When I was a child — I looked forward to the 4th of July. Not because of the BBQ or parties — it was because I would find lots of dogs wandering the streets the next day. I took much delight in collecting these dogs (who never had tags) and going door-to-door, asking if this was their dog, or if they knew whose dog it was. I remember one time I found a golden retriever. He was so friendly, and I knew that his family had to have been worried sick. I found their owners who gave me and my sister a whole $5 each! We thought we were rich! 
Fast forward several years later, when I got Amelie when I was 19 years old. I was determined to provide her with the best of everything. I had a tag made up with her name and my number (and this was pre-cell phone days) as well with a tag in spanish translating into “reward if found, call ###-####” in addition to her rabies license. She also had an AVID microchip implanted.
Despite having a fully fenced yard, when I left for work one day Amelie desperately wanted to be with me and she jumped THROUGH the window screen of the window I left open. Being 12″ high, I didn’t think she’d be able to jump that high, but her determination proved me wrong. When I got home from work 15 hours later, I had a message on my answering machine that the neighbors had her. This is something I wouldn’t have worried about except for the fact that these were known drug addicts and Amelie was a rare, in-demand breed!
Fast forward to now, as I work at an Animal Hospital. Countless dogs come through the door with good-hearted people looking for the dog’s owners. With no tags, they hope that we can scan the dog for a microchip. 9 times out of 10, they don’t have one and all we can do is tell them to drop them off at the animal shelter.
You just never know. I’ve heard so many stories of people who believe that because of how their house or apartment is set up, or that their dog never leaves their side — is reason that they don’t need any sort of identification — only to then hear how their dog got out, was never seen again, or re-homed with someone who didn’t want to put much effort into finding the rightful owner (as in, no tags and no microchip, so they take the dog because they’d rather do that than see the animal go to the shelter where they think they’d be euthanized.)
DON’T LET THIS HAPPEN TO YOU!
I whole heartedly recommend getting an AVID microchip AND investing in a durable ID tag. Personally, I think the system that 800-Help-4-Pets offers is truly the best. Both my dogs have these tags and this allows anyone who finds them to talk to a live person, 24/7 - 365 days a year. They have my info as well as people whom can help me out if I’m not around, and authorization for medical care should they need live-saving vet care and they can’t get a hold of me. (they even have $$ limits if you’re worried about that!)
These tags work perfectly in conjunction with microchips. I recommend getting both. Click here for the link to the tags. Check out Jolie and her snazzy tag:
Oh boy. Roughly 2 and a half hours ago, after I finally felt like I shook off that “jet lag” funk… I set off to photoshop all the boston tea party photo requests. 
by Administrator
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