Animal Shelter Checking Lesson #1

Did you know the Craigslist is a source that is used far and wide to try to find missing pets, and to find people looking for missing pets? In the case of this dog that was lost and found, the family posted to Craigslist after the dog was found -- to pass on a lesson they learned from searching for their lost dog. It's a lesson for everyone, everywhere. Enjoy the story.

A family in Thornton, CO, a suburb of Denver, lost their 16 year old deaf and blind small terrier mix on Sunday, March 29th. Unknown to the family, the dog entered the Adams County Shelter on that same day.

At about noon the following day (Monday the 30th), the family called the Adams County shelter, and then followed up the call with a visit to look for their dog in person. They spoke with the shelter workers, giving them a detailed description of their dog. They left a picture of her on the board at the shelter.

The next day, Tuesday March 30th, they began a process of calling the shelter daily, and also looking at the photos of the dogs at the shelter on petharbor.com, the website which that shelter, and many other shelters, used regularly to post their pets’ photos. Each time they called, the family was told that there was no dog matching that description. And each day, petharbor.com did not show their dog among the pictures there. This went on through Thursday, April 2nd.

Then on the night of Thursday, April 2nd, when they checked petharbor.com, there was their dog. You would assume that the dog entered the shelter late that afternoon, following their call.

The next day, they went into the shelter, found out she had been there since Sunday, the day she disappeared from their home. The ordeal was over and they took her home.

This dog’s family wants to share the message with everyone looking for their lost dogs that you must go in and check the shelter in person, and not rely on calling. You may be as unlucky as was this family – and their dog – and reach shelter workers that don’t actually check, but do respond to your inquiry as though they did. Just think of the impact they have with their simple statement that there’s no dog there matching your dog’s description.

And to that message I will add that when checking the shelter, you should check more than the dogs being held in the cages for viewing by the public, of adoptable and stray pets. Ask about dogs not in cages because they are recieving veterinary attention, being bathed or walked, those in quarantine. For a small dog the size of this dog, I would also look among the cat cages. Check the book of animals being held by private citizens, who reported finding animals but that did not bring them in to the shelter; many shelters have such a log.


Source: Story available only temporarily on Craigslist, Denver