of great information, thank you for taking the time to tell us all about keeping our pets safe. I had Norman tattoo'ed long ago but no one in our area does that anymore so now I microchip them. I am bad and don't have collars on the dogs when they are home with me but I did just get tags and collars for when we do our therapy work. Have a great Monday.

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  14. Great advice! Thanks for all the info... I'd never heard of the tattoing.

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  15. This is very thorough information. Thank you, Hawk! Maya & Pierson wear their tags all the time and they are also both microchipped. I think the scanners are more centralized now. Even if there are a bunch of different microchip companies, many scanners detect several different ones.

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  16. Excellent advice. Have to be safe. Although I have heard of tattoos being altered or ignored.

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