Never underestimate the importance of dog tags when it comes to keeping your best friend out of the shelter after a mischievous little romp around the neighborhood.
I really couldn’t get over the $48 charge on our credit card. After all, you can get dog tags at any large chain store like Wal Mart or Pet Smart for about $5. But we had one of those weak moments where we saw something unusual that could make our pups stand out just a little bit. And they were exceptional dog tags, completely customized, and looked very sharp against the new collars that added another $30 to the bill. Despite the fact that we had fallen for the commercialization of cutsey little numbers for our dogs, there was still no disputing the importance of dog tags.
Despite the fact that we are very conscientious humans, there is no denying that things just sometimes happen that are beyond your control, or should have been within your control but a bad moment cost you the whereabouts of your pet. I couldn’t imagine losing our dogs, but it had happened to me once. Someone simply forgot to lock the gate behind them, and I spent hours searching for my German Shepherd in a city that regarded the breed as highly unfriendly. I was more afraid that someone would shoot him out of their own misguided fear than anything.
The dogs we have now might not face the same prejudices, but one of our guys is completely blind. Although he does quite well for a moderately disabled pup, he does require a gently hand or his fear overtakes him and he retreats into his own land of self comfort. Dog tags would at the very least alert someone to his blindness, and let them know his home of origin.
Dog tags can offer people a plethora of information about your pet in the event that they are lost and wandering out there alone (or not lost and just decided they were responsible enough to take themselves for a walk) in a manner that is universally recognized. The first thing people think of when they notice a dog that looks lost or unattended is to check their dog tags.
Dogs without tags are 98% more likely to end up in a shelter when they are lost than dogs with tags. Dogs without dog tags are rarely kept by the humans that find them any longer. Once upon a time, people used to find dogs and decide to hang on to them until an owner could be found. A lot of dogs went through the re-adoption phase this way. In our extremely litigious and petty society, people are now more afraid of being accused of animal theft than they are concerned about the dog’s welfare. Thus, without a phone number to call or an address to re-deliver the pooch to, the shelter is the next best option.
Never underestimate the importance of dog tags when it comes to keeping your best friend out of the shelter after a mischievous little romp around the neighborhood. Even with a chip to help the dog locate his human, the absence of dog tags often means that your guy will spend at least some time in the shelter, if not at least a couple of days. While shelters do some amazing things, they can also be traumatic for some dogs. Unfortunately, dogs with locator chips have not always been fortunate enough to return from the shelter.
Locator chips are designed to help track down their owners in the event that the dog is lost, stolen, or runs away. However, the chip has to be working properly, found, and utilized in order to safely return the dog safely to the heart and home of his human. And in the vast majority of case, they work just like that. However, just like everything else that relies on mechanical and computerized efforts, sometimes glitches in what should be a very simple system fail to act accordingly. Without the assistance of a dig tag, there are far too may documented cases of dogs with locator chips being either adopted out or worse. Technology is only amazing when it is fully functioning.
When compared with dog tags, the locator chip was only more effective when used with complete accuracy. Out of every 100 locator chips tested that were more than 3 years old, 2 ultimately failed to relay the information necessary to find the humans designed to go with the dogs. There have been ample issues, including the cost of implanting a locator chip, that still make them less reliable than good old fashioned dog tags. Many veterinarians have recommended installing a second chip, but this is most likely to cause financial hardship when it comes to the veterinarian bills. Even our overpriced puppy bling is a drop in the bucket when compared to the cost of even one locator chip. And of course, we don’t need to anesthetize the dog before slipping his new dog tags around his neck.
Even with today’s more advanced technologically creative society, something simple like a dog tag makes it simple to return a lost dog. There are few hassles involved when the dog’s name, his human’s phone number or address and any pertinent information such as blindness is written right there in plain view for anyone who simply bothers to glance to see. It’s really not a stretch to even venture that the importance of dog tags is only equal to the value of your dog’s safety, health, and freedom to wait eagerly for you to come home, even if it from behind that brand new gate that finally fixed.
