is your dogs id enough?

[smiffy Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close smiffy]

hi all
i work in rescue i homecheck, ferry dogs around, take in strays (the point of this thread) and i have done a few rehomes of my own.

ok the point being that every dog ive had bought to me, ive picked up or been called to has had no form of identification. none. some had a collar and those that didnt i gave them a collar.

i have a strict protocol to adhere to, first is the health check i look for wounds/cuts sore pads ticks or mites. any that are in a bad mess i clean up. next i have to search for info - id. i check for tags and incase the tags have been lost somehow i always check the inside of the collars (HINT, mine have my number in black marker on the inside of the collar). after that i scan for microchips and will soon be taking swabs for dna.
by law i have to 'make every effort to find the owner' most rescues will notify the police local vets and pet log and stop at that but maybe thats why i have a 100% success rate of getting these dogs back home again as i go above and beyond that but by law i dont have to.

if after 7 days i can by law either keep/rehome or sadly destroy your dog and there is nothing you can do about it. the stray dogs that have been in my care are only back in their homes because i dont rest until i have found them but the owners gave me no chance of getting their pets to them.

one young lady i am very pleased to say i have seen since on her walk and her owner has now gotten her microchipped and on my advice has increased security around his gardens. i have been prompted into writing this as i have had yet another canine guest come through here and lucky for her i knew who she was as she has been here before but alas still with no id nor collar.

please consider this post. every one of these dogs have been family pets whose owners have been surprised there dogs had gone at all, infact one owner had no clue that her dog had even gone!!
take a long hard look at your dogs id, will it help me to find you? it would make my job so much easier if it did.

[AirForceChick Cub Find all posts View Profile Close AirForceChick]

Very good post! Dogs and cats are sneaky little buggers and can get collars off, not usually likely but can happen. I have one that'll get one off everytime. Microchipping however they can't get out, and it isn't very pricey...though can you really put a price on your best friends life? All it takes is one scan for a chip from a shelter or clinic and you'll see your best friend again. It's worth it. :wink:

[smiffy Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close smiffy]

hi again.
cheers for that. yes your right it is possible to get a coller off but even those i had in with a collar had no tags on. :(
we have applied for a dna testing kit too as now for about £15 i think it is you can have your dogs dna on a data bank.
i have seen pics of dogs that have been stolen and the thief has tried to gouge the chip out!!! when they failed and had left a deep mark on the back of one boys neckl they turned him loose :evil:
similar happens to those dogs tattooed, the thief (or race dog owner who does not want to be contacted) will actually cut off the tatooed ear.

[AirForceChick Cub Find all posts View Profile Close AirForceChick]

Wow are you serious? That is absolutely horrible!!! Although I guess if your heartless enough to steal a dog, your heartless enough to cut its ear off. Some people... :evil: :evil:

I don't know if we do DNA testing here. I can't recall that ever being offered anywhere I've worked. That never really crossed my mind though, so maybe. I know that's popular among humans during extreme disaster situations, never gave it a thought to animals.

[tigger the turtle Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close tigger the turtle]

THANK YOU SO MUCH Smiffy for posting this topic on the forum!
many people don`t realise that they have to microchip their pets.
I get really upset when people don`t microchip their pets.

[smiffy Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close smiffy]

microchipping plays a huge part in the recovery of your pet.
as i said in my initial thread not many rescues have the patience, man power or inclination to put in the detective work. its only out of our not giving up that the pets are now home and safe again.

if a pet was microchipped i wouldnt have to put in the extra leg work and other rescues wouldnt give up so easily on finding the right homes again. plus dogs who are microchipped are usually left alone by would be thieves which is why all mine wear a scan me im microchipped tag.

it really is worth paying for a chip and they are only around £20. if its done at a dogs trust shelter when they have special chipping days its about £15 and i pay £17 for mine as they are done when my dogs are castrated/spayed. also some vets do special chipping days and its worth asking when they are in the year.

a dna kit can be sent to your home and you take a swab of the inside of the cheek and send it off to the lab. if i pick up your pet and find no chip then i too take a cheek swab and i get the results back from the lab telling me who you are. it takes a bit longer than the chip scan as i can do that in seconds but no one can change your dogs dna.

its also worth remembering postal times and the time the swab will be at the lab before they send it back, by law if i have your dog for 7 days i can then rehome him or ppl like the rspca can put him down. not all rescues will have kits yet and although i requested mine weeks ago i've not yet recieved it :(

[tigger the turtle Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close tigger the turtle]

That is so sad.
Why don`t they give it to you?

[AirForceChick Cub Find all posts View Profile Close AirForceChick]

I know we do microchipping, and it's not very expensive. I shamefully wasn't aware of DNA testing being used in dogs. Is that very effective over there? I don't think many people here would be willing to do that. It's hard enough getting them to microchip.

[smiffy Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close smiffy]

using dna for identification in dogs is pretty much a new idea and has not been marketed yet. some ppl are getting ripped off and paying well over the odds. i have a company name somewhere and when i dig it out i will post it up here.

i'm in no rush for my dna swab kit as not many ppl would yet be aware of such a product/service. i do push microchips though as they are so useful on so many levels.

[Carl Cub Find all posts View Profile Close Carl]

I read recently that there are multiple chip manufacturers/vendors, and unfortunately no universal reader available at this time. That means that you could have your dog chipped, and the local shelter not be able to read it or even detect it. If you want to chip your dog, call the local animal control/shelter and ask what kind of chips they can read.

C

[smiffy Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close smiffy]

all my dogs are chipped with petlog. i will check on this and get back to you. thanks for bringing it up.

[Mini_Spots Hatchling Find all posts View Profile Close Mini_Spots]

We had a miniature mare who was pregnant and the colt by her side stolen. She was a dapple gray mare no distinguishing marks. She was not chipped (we had her only 3 months and at that time had not heard of microchipping). We found her but could not PROVE that mare we knew was her was her :( What a heartbreak to have her there within grasping range but told PROVE it. No DNA, no microchip, no identifying marks on her= no return to us. Now ALL of our animals are chipped. We learned the hard way, I hope no one else has to.