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animal-pounds.com
-- lost pets information site
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Back to Section II
animal-pounds.com
-- lost pets information site
II.
WHERE LOST PETS GO; Applicable to any U.S. area --
Applicable to some International areas
ANIMAL BEHAVIORS; STATISTICS; PROBLEMS
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Compare this information with how long your pet has been gone, his size, his speed, his
condition. Is he larger, and can he run faster and longer than a small pet? How
far could he be from home right now? Will he run in a straight line, or hole up
somewhere near home? To verify for yourself how fast a pet can travel, simply call three
veterinarians whom you trust and ask: "How fast do you feel a pet such as a
small dog or cat can travel, hour after hour if necessary?" or "How fast do you
believe a large animal such as a German Shepherd can trot indefinitely?"
and "How long is 'indefinitely'?" You may
get three different responses to each question, but this can help you reach your own conclusions
as to speed and distance.
Although it is highly unlikely your pet will be taken in permanently by a
neighbor (also see
Section I,
item H) if someone has taken in a lost pet, what will they do with it?
1. Someone may take him in and keep him indefinitely.
2. They may take him home, keep him for a week or a month
or more, and then dump him or give him away.
3. They may keep him locally, or transport him elsewhere.
4.
acquaintances immediately who may do any or all of the above.
5. They might call a pound or shelter and bring him there
either right away, or weeks or months from now.
C.
WHERE LOST PETS GO INITIALLY. (We'll cover other issues and transported pets
later). Although not always true, when lost and on his own, a dog tends to roam,
sometimes in circles, sometimes in rather straight lines. A cat on the other
hand, will tend to run/hide, run/hide, until he finds a safe spot in which to
hole up that is not already occupied by a tough opponent, a spot which is dry,
and one which offers some protection from the elements. In inclement weather, a dog
will also need to find shelter. If the lost pet gets kicked out of his
shelter by a human or by another animal, he again must search until he lucks out
and finds another safe and sheltered hideout.
This effort for the pet is complicated by the
fact that most cities require property owners to keep their homes and
outbuildings in proper repair, meaning no holes, no loosely-hanging doors, and
meaning porches must be closed-in to keep varmints from living under them. Where
is a lost pet going to go if there are no openings in any garages or other
out-buildings? If the pet finds an accessible building, will that building have
a cozy warm spot for sleeping, with bedding and with body-sized "roof and sides"
to help hold in body heat during cold months? Many fenced-in yards have closed
gates; if your cat or dog
finds an unoccupied dog house, will a gate block his way, and if not, will there
be bedding in the doghouse to aid in survival?
a)
Neighbors, “friends” and family members have been known to “get rid of”
pets they see as aggravating, dropping them off away from home.
b) Cats and dogs have been known to sneak into cars or trunks
and then run when the door is opened … miles from home.
c)
Even a small dog or cat can lope indefinitely at 3 miles per hour …
meaning in only 8 hours, that
animal could be 24 miles away. And most pets lose their
sense of direction easily, once a short ways from home.
Although many people see domestic pets as being
perfectly capable of taking care of themselves, this writer does not.
When you think about it, can a cat or dog go shopping for food? Can it
create a heated or cooled home for itself? Can it reason through exactly
why or why not to cross a street -- and does its instinct allow it to
not chase that squirrel running under a moving vehicle? When a pet is
lost, can it read a road map? Of course not. So this writer chooses to
view a domestic pet's mentality as being much more similar to that of a
very young human toddler, where adult control is required in order to
provide safety and security.
Just as each animal is different, each circumstance
is also
Intact males and females: During mating season(s),
intact males and females will often disappear for days or week(s) at a time.
This is especially true with males (since females will want to be home once
they've become pregnant). During the season, neighbors will be forced to put up
with yowling and screaming during intense catfights and copulation. The cats are
subjected to more dangers, since they are so engrossed in chasing each other
around, they are less likely to notice approaching vehicles or other hazards. If
they survive the hunger, thirst, and other perils while on their own, then they
must later attempt to get a handle on where home went. Frequently they fail to
find home, and are left to fend for themselves on the streets.
Keep in mind that cats are more likely to hole up in
the general neighborhood of loss (assuming they have not been carried elsewhere,
and assuming they have not been chased). Cats revert to wild tendencies easily due to
ongoing fear for safety. See Section
Once a pet is
lost, he is frightened, hungry, confused, disoriented. As such, he may or
may not behave as you are accustomed to seeing him do. Your much-loved
long-term friend may even run from you if you see him. It's not that he
has forgotten you, he has just reverted to survival mode, in which he
can no longer -- at the moment -- be certain of who is a friend vs who is out to get him. Please exercise
patience.
F. WHEN LOST AWAY FROM HOME.
If your pet jumped out of your car, or ran off when you were visiting
somewhere, the most-likely thing is that he will hang around in the area and
wait for you to find him. We have heard stories of such pets (cats and dogs)
waiting for as long as two weeks for the owner to show up -- in a vacant lot, in
a wooded park, in a swamp, in or near a vacant building, at a truck stop. Much
longer than two weeks is possible if the animal has found a source of water
and/or food. The fact is, these little guys don't just disappear when you can't
find them.
Also, be aware that as long as pets receive adequate
food, water, shelter, and receive the right kind of security, attention and
affection for their particular needs, pets never ever "run away", which implies
something they do on purpose. On the contrary, pets on the loose simply run
around and get lost. On occasion, stories are told about pets who are constantly
wandering over to and staying at a neighbor's house. This is a solid indication
that something important is missing in the animal's life. Security, perhaps.
An example situation might be this: Perhaps your pet spends much of its
outdoor time on a neighbor's porch instead of yours. Perhaps your pet
prefers being there simply because that owner uses that door more than
you use yours where the activity, sounds, and closeness to the people
are all inviting to the pet; maybe the sounds of people inside travel
more easily out to the neighbor's porch, perhaps there is a room
adjoining the porch in which the neighbor spends more time, or maybe
your neighbor leaves enticing food out knowing that pets love to have
food in front of them 24/7. Whatever your own pets reasons might be, to
prevent any of your pets from wandering, please neuter/spay, and be sure
to keep them all -- both cats and dogs -- lovingly, humanely, and safely
confined.
G
Pets are frequently transported away from their area of loss. There are many
ways this can happen. Here are a few:
1. Purposeful Transport. A caring person may find the animal, assume it's a stray,
take it home hoping to find the owner, but then the animal accidentally
gets loose. Or the caring person may bring the stray across town
or across a metro area to a distant pound or shelter which is the only
one that person knows about. We have also heard from people who lost
pets which were gotten rid of by someone else. One example was a "friend" who
dumped a cat across the city as a joke, another where an irate spouse brought a
beloved family dog to a pound more than 12 miles from home, leaving everyone
else to worry and wonder what had happened to it; and yet another where a
"friend" again dumped a cat in a distant neighborhood. One of these cats was
recovered, due to an intensive week-long search. The other, the owner did not
search for at all. The dog was recovered by the grieving spouse who received an
anonymous call from a pound visitor.
2. Accidental Transport. Cats and dogs have been known to sneak into vehicles or trunks
and then run when the door is opened … sometimes miles from home.
3. Transport by Animal Warden.
Sometimes contracted animal wardens will transport pets many miles away from home, crossing through
one or more other impoundment areas, across city
or county lines, to a distant facility where the animals will be
impounded.
Homing tip: Some people have found that leaving
familiar and scented objects outdoors and accessible to a lost pet can
be helpful in bringing them home if they are hiding in your
neighborhood. For example, the bedding you provide in your outdoor
shelter should be something with your odors on it such as a soiled shirt
-- or perhaps a particular unwashed rug or blanket the animal has slept
on while indoors which has it's own odors on it. Or you might leave a
cat's scratching post out by the back door or in an accessible
outbuilding.
Home Security. Obviously, when you leave a gate
or garage door or porch door ajar, you need to provide security for yourself.
Install a temporary locked chain, leaving a gap wide enough for your pet to
enter, if that's at all possible.
I. GENERAL STATISTICS.
Government
animal pounds normally have an over-abundance of impounded cats and
dogs; through the years, it has been normal for an animal pound to adopt
out fewer than 50% of impounded animals, in some
cases being as little as 2%, with the majority being euthanized or
surrendered for research.
J. HUMANE SHELTER STATISTICS. The following information is taken from
the hsus.org website:
Lost or stolen dogs could end up in the hands of dogfighters
[for use as dogfight bait], or even
Class B dealers, who sell dogs from random sources to research
institutions for use in biomedical
research, testing and education procedures. Beloved family pets can
also become unfortunate victims of bunchers, who have been known to
acquire dogs through lost, stray and "free to a good home" ads—even to
take pets from their owners' backyards—and then sell them to
Class
B dealers. At Class B dog dealer facilities, there have been
numerous documented cases of mistreatment, neglect, and other animal
welfare violations.
Of the dogs and cats stolen in the United States every year, only an estimated 10 percent ever find their homes again
What can pet owners do to make sure that their friends and companions remain safe at home?
Keep your pet indoors, especially when you are not at home.
Identify your pet with a collar and tag, microchip or tattoo.
Be aware of strangers in the neighborhood, and report anything unusual to the police
Padlock gates, and make sure people can't access your pets over fences.
Keep your pet on a leash whenever you go outside.
Make neighbors aware of the problem of pet theft.
Know where your pets are at all times.
Support the federal Pet Safety and Protection Act, now before Congress, which ensures that cats and dogs used by research facilities are obtained legally.
And here are some things not to do:
Don't let your pet roam free in the neighborhood.
Don't let your pet be visible from the street.
Never leave pets unattended at any time.
Never leave pets outside a store or in the car to wait for you.
The chance for any pet being adopted are just that: Chance.
1. If a lost pet is running loose, the
opportunity for someone to take the pet in and keep it is quite slim.
The reason? Because many millions of pets are lost, abandoned, and/or
turned in to pounds and shelters every year. If there were, say, three
kind neighbors on any given square city block, for example, and
throughout their lives, each neighbor continued to take in every stray on that
block that needed help, each of those neighbors (based on numbers of
animals euthanized each year) would have to take in
and keep over a thousand animals, and keep those animals for their full
lives.
Further details are available in Section
I.
3. If visitors are looking for a specific size, shape,
color, hair type, age, behavior, etc., and your lost pet does not fit
the right category, then adoption is unlikely.
4.
5.
6. If there are well-behaved "owner animals" in an agency,
where information about them is readily-available such as temperament,
shots and other medical history, general behaviors, etc., then even if
your strayed purebred or popular type is sitting right there waiting for adoption, many
potential adopters will be likely to gravitate instead to an animal with
a proven background, and yours will be passed by.
7. If your lost pet is generally well-behaved, social, friendly,
with an adorable personality ... that is no guarantee of adoption. Many
pets change once lost and on their own; by the time he ends up in an
agency cage, that once-sweet critter may be hostile, unsocial, nippy,
acting wild or cowering at the back of the
cage, and also may be matted, diseased, injured, or simply unkempt,
making him less likely to be adopted.
8. In the U.S., vast numbers of pets, both purebred and mixed breed,
are euthanized by pounds and shelters, or die on the streets, every
year. If you were to line up all of these pets
L. VETERINARY EXPERIENCE IN SHELTER
Most pounds and shelters nowadays try very hard to be kindly to
impounded animals. but there are sometimes limitations on what they can
do or are allowed to do.
1. If a stray animal is ill or injured, some pounds and shelters provide immediate
vet care; some transport the ill or injured to a contracted veterinary
office; many do not provide vet care at all, due to the costs. Since most people do not find their lost pets
(often due to not looking, not looking far enough, not doing enough, or
giving up too soon), there would be no one to
cover the veterinary expense. Many animal facilities are typically
strapped for cash or have tight budgets; other facilities simply do not
care; so if you don't show up to claim your ill or injured animal, who
would step up to pay for any vet fees?
2. In facilities which do have veterinary care, you will find some which
do not have "immediate" vet care, since they may not have a 24-hour
staff veterinarian. In some facilities, injured or ill animals are made
as comfortable as possible; in others, the animal is simply put in a
cage as-is. If the animal is brought in late on
Friday or at the start of a longer holiday weekend, the animal may go
untreated -- no matter what the injuries -- for the entire weekend or
holiday period. In some
cases, the animal may be euthanized earlier, depending on staff training. In some facilities, babies
too young to eat, and adult animals too ill or too badly injured to eat,
will simply be left in a cage with only dry food, no hand-feeding, and
no bottle feeding. These problems are becoming more rare, but do not be
surprised if you see these things when you visit some pounds and
shelters regularly. Note that these are not as likely to happen in
Humane Societies and in no-kill shelters, but that many facilities will
not allow you to visit areas where ill and injured are held so it's
difficult to know for sure who does what. Providing
round-the-clock vet care is extremely expensive, and simply not
available to many facilities. Ill or injured pets are typically euthanized,
but not always. In addition, even when ill or injured, these lost pets
can still go for research.
3.
How can you verify if these issues exist in facilities you visit?
Sometimes you cannot. One way to get a handle on it, however: When you
visit a pound or shelter which allows you to view all animals, including
sick and injured, visit every day, at least once a day. When you notice
an injured or ill animal, make notes as to what is wrong, what date it
came in, what its ID card on the cage says, including ID or intake
number, and note which cage the animal is in. Check each day to see for
yourself what is happening with that particular animal. Also check other
ill or injured in that facility in the same way. Over a period of time,
you may get some idea as to whether this is a facility which provides
immediate vet care and how quickly they might do so.
Note that if you simply visit but do not take notes
when visiting larger agencies, you likely will very soon lose track of
what is happening, since many facilities have heavy impoundment
turnover. When visiting every day, soon each black cat will look like
every other to you, and each German Shepherd will look like the same one
that was in the same cage the day before when in fact it may be a
different dog. Intake ID numbers are crucial to doing an adequate job of
keeping track, as are cage numbers.
M. HUMAN ERROR. It is common for
people looking for lost pets to trust what they see, hear, read, or are told.
Keep an open mind during your own search, since problems are rampant. Whether
you are talking with someone who has found a pet that might be yours, or talking
with someone in an agency, or looking at agency records, watch out for errors. When
reviewing intake lists, for example, you may find a cat on the dog list or a dog on the cat list.
N.
PUREBRED vs MIXED BREED.
Pet owners tend to believe their pet will never be euthanized by a shelter or
impoundment facility and that he would never be sold for research, simply
because that pet is purebred, or very expensive, or so cute or so sweet, or way
smarter than most pets, or whatever. This is not reality.
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