National Pet Theft Awareness Day & How to Keep Us Safe

This holiday was created to highlight and call attention to the importance of pet identification methods so that that you could take the appropriate steps to ensure your pet’s security and your own piece of mind.

I’ve got two thoughts for you – consider the following:

• It has been reported that almost 2 million pets are stolen each year, and the numbers are continuing to rise.

• Cats and dogs are like toddlers – no matter how smart you think we are, we cannot protect ourselves from being picked up and carried away...even big dogs get can stolen!

Why would someone steal someone else’s pet you ask?

In the case of dogs – to be used as bait for dog fighting or to re-sell to a research facility, which can happen to both cats and dogs. 

In the case of a purebred cat or dog – stolen to re-sell to someone looking for a purebred “on the cheap”.

In the case of any cat or dog – stolen to be used to get a ransom from you – you will pay anything to get your baby back, right?!

So what can you do to protect us today and every day – and therefore sleep well at night?!

• Spay, neuter and microchip every pet you own. Neutered pets tend not to stray as much, and microchipping adds another layer of identification.

• Dogs need to go outside, but cats don’t…so for those pets that do go outdoors, you can now buy collars with GPS technology. 

• As I mentioned before, cats do not need to go outside, especially with all of the fun ways you can make your home an active playground, the new litters that have come onto the market, and when you consider the perils of the “outside” for us kitties today. Keeping us cats indoors is a sure-fire guarantee that we won’t get stolen.

• Do not let your dog or cat (if you must) outdoors unsupervised – remember we are like toddlers…you would not let your toddler outside unsupervised.

• Do not tie your dog up on your front porch thinking that it is a safe spot because it is not.

• Leave your pet at home when you run errands – many dogs have been taken when tied up to a pole while the owner is in the grocery store, etc. And don’t leave us in the car unattended either – there are too many stories of stolen pets who were taken in a flash while the owner had their back turned for just a few minutes.

As mom says, it does not take a lot to ensure our safety, just a little forethought and some preventative measures will go a long way to keep us safe and sound!