Please tag your dog!!!

[Eva (Lilo and Rocky)]

Yesterday my son met this chubby little pug on the way home from the school bus. Since he’s a dog loving kid, the pug naturally followed him home. Mr. Pug wasn’t wearing a collar, and even though he was really friendly, he also seemed pretty agitated and confused. We gave him some water and food, which he gulped down in three seconds. Then started the search for Mr. Pug’s owner, I put him on a leash after he’d calmed down, and started ringing door bells in our neighborhood thinking he was probably local, even though I’d never seen him before. I got lucky and found his home on the 2nd try - the owners didn’t even realize he’d been missing for over an hour at that point!! They scolded him for being a “bad boy”, so I told them it really wasn’t HIS fault, but theirs. I don’t think they appreciated the lecture, but I was mad!! This is the FOURTH stray dog we’ve picked up this year alone!! Every time, I get so upset that the owners fail to put tags on their dogs. We’ve had to take one dog to the local shelter, and two down to our local vet. Those last two both had chips, and were reunited with their respective owners with the help of the vet’s office. One of the dogs had been missing for a week!!! The one that ended up at the shelter had neither a chip nor any tags. I was told he’d be put up for adoption, but I don’t know what happened to him. So I’m writing this blog entry to encourage all dog owners to please put tags on your dogs with your contact information, and make sure they are chipped, so they can get ID’ed and reunited with you, in case they escape without their collar on.

[Eva (Lilo and Rocky)]

Here's an idea for those who don't like old fashioned dog tags: you can get a personalized collar with your phone number on (for example), or buy a slide-on tag that fits over the collar, so nothing dangles. These types of collars also prevent tags from jingling and driving both humans and dogs crazy. In fact, I think I may get some myself! See for example:

http://www.boomerangtags.com/store/index.php?A=G&ID=5

http://www.orvis.com/store/product_directory_showcase3.asp?dir%5Fid...

http://www.gotags.com/dogcollars.php?gclid=COyfy9z7mpYCFQEziQod1zuN7g

[Joannie]

I only collar Barney outside, because his tag was getting caught on the vents too. His tag is the microchip tag, and of course he's chipped. Thanks for this discussion tho, his tag had pulled off his collar and I hadn't replaced the cheapy ring with a new hardy one. Now it's done.

[TrevorDoodle]

Adina,
I have been thinking about this topic a lot. I like to take my pup to the dog park, but I am concerned about someone seeing my information on his tags. I think I am going to get him
a tag made with only his chip ID and the 1-800 number to call. Then it offers some safety for him and privacy for me.
Also, I have invisible fence(sore topic lately) and when he goes outside he only has the inv fence collar on. I also wonder about what if he gets out. Some people would not even think about taking the dog to the vet to see if it was chipped and I'm afraid someone might decide to keep him.

[Adina P]

I agree with you Eva! I only have one collar that has a tag--that's the one Rosco wheres MOST of the time. But for our Juvie therapy visits I use a tagless one because I can't have the kids reading my last name and address. So a few weeks ago while wearing the tagless one Rosco ended up across the street visiting with neighbor dogs through their fence (someone...tenant? accidentally left our gate open). Luckily our other two barked their heads off and alerted Clark and he got Rosco back safely. But man I was really mad at myself for not remembering to get his correct collar on! Imagine if he'd wandered farther off!? If someone finds him I want them to be able to know in 10 seconds where he's coming from.