I’m feeling a little bit thoughtful, oddly enough, because of television. This week, I’ve had the opportunity to see local television. We have a satellite dish, so normally I only see national commercials. Anyway, seeing local TV has had me thinking about collars and ID because the Spokane, Washington area animal shelters are running an extremely effective ad campaign about dog licensing.
The commercials show photos of the faces of dogs and cats that were euthanized at Spokane-area shelters because they had no identification. They point out that 8,917 animals were killed last year because there was nowhere for them to go. It’s just so sad.
An ID is your pet’s ticket home. In this area, very few places take stray animals. The alternatives to a shelter are not good for your pet, since not everyone loves your pet like you do. Many dog and cat haters are out there and some of them are armed or cruel (or both).
In this area, we don’t have official "licensing" through a government entity like they do in the big city. However, my dogs and cats have those IDs you can buy through mail order with our name and address on them. If your pet has an ID and is found by a Good Samaritan, you’re likely to get a phone call. Or at least the person will realize that the dog has an owner. Too many people assume that an animal has been "dumped" and just keep it. And your pet becomes someone else’s pet.
If you are opposed to pet collars for some reason, please look into microchipping or tattooing. The idea of a family pet ending up at a shelter (or worse) should be reason enough for anyone to do the right thing.
And a big kudos to the Spokane shelters for bringing this issue to the forefront of their advertising. I really hope their ad campaign has an impact.