Author Archives: sheltertails5839

Tails: I made friends with a breeder

It probably doesn’t sound like much, “I made friends with a breeder,” but if you know me, you know that it is.  Since attending my first dog auction 8 years ago, I have despised breeders.  I am very outspoken on the subject, just ask anyone.

If I hear someone say, “We just bought a puppy,” my stomach turns and I feel an enormous sense of agony (and anger).  I hear people say they went to Petland or found the cutest puppy on-line.  It makes my heart sink.  For years I have been asking, “Where are the good breeders?”

A few posts ago, when expressing my displeasure with the AKC, I asked that exact question.  Well, just a few days ago, a breeder emailed me to let me know, “She breeds only for love of the breed.”

She wrote a long email explaining what she does and how she is part of an organization who educates the public on good breeding.  I could tell by her words that they were true and heartfelt.  She wasn’t antagonizing me or being defensive.  She wanted to understand me, as I wanted to understand her.

We’ve emailed a few times back and forth now, always maintaining a very pleasant and respectful tone, something I didn’t think I could ever do with a breeder.  She invited me to see her website and when I went, it almost brought tears to my eyes.  There, in front of me, were all of the things I tell friends and family to look for:

* I will NOT ship my puppies to anyone

* You must come to my house, so I can meet you and you can meet me and see my dogs

* I only breed 1 -2 litters a year, so chances are I will not have a puppy when you want one.  I don’t breed for Christmas or spring.

* I don’t take deposits because I think that puts people in a situation where they might have regrets.

* All of the puppies I sell are for families and will be altered.  If you want a show dog, you can call and we can talk about that.

The list goes on…every single thing I preach to people.  This breeder is serious.  It was the first time in 8 years that I felt a sense of hope, that I truly believed there might be a place for breeding in this world, after all.

Her and I have exchanged stories and opinions about “our own kind.”  She explains to me why “her people” won’t further initiate opposition to the AKC or why they won’t always support legislation.  I explain how “my kind” doesn’t understand why they aren’t more furious with the AKC and why they don’t protest Petland.

We also talk about the weaknesses in our own kind.  Truthfully, it has been one of the most enlightening conversations I have had in awhile.  She is the breeder I always wanted to exist and the breeder I always wanted to be able to talk to.

This morning I was thinking about this new relationship, how unlikely it always seemed to me, and an analogy hit me.  I feel like breeders and rescues have the same relationship as the major political parties in Washington.  We are unable to reach an understanding and bridge our differences.  We cannot act in any kind of bipartisan way which I think has hurt our chances of truly successful and effective legislation to protect breeding dogs.

I don’t have answers.  I wish I did.  But, my new friendship, with who I would have once only considered the devil, is giving me hope and inspiration.  If more of my kind and more of her kind could come together and work as a team, I think there is great opportunity for immense change.  Hopefully, our love for dogs will push us to work harder together than those in Washington and we will accomplish great things in a more timely manner.  The dogs are counting on it.

Tails: Idiocy adds to the numbers

Just as the light bulbs are turning on, CNN provides us with further reason to mistrust the municipal shelter system.  In its article, Dogs Killed Over Unpaid Fines, CNN reports on a family and how their dog was killed at a shelter because they didn’t have $180 to get him back.  The family located him at the shelter less than a week after he went missing.  Sadly, in just a few days, the daily fines exceeded what they were able to afford.  With no other recourse, their dog, a loved family member, was killed.

This is happening all over the United States.  It happened in the county shelter I worked at.  At some shelters, just one day’s fine can exceed $100, making it impossible for many people to afford to get their pets back.

Such tragedy taking place, while city shelters scream they are running out of space and don’t have the resources to care for so many dogs and cats.  It would appear it is idiocy adding to the overcrowded shelters.

City shelters don’t operate for free, but our tax dollars fund them, not necessarily the fines.  Yes, of course, there is reason to fine people for repeated behaviors.  However, why not make the first time a warning?  Surely, the faster the dog or cat gets home and out of the shelter is better for everyone, right?  One less animal  to care for in an already overcrowded shelter system.  One less animal to adopt or even to euthanize.

And, why not make fines payable in other ways… There should be payment options.  The obvious is a payment plan, but what about getting creative… Why not forego the actual money and offer people the chance to pay it back by volunteering at the shelter?  There are no prerequisites for working at a shelter.  Anyone can brush cats, clean kennels, and walk dogs.  And, isn’t that what shelters say they don’t have enough of…staff to help maintain the facility and care for the animals?

I really cannot think of a better way for people to “pay back” a shelter for caring for their dog or cat, than to offer the same services in return.  Not only does it provide more manpower for the shelter, but it educates citizens on animal control and raises awareness on the homeless animal population.  Win-win.

According to Lost Dogs America‘s statistics, 10 state Lost Dog organizations reported over 21,000 dogs were reunited with their owners last year.  If we average that data and extrapolate to include all 50 states, we are looking at over 105,000 dogs who went missing and had owners looking for them.  I believe that number is extremely conservative based on two factors: one, my math is overly averaged, neither CA nor NY have Lost Dog organizations (Perhaps someone would like to get one started.) both states would contribute large numbers to these statistics and two, while Lost Dogs is growing in its numbers, still not every dog lost is reported to them.

There is an entire population of lost dogs adding to the numbers in city shelters.  It is a population that should be acknowledged and better protocol should be put in place to deal more effectively with it.  If we could eliminate the lost dog population in city shelters by returning these animals to their owners more quickly, I would be willing to guarantee that city shelters would see nothing but positive impact.

I would be so bold as to state that a quarter million of the dogs who enter shelters in the United States have homes and have owners actively looking for them.  General statistics state that 1.2 million dogs are euthanized each year, meaning that potentially over 20% of the dogs euthanized could be lost pets who already have homes.   Certainly that statistic is enough to make lost dogs (and cats) an issue to take seriously.

 

 

 

 

Tails: Rescue is bringing them home, not just saving them

I am in awe of the response to my last blog about making the priority getting dogs back home and not adopted to new families.  I have heard that I “turned on a lot of lightbulbs.”  I am happy that I could be inspiring, but it saddens me at the same time.

When I was 8 years old, I found my first stray dog.  He was a shaggy, tan mutt and he wandered into our garage.  It was a rainy day and all I could think about was where did he come from and that he must live somewhere nearby.  I grabbed a leash and spent the next 3 hours walking the streets until I found his home.  I can still remember the lady smiling when I knocked on her door and the way his tail wagged when she called his name.  I was hooked.  Rescuing dogs was in my blood.

I feel like, perhaps, we have forgotten along the often painful road what rescue really is.  I feel like we have become hardened souls, so cynical of the human race and how they treat man’s best friend.  We see things so few people see.  So much abuse and neglect.

We fight so hard to protect animals from human beings that I think we have overlooked one really important thing: most people who own dogs love them.  No, maybe they don’t love them like WE do, but they love them nonetheless.

We are a select group of people.  The love we feel for dogs and animals is something few people understand.  I am sure we have all tried to express our passion to friends and family, but they look at us confused and unable to share such devotion.  This doesn’t make them bad people nor does it make us crazy.

I do believe that between the horror we see each day and the unbridled passion we have for animal welfare our expectations for animal care has become a bit out of control.  We want picture perfect homes for each dog we place and sometimes picture perfect is…well, ridiculous.

I think that is why we have been so quick to “save” dogs from shelters and adopt them into new homes, homes we have “assumed” will be much better than the homes they left.  As I mentioned in the earlier blog, I think we make too many poor assumptions about the care the lost dog was receiving, that we fail to acknowledge the vital relationship between the lost dog and his family who, more than likely, loves him and is devastated.

When I was 8 years old, I didn’t know all the tragic things I know today.  I didn’t know about puppy-mills or dog fighting.  I had never seen a dog beaten or abandoned.  It was easy at 8 years old to only assume that the dog had a GOOD home and just wandered off on his own.  At 8 years old, I thought nothing bad of the home he had.  I only knew that I loved my dog and that that dog must have someone who loves him, too.  At 8 years old, the only solution was to find that dog’s home.

I think we all need to be 8 again.  I think we all need to re-train our hearts and minds to believe in the good of people again.  We need to trust that people do love their animals.  We need to believe that dogs don’t fall from the sky and that rescue means bringing them home not just saving them.

 

Tails: Let’s focus on getting them back home, not adopted.

I won’t lie… it wasn’t until recently that I started to give this a lot of thought, thanks to my friend Susan Taney, Director of Lost Dogs IL.

In the last 10 years, I have adopted 6 dogs.  Buddy came directly from a couple who could no longer keep him. Sadie came from a rescue organization who saved her from euthanasia at a city pound.  She was found stray.  We adopted Digger from a city pound.  I don’t think I even know his story.  Thorp and Penelope I, physically, rescued from a puppy-mill auction.  Lastly, Jack.  Jack was hit by a car in the city of Chicago and left.  A police officer brought Jack to Chicago Animal Control where he was assessed to have multiple injuries and in need of a rescue to pull him.  I pulled him and got him to the vet.  Needless to say, after 3 months of post-care, he officially became our dog.

Everyday I look at Jack and I can’t help but wonder what his story really is.  Was he a stray, roaming the city streets looking for food?  Was he like Tramp in the movie scurrying from garbage can to garbage can barely making it, until one day he slips up and gets hit by a car?  Or, is he like Lassie, who has a little boy named Timmy who loves him, and is still wondering months later if they will ever find him, and if he is ok?

It is super easy to make judgements about the families who lose dogs.  It isn’t uncommon to think they were bad people.  “Good people don’t lose dogs,”  if only it were that black and white.

We lost Digger.  One day he ran off the boat as we were docking and we couldn’t find him for 18 hours.  And, tragically, when we did, he had been hit and killed by a car.  Maybe that makes me a horrible person.  I have spent 15 years rescuing dogs and advocating for animals and I can tell you that, that day will haunt me forever.  I would like to believe that I am a good owner and that what happened was a horrific accident.

Maybe Jack’s owners could say the same?

Unfortunately for Jack, he did not have a collar or ID tag or a microchip which brought his chances of being returned to his owners to nearly zero.  But, maybe he had just gotten a bath or they bought a new collar and didn’t put it on yet.  There have been times when all of my dogs have been without collars at one point or another for many different reasons.

Jack had fleas when I got him.  He had had fleas for quite some time.  It would be easy to make assumptions about his care, but if he had been gone for more than 30 days and his flea and tick medicine was no longer active, it would make sense that he would get fleas.  I will never know how long Jack was missing or if he was missing at all.

Jack was not neutered and while, to me, that shows irresponsible ownership, it does not mean he wasn’t loved or cared for.  Spay and neuter operations can be costly and many people don’t fully understand all of the benefits to performing them.  Jack’s owners could have loved him but had neither the resources or the understanding to get him neutered.

Part of me wants to assume Jack’s life, “before Becky,” was awful.  I want to believe that he didn’t know love until he found us, but that is quite possibly untrue.

My big saying these days is, “Dogs don’t fall from the sky,” because they don’t.  And while stray dogs can be an issue in some areas, in general, that is not the case in IL.  The likelihood that Jack was living life like a stray Disney dog is just not that likely, though it would make his life with us more romantic.

I will never know Jack’s story and for me, that is sad.  I worry that the dog I love so much is a dog someone else loves so much and is still looking for.

So, what’s my point… My point is returning dogs to their rightful owners isn’t something a lot of shelters or rescues are making a priority and that is scary.  Especially, if you already own a dog and find it missing one day.  Shelters like CACC have just reduced their stray-hold period to 3 days meaning that after 3 days any rescue can come in and take the dog.  So, while the city says it won’t euthanize the dog sooner, the dog will leave the shelter sooner- giving owners much less time to find it.

My rescue operates out of Minnesota.  Lucky for Minnesota, their city shelters aren’t overcrowded, so our rescue goes to places like Chicago to offer help.  A dog that comes into CACC with no tags and no microchip can end up in Minnesota for adoption in 4 days.  Think about that.  What Chicago resident is going to scour the state of Minnesota looking for their dog?

Until recently, I would have “assumed” that the city shelter goes above and beyond to find the dog’s owner, but I know that is not the case.  And, after reading about the MANY places a stray can end up in the Chicago animal control system, I know it would be practically impossible to find a dog without tags or a chip in less than 3 days.

So, now I am pondering if my rescue or ANY rescue should begin to feel some level of responsibility for return to owner rates.  I think it would be ignorant of us to continue to assume the city shelter has done their due diligence.

The irony is that it has been said that it was rescues who promoted the shortened stray hold.  Rescues wanted to get their hands on the dogs quicker.  I understand, in theory, why.  The longer the dogs are in the shelter, the more stressed they become, the more likely they will get urinary tract infections and kennel cough.

No one, especially in rescue, wants to see a dog sit in a city shelter longer than he has to, but shouldn’t we, as rescue people, be cheering for the dog’s family, too?  Isn’t the best scenario the one where the dog doesn’t enter the world of rescue at all and is, instead, returned home to the family it already had?

 

Tails: It is time to free Flipper and his friends…

I spent last week on Sanibel Island laying in the sun and walking on the beach.  Life doesn’t really get much better.  One day as I was surfing…facebook, someone had posted the latest PR nightmare for Sea World and opened up the dialogue to discuss the importance of shutting the place down and letting the dolphins and whales and everything else be free.

Crazy enough, that same afternoon, I was walking the beach with a friend and two dolphins swam only 10 feet from us.  Of course, we walked further into the water to be closer to them, and they didn’t swim away.  We were standing in the Gulf only ten feet from two wild dolphins!

I spent the remainder of the day pondering both how lucky I was and how much better it was to experience a dolphin in the wild than behind glass at Sea World.  But, before I made any further assumptions, I did some research.

Sanibel can be thought of as a pricey place to visit.  Perhaps out of the reach for some.  However, I looked up ticket prices for Sea World and found them to be about $90 per person for one day.   Of course that doesn’t include the food or the pictures or many of the other add-ons, so it is way above $100 per person to go to Sea World.  To go to Sanibel, each car has to pay $6 and to park at a public access beach it is $3/hr.  A family of 4 can spend an entire day on Sanibel, walking the beaches, standing in the water only feet away from wild dolphin for $30.  Pictures are free.  (Versus $360 for a family of 4 at Sea World)

Sanibel is definitely not more expensive.  More importantly, the dolphin are FREE.  They swim and play and put on shows all because they want to, not because someone starved them until they did it.  The dolphin in Sea World will never have the massive square footage they need to swim endlessly.  Dolphin at Sea World are stressed and unhappy.  Dolphin are very social and active creatures and certainly do NOT belong in tanks or swimming pools.

Perhaps there would be a valid argument if Sea World actually made sea animals more accessible to the average child, but the truth is it far more accessible to go to the beach and see the animals frolic in freedom than to pay hundreds of dollars to watch them suffer behind glass.

 *The feature picture was taken off of a boat riding along the coast of Sanibel.  This dolphin and the MANY others we saw that day live FREE and HAPPY.

Tails: Your tax dollars are killing Tiger and Fluffy

I am struggling with the state of animal controls across the country.  It seems like everyday I hear of a dog or cat euthanized before their owner could get to them.  Sometimes it’s because animal control never bothered to call or the animal ran out of time before the owner could get to the shelter.  For some animal controls like Chicago Animal Care and Control (CACC), time for the animals was cut nearly in half, making it even less likely for the animal to be returned to the owner.

Yes, there is some responsibility on the owners to find their dog or cat and get to the shelter quickly, but I believe the burden ultimately falls on the organization we pay with our tax dollars to serve the animal population. Recently, a cat was found in a car at a rental company.  The rental company brought the cat to animal control, but called the owner to let them know they found the cat and brought it to the shelter.  When the woman got to the shelter, the cat was already euthanized.  How is it that a rental company, whose mission it to rent cars, had the time and the compassion to find the owner, but animal control did not?

Let’s consider the word “shelter.”  A place of respite, a place to find comfort and warmth.  Yet, when many animals enter a city shelter it is anything but warm and comfortable.

The issue I believe many taxpayers fail to recognize is that it is their money paying to euthanize innocent animals.  Every tax dollar they owe has an impact on the local animal control.  Meaning that  taxpayers have a right to stand up and take back control of their city shelters.

Gone are the days of the “dog catcher,” yet, it seems that many people who care about animals appear to accept that the city shelter is doing the best they can.  That is hogwash.  When our streets don’t get plowed and our garbage doesn’t get taken away, we complain to the city.  We don’t care when they say they are doing the best they can with the resources they have, we demand better.  We want our streets without pot holes and we want the police to protect us.  We don’t care where the money comes from or what the city has to do to make it happen.  Why should we rollover and accept that the city animal control is doing the best they can by euthanizing 50% of the animals?  There are city shelters who are 100% no kill.  Our city shelters can do better, but only if we push them.  Only if we are willing to fight.

As I began thinking about this blog, I wondered if, perhaps, animal control facilities would be better run by volunteers instead of government employees.  I worked at animal control as an employee and I witnessed many employees who were there only for a paycheck.  They didn’t care who was euthanized or who was adopted.  It was a job to them.  For me, it was a passion with the bonus of a paycheck.

There are successful volunteer shelters across the country.  Run with little money, but lots of love.  What if we could run a city shelter using tax dollars to fund the building, the medical costs and the necessities like food and water, but operated it 100% by volunteers, people who love animals and would do just about anything to save them?

People in government are gasping at that thought, yet, I believe it is something to seriously consider.  With my masters degree is in Human Resource Management, I am well versed in pay for performance and hiring practices.  Why not consider hiring employees who care about animal welfare. People with backgrounds in rescue and animal care.  And how about using euthanasia rates like production rates in manufacturing companies for performance reviews.  Why can’t employees of city shelters be rewarded for saving animals instead of killing them?

There are so many better ways to run city shelters, but until taxpayers demand better, until they choose to fight for the animals, very little will change.  In the meantime, as a taxpayer, remember each time you hear of an innocent animal killed at a city shelter you helped pay for it.

Truths: Persecuting the good kids? This has gone too far.

Deep breath I tell myself.  Think don’t react.  I cannot.  This has gone too far to feel anything but outrage.

Let me be upfront.  I do NOT believe in organized religion. I choose to believe in something bigger than myself and I also choose to be a good person because it is the right thing to do, not because I am afraid of what lies ahead of me.  I don’t need guilt or shame or fear to know that being a compassionate person is my goal in this lifetime.

That out of the way, let’s talk about the utter, yet, infuriating nonsense taking place in my community.

Our girls basketball team won regionals on Thursday.  The tournament was held at a Catholic high school.  In the moments of excitement and glory, they made a split decision to hold up a Barbie doll, their mascot of girl power, to the cross that was hanging in the gym and take a picture.

From the reaction of the Catholic community, you would believe they murdered someone.

Let me first say something else that is bothering me… why are public school athletes subject to seeing a cross on the court?  What happened to the separation of church and state?

Back to the situation.  If the local scrutiny wasn’t bad enough, the newspapers took hold of it and last night it made the evening news.

Sadly, our district seemed to have no problem throwing the girls and their coach under the bus.

Why?  Why is a public school allowing the beliefs of a few to erase all of the good in the players and the coach?

The girls on our basketball team are honor role students.  They participate in community outreach, they don’t get in trouble at school and they do not have criminal records.  They are upstanding citizens.

If the school and the community can’t see that because of a split decision they made in a moment of excitement, I am appalled.

I strongly believe in freedom.  Freedom of speech, freedom of religion, freedom of personal choice.  I am free to hold a Barbie on a cross, and others are free to bitch about it.  And while many Americans don’t like it, anyone is free to burn the American flag.  That is the beauty of our country.  We are FREE.

What the girls did could be seen as disrespectful to SOME, not all.  But, the adults of this community have turned it into persecution. Those that expect forgiveness on Sundays can’t seem to offer it any other day of the week.

The community is bullying these girls.  They are making them feel shame for who they are.  To SOME, they made mistake.  A single mistake.  Let’s not lose sight of who they are as individuals.  In a world full of gangs and drugs and shootings, why is it that something as basic as exercising freedom of speech has become an opportunity to destroy all the good these girls have accomplished?

The girls and the coach have nothing to be ashamed of.  It is the righteous adults of the community that need to look deep within themselves and question if they are as perfect as they are expecting the girls to be.

I can answer that: no.

 

 

 

Tails: The truth behind the ribbons

I did a short rant on my fb page today, but I feel the need to write more.  You don’t spend 7 years fighting for better legislation for puppy-mill dogs and then, feel at peace when watching a dog show.

I have loved dogs all of my life.  I feel rather competent when it comes to identifying breeds and have always enjoyed watching the dog shows.  People who know me, know that I could love any dog at any given time.  From Shih Tzu to English Bulldog to Great Dane to Chinese Crested.  The dog show is like a candy store for me so many to choose from.

Sadly, after attending my first dog auction 7 years ago, I find it hard to watch the shows without feeling complete heartache.  Sure those dogs prancing the ring are beautifully groomed.  Their teeth glisten and their tails wag.  But, what goes on behind the ring, behind the ribbons is anything but bright and shiny.

Let’s make the assumption, as huge as it may be, that the breeders of the dog show dogs are good breeders.  I won’t lie.  There is proof floating around now that many of the best in show dogs have found themselves abandoned when they grow old and unworthy.  There are pics circulating of past winners now emaciated and left for dead.  So, my assumption is weak at best, but to keep things simple, let’s go with it.

The dog shows fuel mass breeding.  Beautiful dogs big and small grace the stage and send ignorant people into pet stores to buy one just like the one they saw on TV.  Mark my words… the pet stores will begin stocking up on Beagles now that Miss P took “Best in Show.”

This means two things: puppy-millers will get rid of some of their other breeds to make room for Beagle stock.  By get rid, I mean kill, abandon, whatever… Those breeding dogs have such little value to them.  They will bring in lots of Beagles to make more Beagles and next year when the Shih Tzu wins the show (should have this year, I am a little biased) they will throw out the Beagles and bring in the Shih Tzu.

It is nothing more than business to them.  Those dogs aren’t man’s best friend, they are products bought and sold like canned goods and produce.

It was even said that Miss P can retire to motherhood now as her pups will bring in big dollars.  Even on the “good” side of breeding, it is all about money.  Why can’t Miss P just be a family dog now that she has earned her title.  I know that is not how it works.

There has always been a part of me who strongly believes that there should be NO more breeding until every homeless dog has a home.  Yet, the other part of me does see value in having so many different breeds to choose from.  Not everyone wants a Chihuahua nor does everyone want a Mastiff.

But the whole thing, ALL of the breeding, is fueled by greed.  Whether it be the backyard breeder or the grand champion breeder, it always comes down to money.  Is there anyone doing it ONLY because they love the breed?

I think the only ones doing it for the sake of the breed are the rescues.  They take in countless animals on death row and find ways to pay for their vet bills and adopt them into loving homes.  Breed rescues are the only ones doing it for the breed.

Why haven’t breeders (at least the good ones) fought harder for better legislation to protect the breeds they say they love?  Why is it that the American Kennel Club (AKC) has fought nearly every bill that attempted to improve the lives of breeding dogs.  It is all about money.  For every dog registered to the AKC there is $50.  Imagine if there were less dogs being bred… less money for the AKC.  Simple math.  Simple greed.

The rescues are the only ones fighting to protect the breeds.  No money there, just love.

As I type this, I look across the room and see my AKC Shih Tzu and my AKC Chinese Crested.  I bought both dogs at an Amish dog auction.  They were matted and sick and afraid of humans.  When I watch a glamorous dog show, they sit next to me, a constant reminder that behind all the shiny ribbons is a business that  profits from cruelty and neglect.

 

Tails: 2015 is about being FOUND

A new year, a new vision.  I have spent the last 12 years finding myself in animal welfare.  While my journey started many years before that rescuing sick birds and caring for frogs, or playing endlessly with my guinea pig, I didn’t really find animal welfare until I was 30.

I began in a wildlife sanctuary learning how to tube feed baby possum and structuring diets for cougars.  I moved to my county animal control.  Petrified of what I would find, but too passionate to stop myself.  Eventually, I transitioned to an international organization, Best Friends Animal Society, and made my way as a Web Reporter where I found myself at an Amish puppy mill auction.  And, that is when much of my life changed.

For years, I fought for legislation to protect breeding animals and to close pet stores.  I fought holding back tears and I fought crying myself to sleep each night.  Along the way I wrote a book and I had the opportunity to meet so many amazing people.  Eventually, I found myself volunteering for a breed rescue, NorthStar Shih Tzu Rescue.

I guess you could say that is where I ended 2014.  But, as I learn more about lost dogs, the more I realize there is a whole new arena for animal welfare: returning lost dogs to their owners.

It has been acceptable for shelters and rescues to take in lost dogs and assume them to be strays.  But, the truth is dogs don’t fall from the sky.  They just don’t.  Every dog IS someone’s dog.  Sure, there are some owners who set them “free” and don’t want them anymore, but I believe the majority of strays are truly lost.

Organizations, such as Lost Dogs Illinois, founded by my dear friend, Susan Taney, has taught me that it is critical we change our mindset.  Think lost NOT stray.

Lost Dogs IL reunited 5200 dogs in IL in 2014.  That is 5200 dogs who didn’t enter into the shelter program looking for new homes.  They didn’t need new homes, they needed to find their old home.

Unfortunately, some large municipal shelters are refusing to take part in the reuniting of dogs.  Quick to pass ordinances of shorter holding times meaning less time to find the owners before being put up for adoption, transferred to private rescue or sadly, euthanized.

Lost Dog organizations are begging shelters, vet clinics, police departments, etc… to review their daily posts and help reunite lost dogs with their owners.  Many have participated and have helped thousands of dogs return home, but there are still many unwilling to make the move.

When I worked at my animal control, we had a binder full of lost dog reports.  ANY time a dog or cat showed up at the shelter, we checked the binder.  It is, undoubtedly, an antiquated system, but it worked.  My shelter maintains one of the highest return to owner rates in the state.

Large city shelters like Chicago Animal Care and Control have told me there just isn’t time for that.  They have explained that the shelter I came from is small compared to theirs and since they take in so many more dogs than MCAC ever did, I have no idea what I am talking about.

I agree that I have never worked in a municipal shelter as large as CACC.  My county has 300,000 people and the shelter employed about 15 people.  Chicago has 10 times that population and employs about 40 people.  There is no question that there is a shortage of resources.

But, for a brief moment, walk with me…

For every dog that enters any shelter there is an average timeline, a basic chain of events.  A dog comes in, gets put in a kennel, gets a number, gets necessary vaccines, sits in the kennel for 3-5 days being fed, maybe walked outside and kept somewhat clean.  Once the holding time is up, the dog gets temperament tested. If it passes, it goes to the adoption side where it might sit for weeks.  If it doesn’t pass the temperament test, a rescue might come in to save it or it will get euthanized.  Even euthanasia costs the shelter money and resources.

Now take a different path with me… a shelter institutes a pro-active approach to lost dogs.  They  dedicate an employee to the project.  This employee monitors Lost Dog Facebook pages and websites each morning.  They monitor newspapers.  They foster relationships with the public making it easier for people to report their lost dogs into a database.  Each day, after monitoring the lost dogs posts, the employee walks thru the kennels making note of any who match the descriptions and calls owners to double check the findings.

One employee could easily help reunite tens more dogs at a shelter.  Right now CACC reunites less than 10%.  Even if just 25% of the dogs were returned to their owners in less than 3 days, there would be an immediate return on investment.  Less dogs sitting in the shelter needing care, taking up space and costing money  And, by keeping lost dogs out of the shelter intake, there is room for dogs who truly need to find new homes.

I think about the dogs I have adopted in my life…and now I wonder, “what if there was a family looking for them?”

When our rescue agrees to take a dog from a shelter, we never question if anyone searched for its owner.  I guess we always “assumed” they did.  But, the reality is they probably didn’t.  Now, the dogs travels from Chicago to Minnesota – never to find its family again.

I believe that rescues have the best intentions, most of the time.  Everyone just wants to help a homeless animal be not homeless.  But, maybe they were never homeless to begin with.

It takes a village to raise a child and it takes a village to find a dog.  Lost Dog organizations are popping up across the States offering resources and the power of social media to families searching for their beloved, lost pet.  These organizations are to be commended.  Not just for what they are offering, but for what they are teaching and for the questions they are raising.

It is time ALL shelters and rescues think LOST not stray and put programs and procedures in place that help foster reunions not just adoptions.  2015 is the year to be found and reunited.