I went to the shelter this morning. There were only two workers there, and they had been the only two working yesterday (the Fourth) as well. Apparently everyone else had taken a long weekend.
Experienced Employee had been warning New Employee that the Fourth was a crazy-busy time, what with all the pets getting scared by the fireworks and running off. When they had arrived at the shelter that morning, however, they had been surprised to find a single cat in Intake.
"Give it a few minutes," I said. "Animal Control is just starting their day."
A few minutes later, Spanish Fork pulled up with a dog. Then Provo. Then Springville. Then County. Two hours later, we had a packed Intake room and were processing dogs left and right, looking up microchips, and calling owners.
One guy had been watching his friend's dog, and it had escaped. Not only did this guy have to pay the impound fee, but the dog wasn't licensed, so he had to pay for a rabies shot and license as well. I wonder what his friend would think when he got home and found out his dog had been licensed in his absence?
I called another owner, and he informed me the dog belonged to his son. "Oh. Can I talk with your son then?" I asked.
"He's a minor," he said. Okay. Does SOMEONE want to come get the dog?
The man mentioned that his son was planning on breeding the dog, a female German Shepherd, while I was looking at the computer screen. Apparently the dog had been picked up by Animal Control in March, April, and now July. Three impounds meant the release fee was now $70, but it irked me that someone as irresponsible as this son obviously was, was planning to bring a whole new crop of dogs into the world. Take care of the one dog you already have, yeah?
3 comments:
is it the law now to have pets chipped? it probably makes finding the owners easier. just think if we chipped the owners too!
I've often thought how convenient some things would be if we chipped people. Even if we just chipped people who wander off, like mental patients or people with Alzheimer's disease. Although there's a lot more implications than just convenience...
But no, it's not a law to chip pets. But it sure makes it easier to return them to owners. Collars can come off, but it's a lot less common for microchips to fail.
:( It never ends. :(
Post a Comment