The risks of roaming

“Can your pets tell someone where they live? If they can’t, they need to wear tags and a collar.”

In the early ’90s, LSU vet school alum W. Mark Cousins closed his weekly pet education segments on a New Orleans news station with that advice. Fifteen years later, the overwhelming number of unidentified pets at Lamar-Dixon shelter demonstrated the message still hadn’t met its mark. Of the nearly estimated 8,500 pets who entered the center, only 15% were reunited with their owners. The only shining exception was the successful homecoming of 466 microchipped horses that were transported out of state and were later returned to their owners.

Although hurricane pet procedures and policies have greatly improved over the past five years, the problems of pet identification persist.

A common quandary confronts pet lovers every time they investigate the specter of a kitten lurking under a neighbor’s house or a matted dog trotting alongside traffic.

Is the animal an adventure hound on the way home, a lost pet, or homeless stray in need of help? Without a collar, it’s nearly impossible to tell.

In some cases, technology comes to the rescue. Many conscientious owners now have their precious pets microchipped. During the procedure, a vet injects a rice-size computer chip under the animal’s skin. A scanner decodes the chip’s manufacturer and the pet’s identification number, which provides contact information of the person who registered the pet. The microchipping companies even provide a tag to place on the pet’s collar, so a good Samaritan knows the pet is microchipped. But while the equipment is remarkable and even affordable, it is not foolproof.

“The chip is a plus,” says Megan Choate, Ascension Parish Animal Control’s office manager, “but it’s sometimes hard to hold the dog still enough to scan. Then you have to call an 800 number to get the information.”

Even though the shelter recently bought a general scanner that works on several different brands of chips, scanning alone is not the answer.

“Not very many animals are returned by microchipping,” Choate reports. “We have one here now whose chip was never registered to the owner.” The paper trail ends with the breeder, whose poor recordkeeping and reluctance to reclaim the dog have left the beautiful purebred English mastiff to face an uncertain future.

“If [owners and pets] could keep tags on, that would be perfect,” Choate continues. “Rabies tags are easier and faster. Most dogs don’t come in with one. People say they took the tags off when they gave the dog a bath—we get that a lot.”

So, it’s not surprising that of the 2,700 dogs and cats impounded at Ascension Parish Animal Control in 2008, only 195 dogs and nine cats were reunited with their owners. Of the remaining animals, 329 dogs and 103 cats were adopted to new owners by the shelter, while 202 dogs and 184 cats were released to rescue organizations.

Avoiding the pitfalls of owner ignorance or noncompliance was a major focus of the development of the new microchipping program at Cat Haven. Besides taking care of spay/neuter, FIV/FeLeuk testing and vaccinations before placing a cat in a new home, volunteers leave nothing to chance and actually complete the online microchip registration form for adopters.

Cat Haven President John McChesney admits the microchip program was a long time in coming.

“All our adoptions are for inside cats only, so we don’t push collars. We do suggest that if people want to use a collar, they get the breakaway kind [so the cat cannot be accidentally strangled if caught on a tree, fence, etc.]. But, it’s important to realize East Baton Rouge Parish has a leash law. Any outdoor animal needs to be carrying its rabies tag.”

The group was also hesitant to invest in the implants before scanners were widely available at vet’s offices and shelters. However, following the pet disaster Hurricane Katrina wrought, the legislature provided funds for scanners statewide.

“The microchip provides that extra margin of security if the cat accidentally gets out, or if there’s a hurricane and they get separated. Also, if a cat is taken to Animal Control and it’s one of ours, we can put the former owner on the ‘do not adopt’ list and take the cat back.”

While microchipping may give responsible owners peace of mind, it’s not the solution to the area’s high euthanasia rate. Even if all owned animals were microchipped, Choate estimates shelter populations would remain about the same. “We get fighting dogs from St. James or Donaldsonville and cats that need to be spayed or neutered,” she says.

McChesney concurs, “I think it is a miniscule number [of animals], who would be returned to their owners and not in rescue if microchipping of cats were widespread.” Cat Haven places 300 to 350 cats a year. Nearly half come in as feral or abandoned adults; the remainder are kittens from breeding cats everywhere. “Right now, on average, there are six phone calls a day from people with litters for us to take,” McChesney explains.

And, as for the daily dilemma facing animal lovers who come in contact with a seemingly friendly stray, Choate advises either posting flyers, calling Animal Control so the animal’s description can be entered in the “found” book, or bringing the animal in to the shelter.

“If the animal is on the road, there’s always the possibility it could get hit and cause [car] accidents and grief to the owner,” Choate explains. “Even if the animal is in a yard, it may have gone without food and water for a while and may need shelter from the weather.”

While most Animal Control centers do euthanize, they are bound to hold the animal for at least five days—hopefully, enough time for the owner to find the pet. And, with the routine scanning of every animal entering the shelter, the story of a collarless-but-microchipped animal may yet end in a happy tail.

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