In Santa Clara County this year, 13,000 dogs will become lost. 10,000 of them will never see their owners again.
Pet loss is a crisis in the San Francisco Bay Area and beyond. Nationwide, an average of only 20% of dogs and 2% of cats entering animal shelters will be reunited with their original owners. Some will be adopted into new homes, while many others will be euthanized. In California, animals without ID are only required by law to be held for 72 hours; with ID, that time is increased to 10 days, but if the ID tags or microchip don’t contain current owner information, they are no help to the lost pet. There are a number of animal sheltering agencies in each county, all with different jurisdictions, often leading to confusion for the distraught owner of a missing pet. Between working, not having transportation, and not knowing where to look, many owners don’t even make it to the appropriate shelter during the 72-hour window. Fifteen percent of pets reclaimed from our shelter are not picked up by owners until five or more days after impound; of those, 17% are not picked up until 10 or more days. Some lost pets are found by well-meaning individuals who, instead of bringing them to an animal shelter, take them home. Unfortunately, some of those individuals will erroneously believe that the animal was abandoned or mistreated, so they will keep it and never file a found report.
“What a beautiful dog! He must have an owner.” This is a statement often heard at animal shelters. Many people think that dogs who are purebred, well groomed, or otherwise valuable-looking have owners, while all the others are “homeless” or abandoned. They believe that “stray” pets are unwanted, but there is no evidence to support this assumption. In reality, all dogs have an owner who was with them just hours or days before they entered the shelter. Dogs can look very bad after even a few days away from home. In a recent case in our county, a Chihuahua fled from his owner’s property during a home invasion and became lost in the woods. He returned home a week later dirty, dehydrated, and covered in fleas and ticks. It would be easy to assume by his appearance that this dog was neglected, but in truth he was a well-loved family pet.
Lost dogs can become fearful or snappy, leading finders to believe that they are aggressive or abused. Sometimes the most fearful appearing dogs are pampered house pets. Dogs who spend a lot of time outdoors are used to different sights, sounds, and places, while indoor pets are less accustomed to change and can become so frightened in a new environment that they will even run from their owners! At our shelter, we have seen dogs come in appearing fearful and/or aggressive, but when reunited with their families, they are friendly and happy. Because of this, it is critical that all efforts are made to return dogs to their original owners. Many dogs who may be considered “unadoptable” due to behavioral issues in a shelter do just fine back home in the environment that they are used to.
In 2011, we launched our Return to Owner Outreach Program. We created a new website with tips on finding lost pets as well as a one-click search feature for pets at all shelters in Santa Clara County. For those who don’t have internet access, we created a rack card with the same information which is displayed at shelters and at other locations. We are creating advertising pieces which should roll out later this year. Our main goals are to educate pet owners about:
- How to effectively search for their lost pets;
- How to navigate the animal shelter system; and
- How to prevent their pets from becoming lost in the first place.
Through this program, we hope to see more dogs and cats returned to their loving families.
Brigid Wasson is the Animal Shelter Supervisor for the County of Santa Clara. The shelter is located at 12370 Murphy Ave. in San Martin and is open seven days a week: Mon-Fri, 12-6 and Sat-Sun 12-5, closed on major holidays. To learn more about the shelter, view adoptable pets, or make a donation, please visit www.sccountypets.org or call 408-686-3900. For detailed lost pet recovery tips and referrals to lost pet services, visit www.missingpetpartnership.org.
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Main article photo by: Santa Clara County Animal Shelter
