In August of 2013, we started a nonprofit called Useless Bay Sanctuary, for the purpose of helping stray dogs. In six years, we have helped at least 600 dogs either get back to their families or find new homes. Most of those dogs did not have an ID tag or a microchip. That’s crazy. Kelsy never really needed to be on a leash. She would just stay close to me because that’s what she liked. Even though the chances of her going missing were very small, she still had a microchip and a collar with either an ID tag or her name and my number embroidered. If you knew nothing about me and Kelsy, and you just saw this picture of her with her pink flowery collar with her name and number, wouldn’t you assume that someone loved this dog? Even if you didn’t love your dog the way I loved Kelsy, if you just thought your dog was sort of okay sometimes, the minimum of a collar and ID would just be practical, saving a lot of time and expense if your dog should go missing. A collar and ID seems very basic, and it can also be a way to say “I love you” to your best friend.
I like most dogs more than I like most humans. The humans I do like also like dogs. All five of my dogs now have collars with their name and my number embroidered. Tino has been through several, because he breaks them, but I finally got him an embroidered collar that he can’t break.
Mu has a weird name, I guess. It’s a great name, but I have never met another Mu. People always ask me his name, and when I say Mu, they almost never understand me at first. I like to point to his embroidered collar so they can see it in print, right there. Mu.
The thing I like about these embroidered collars is that you wouldn’t necessarily need to put a leash on a dog in order to read the number on the collar. I was looking through some pictures and I found one of Mu diving into Lake Washington, and if you zoom in, you can read the phone number. How much easier would it be for me to rescue stray dogs if the phone number was readable without actually having to catch the dog.
People, just put a collar and an ID on your dog. Even if your dog is a nuisance, and you aren’t especially bonded, even if you don’t think your dog is the greatest thing in the world, a physical manifestation of your soul, still, just put a collar and ID on your dog, just as the basic minimum of being an average, not great, citizen. It’s not hard or expensive. Just do it because I said so.
In the 19 years that I have owned dogs, I have only had a dog returned to me one time because of an ID tag. We went to the park for a training session and I received a call from someone that said they had my dog. I wasn’t missing a dog so I assumed it was probably a rescue that I had fostered or something. They said the dog’s name was Fozzie. I told them it couldn’t be Fozzie because he was right here in the car. When I turned to look in the backseat, I saw that he had rolled down the window and jumped out without my realizing it. Fozzie also had a GPS tracker although I didn’t get a chance to use at that time. Even if an ID tag never once helped me get my dog back, I would still want it there just in case, for peace of mind.
I like most dogs more than I like most humans. The humans I do like also like dogs. All five of my dogs now have collars with their name and my number embroidered. Tino has been through several, because he breaks them, but I finally got him an embroidered collar that he can’t break.
Mu has a weird name, I guess. It’s a great name, but I have never met another Mu. People always ask me his name, and when I say Mu, they almost never understand me at first. I like to point to his embroidered collar so they can see it in print, right there. Mu.
The thing I like about these embroidered collars is that you wouldn’t necessarily need to put a leash on a dog in order to read the number on the collar. I was looking through some pictures and I found one of Mu diving into Lake Washington, and if you zoom in, you can read the phone number. How much easier would it be for me to rescue stray dogs if the phone number was readable without actually having to catch the dog.
People, just put a collar and an ID on your dog. Even if your dog is a nuisance, and you aren’t especially bonded, even if you don’t think your dog is the greatest thing in the world, a physical manifestation of your soul, still, just put a collar and ID on your dog, just as the basic minimum of being an average, not great, citizen. It’s not hard or expensive. Just do it because I said so.
In the 19 years that I have owned dogs, I have only had a dog returned to me one time because of an ID tag. We went to the park for a training session and I received a call from someone that said they had my dog. I wasn’t missing a dog so I assumed it was probably a rescue that I had fostered or something. They said the dog’s name was Fozzie. I told them it couldn’t be Fozzie because he was right here in the car. When I turned to look in the backseat, I saw that he had rolled down the window and jumped out without my realizing it. Fozzie also had a GPS tracker although I didn’t get a chance to use at that time. Even if an ID tag never once helped me get my dog back, I would still want it there just in case, for peace of mind.
RSS Feed