As a pet owner, or an animal lover, there are lots of ways to observe National Animal Safety & Protection Month. But probably the easiest thing to do is to make sure your four-legged family member has ID so s/he can be returned to you! Pet owners can make sure their four-legged family members are micro-chipped so that if they get lost they can be easily reconnected with their family. But the best form of identification is a simple collar, or harness, with a tag that has your pet’s name, and your contact information on it. So if your pet runs off…your neighbor can call you:-)
Last week as I was sitting at my desk I saw a pit bull run into my yard with no collar. Not having a leash or collar myself, I called my friend’s daughter across the street and asked for her help in capturing the dog. We soon captured and harnessed the sweet little gray and white Pit Bull and then we needed to figure out how to find the owner.
I live in a suburb of Atlanta and we have lots of deer and this year’s fawns are just beginning to lose their spots. Not knowing the personality of the stray dog I wanted to protect them from the dog, and I wanted to make sure the dog didn’t get hit by a car. I also wanted to get the dog back to its owner. So I posted my find on NextDoor Neighbor and tied the dog in my front yard, in the shade of my Dogwood tree (hey that’s kinda funny:-), with plenty of fresh water within her reach.
Did you know that you shouldn’t offer treats to pets without asking their owners? My friend’s daughter actually worked at a local dog boarding facility over the summer and she said that dogs, just like people, can have food allergies. So I did not give the sweet pit bull any food… or treats…just fresh water.
The lost pit bull did have a bit of separation anxiety, so I worked on cleaning my garage out so that I could be near her while we waited for her owner to find her. Taking breaks every few minutes to check on her and pet her to let her know she was okay. Lucky for both of us, it only took about an hour for the owner to drive by and see his dog tied to my tree, in her borrowed harness.
This was a happy ending, I got to have a cute sweet pit bull to pet for a few hours, the dog was safe, the fawns were safe and the owner got his daughter’s dog back safely. It’s also a great time to check your pet’s collar and tag to make sure it is the correct size and in good condition. If your pet is prone to escaping its collar you might want to invest in a harness.
So this month please participate in National Animal Safety & Protection month and check your dog’s collar and if s/he is micro-chipped make it is still scans at the vet office.
For more dog (and animal) holidays and observances be sure to CLICK HERE get one of my new Crafty Dog Lover’s Calendars for 2021.
Barbara Rush is an Atlanta based GeoCubist Animal Artist and Animal Lover. Her art graces the walls of her animal loving collectors, and corporate collections, from Miami to Canada, Atlanta to California, and in many countries around the world. For more information about the artist and her art please visit www.BarbaraRush.com
