15.6% of the dogs taken to the animal collection centers were returned to their families. So we would be talking about more than 25,200 lost (and recovered) dogs per year . A figure based on a study carried out at only 387 centers of the more than 1,000 that are estimated to exist in Spain.
To this number, we should add all those animals that are recovered by their families without going through any shelter and those that are never found…
Once again, due to the lack of official records , we find ourselves talking about an inestimable number of lost animals. Although, without a doubt, we can affirm that the number of dogs that are lost each year not only exceeds the tens of thousands, but also approaches the hundreds of thousands…
Therefore, although there is a high possibility that if we find a dog alone on the street it is a homeless animal, we should not disregard the possibility that it has a family that is looking for it.
Do you carry any type of visible identification?
Today we can find a wide range of accessories to put on our dog that are used so that anyone who meets him can contact the family directly.
The most widespread are identification tags , which are hung from the animal’s harness or collar with the contact telephone number. There are also collars and harnesses that have the information embroidered or printed on them. And there are even systems that have a QR code that will not only put us in contact with their family, but will even send them immediately the exact location where the code has been read or information of vital importance for the animal, such as if it has any disease.
If we can safely approach the animal and see if it has one of these identification systems, we can save the dog and its family the traumatic experience of going through an animal protection center and speed up their return home.
Does he have a microchip?
If the animal does not carry any element with which at first glance we can locate its family, the next thing would be to know if it has a microchip. And the only way to know is by having a reader and access to pet identification records.
It must be remembered, once again, that any animal found on the street is the responsibility of the corresponding council. Therefore, by calling the municipal collection service or, failing that, the Local Police or, failing that, the Civil Guard, the local services should go to read the dog’s microchip and, in the case of reading positive, contact the family or, if they are not identified, take them to the collection centre.
There is also the possibility that we go with the animal that we have found to a veterinary clinic so that they pass the reader and thus locate its owner.
The chip is not everything
Despite the fact that microchip identification is mandatory in dogs and, furthermore, it offers us a guarantee that, in the event of loss or theft, we can recover our best friend, many families today inexplicably choose not to implant it.
It can also happen that the contact data associated with the microchip is not up to date, that it has been removed from the animal (common in cases of stolen dogs) or that there is the extraordinary case that the device has been deactivated.
In the first case, it may be that the family has changed their telephone number or address and has not kept in mind to notify their veterinarian so that they modify the data in the registry, and even that they have been wrongly informed when discharged. have you ever been confused?
Luckily, microchips not only associate the dog with an “owner”, they also associate him with the veterinarian who implanted him and even with the last one who vaccinated him against rabies. So there is still some possibility of locating their families, by contacting the health professional to find out if they have the contact information of their families registered in their management systems.
If the reading of the microchip is unsuccessful, it does not inexorably mean that the dog does not have a family. But his search becomes terribly more complicated. We can put up posters around the area where it was found, ask at veterinary clinics, animal protection entities, inform the Local Police and Civil Guard in case someone had reported the loss of their animal, publish their photo on social networks… And cross our fingers so that this animal does not join the hundreds of thousands of animals waiting for a home.
References:
Dr. Jaume Fatjo. 2021. Study “He would never do it” by the Affinity Foundation on the abandonment, loss and adoption of pets in Spain 2020
