A Cautionary Tail
When I was walking Kiska today, a very friendly, off-leash Siberian husky came bounding up to us in a nearby park and introduced himself to Kiska, nuzzled me to get petted, then wandered off.
I glanced around to see where his owner was - you don't see too many off-leash dogs in that park in the daytime. And I realized I couldn't see anyone around who looked like they were paying any attention to that dog at all. I asked a couple of nearby people, and the dog was not any of theirs. One guy said the dog had been wandering around the park for a while, apparently all by himself.
He (the human) didn't seem particularly concerned, but I was worried. I called the dog (who came to me quite readily - he was obviously someone's pet) and checked his collar for tags, but there weren't any. So I wasn't sure what to do - I certainly wouldn't want Kiska wandering around on her own, but I didn't see any way of finding his owner. Though as long as he was just hanging out in the park, I supposed he wasn't in much danger...
Then the dog started heading down a side street next to the park - directly toward St. Clair, a very busy street. That seriously worried me, so I took off after him, though I still wasn't sure what I'd do if I caught up with him, other than hopefully keep him from going onto St. Clair and getting hit by a car. I considered taking him home with me temporarily, just to keep him safe until I could find his owner or, as a last resort, call Animal Control. But given that I have two cats, and not all dogs are as cat-friendly as Kiska, that didn't seem like a good idea.
The dog was moving pretty quickly, and I was worried he'd hit St. Clair before I caught up, but at the last minute he ducked down an alley instead. So I followed, and fortunately he had stopped to check out the alley. I called him to me again, and he seemed happy for the attention, but that still left me thinking "OK, so now what do I do?"
As I was trying to decide if I should just call Animal Control right then, and try to keep the dog in the alley until they came, I heard a most welcome sound - someone out on the street we'd just come down, calling what sounded like it might be a dog's name, in a panicky tone. I stepped back to where I could see out onto the street, and when the guy came in view - running, and carrying a leash - I called out "Did you lose a husky?"
"Yes!"
"He's right over here." When he saw the dog he looked incredibly relieved, and ran up and clipped the leash onto his collar. Apparently the dog had slipped out the gate quietly when someone had come to their house to do yard work, and it had taken the owner a little while to realize he was missing. He thanked me profusely for following the dog and trying to keep him off St. Clair, and took him back home.
And I realized about 30 seconds after they left, what I really should have said but didn't think of in time, so instead I'm going to say it here, to all the dog owners on my friends list:
People, please put ID tags on your dog's collar! Preferably with your phone number.
I know, you'd never let your dog wander around on its own, but accidents can happen. Dogs can slip out when you're not looking. Leashes can break. Wouldn't you rather know that if your dog somehow does get out on its own, whoever finds it can contact you?
I glanced around to see where his owner was - you don't see too many off-leash dogs in that park in the daytime. And I realized I couldn't see anyone around who looked like they were paying any attention to that dog at all. I asked a couple of nearby people, and the dog was not any of theirs. One guy said the dog had been wandering around the park for a while, apparently all by himself.
He (the human) didn't seem particularly concerned, but I was worried. I called the dog (who came to me quite readily - he was obviously someone's pet) and checked his collar for tags, but there weren't any. So I wasn't sure what to do - I certainly wouldn't want Kiska wandering around on her own, but I didn't see any way of finding his owner. Though as long as he was just hanging out in the park, I supposed he wasn't in much danger...
Then the dog started heading down a side street next to the park - directly toward St. Clair, a very busy street. That seriously worried me, so I took off after him, though I still wasn't sure what I'd do if I caught up with him, other than hopefully keep him from going onto St. Clair and getting hit by a car. I considered taking him home with me temporarily, just to keep him safe until I could find his owner or, as a last resort, call Animal Control. But given that I have two cats, and not all dogs are as cat-friendly as Kiska, that didn't seem like a good idea.
The dog was moving pretty quickly, and I was worried he'd hit St. Clair before I caught up, but at the last minute he ducked down an alley instead. So I followed, and fortunately he had stopped to check out the alley. I called him to me again, and he seemed happy for the attention, but that still left me thinking "OK, so now what do I do?"
As I was trying to decide if I should just call Animal Control right then, and try to keep the dog in the alley until they came, I heard a most welcome sound - someone out on the street we'd just come down, calling what sounded like it might be a dog's name, in a panicky tone. I stepped back to where I could see out onto the street, and when the guy came in view - running, and carrying a leash - I called out "Did you lose a husky?"
"Yes!"
"He's right over here." When he saw the dog he looked incredibly relieved, and ran up and clipped the leash onto his collar. Apparently the dog had slipped out the gate quietly when someone had come to their house to do yard work, and it had taken the owner a little while to realize he was missing. He thanked me profusely for following the dog and trying to keep him off St. Clair, and took him back home.
And I realized about 30 seconds after they left, what I really should have said but didn't think of in time, so instead I'm going to say it here, to all the dog owners on my friends list:
People, please put ID tags on your dog's collar! Preferably with your phone number.
I know, you'd never let your dog wander around on its own, but accidents can happen. Dogs can slip out when you're not looking. Leashes can break. Wouldn't you rather know that if your dog somehow does get out on its own, whoever finds it can contact you?