[Dailydrool] Knowing Breeds/Lost dogs

[Beverly Szaton]

The ignorance of Vets and Shelter workers in knowing the different breeds is
amazing. When I was a kid I poured through the dog books constantly, and I
learned the breeds of both dogs and horses. I am no good at horses anymore,
but I know my dogs.
This drove me crazy when I worked for the Vet. Lost dogs would come in and I
would go back and look in the stray section and then ask the receptionist
"When did that Lhasa Apso come in? That dog looks like a purebred" and be
told oh, you mean the Cockapoo?
Most people know what a Basset looks like altho a lot of people, as we all
have noted, mix up Beagles and Bassets.  One time a worker told me we had
"Giant Scottie" boarding. HUNH? It was a Giant Schnauzer.
Imagine, then, Nigel's housemate Cooper, who has been variously accused of
being a German Shepherd, a Chow, a Flat-Coated Retriever and a Wolf (more
than once.)He is black, long-haired and has prick ears, a plumey tail and
longish legs and weighs about 60 pounds. Black Shepherd. Gotta be. Collie
mix, gotta be. No, actually he is a full blooded, papered, AKC champion
Belgian Sheepdog.
Don't call and ask the shelters if your dog is there. Go look.

Figure you are the center of a 25 mile radius. (People pick up loose dogs in
their cars and drop them off miles away at their own shelters or Vet's)
 Visit the shelters, the Vets. Call surrounding police depts and see where
their Animal Control people take strays. Call each place EVERY SINGLE DAY
that the facility is open. Be a pain in the ass. Call rescues. Talk to them
because sometimes we  turned dogs over to them.
Put up signs, offer a reward but do not say "large" or give an amount. Avoid
giving too much information. Scars and other absolutely identifying marks
are best left unmentioned so that if someone calls you can use that to find
out if they have your dog or just want the reward, but be sure to tell the
shelters and Vets.

Most Vets do not take strays. We did. We kept them a long time, unless they
were management problems (read "vicious") and a danger to the staff in which
case they were kept about 10 days. We were not required to keep them that
long but people go on vacation, or are passing through, or any of a hundred
unfortunate things so they do not know the dog is even missing.

If your dog has a chip and the shelter does not scan for a chip raise hell.
Write the paper. Make noise. If they don't have a scanner, have a
fund-raiser and buy them one.
I hope none of us ever has to be concerned about this.

MomPerson to Nigel, Llewis, Conley and Cooper.
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