I was trolling Facebook the other evening and my attention was grabbed by a post titled, “Pet euthanized before hold ended at Shoals shelter.” The attached article went on to describe how a dog that was brought to the shelter as a stray was euthanized before the mandatory hold period was up. Apparently, there was an internal error in communication at the shelter, and the dog was euthanized by mistake. The wrongdoing was then compounded when shelter staff gave the family the runaround, and initially lied to them about what happened to the dog.

There were several angry comments directed toward the shelter management and staff, and although I agree that this situation should never have happened, I believe that the owners of the stray dog are just as guilty as the shelter. Having spent 25 years of my life in the shelter world, I’m here to attest that miscommunication happens, as do errors. Most shelters are understaffed with an over abundance of animals in their care. I would challenge anyone to show me a workplace where every person communicates perfectly, and no mistakes are ever made. Animal shelters and humane societies are no different. I contend that had the dog been wearing proper identification and/or been micro-chipped the story would have had a different ending. We are all human, and humans make mistakes.

Any dog can get loose. Even the best fence has a gate that might accidentally be left open. Dogs on tie-outs can slip their collars and go running free. Handlers can trip and fall and drop their leashes, and off goes Rover. Electronic containment systems can have power failures and off goes the dog to new-found freedom. These are all real-life scenarios that can result in a lost dog being found by a good Samaritan and taken to the nearest shelter or humane society. Most shelters will immediately scan an incoming animal for a microchip, and if one is found, calls to the owners are made so that the dog can be returned to where it belongs as quickly as possible.

Both New York and Pennsylvania have dog licensing laws that require that dogs be licensed and be currently vaccinated for rabies. Both states’ licensing agents provide license tags for the dog to wear and all vet clinics provide a rabies vaccination tag for pets that are vaccinated. It only takes a moment to attach these tags to your dog’s collar.

ID tags with names and phone numbers are readily available, as are collars with your name and phone number embroidered into them. These are additional ways to help your lost dog find his or her way home safely.

In my experience, the majority of stray dogs and cats that wind up in the shelter system are not carrying proper ID and that makes the task of getting them home safely so much more difficult. While we all expect dogs to be held for the mandatory holding time, in most cases once that time is up, the pet can be adopted out, transferred to another agency, or euthanized with no recourse for the owner.

It is just as important to make sure that all of the information that goes with a pet’s ID is up-to-date with the owner’s most current address and phone number as well as a trusted secondary contact in the event that the owner cannot be reached. Having all of this in order will help to ensure a speedy recovery should your pet become lost.

[This column ran in August 2013. It is reprinted here because of the importance of pet owners having proper ID for their animals and because Sue Frisch is taking a short hiatus.]