Free Ride Home

Haywood County Animal Services is offering a free ride home for lost pets they find wandering the county if there is proper identification on the animal. While only dogs are required to wear a metal identification tag upon which is inscribed the dog’s owner’s name, address and telephone number securely attached to the collar according to Haywood County Animal Ordinance Section 91.06; field officers do carry micro chip scanners with them and will scan dogs and cats for id. Upon identifying and locating the owner, field officers will now take the animal home free! This applies to first time lost pets. Picked up more than once, the animal may face impoundment and the owner a citation and fees for roaming.

Animal Services wants to help lost pets be reunited with their owners as soon as possible to lessen the stress of being caged at the shelter until the owner comes. This not only helps the animal but saves the county time and effort filling all the intake paperwork.

Pet owners really need to provide proper identification on their pets. It is county law under Animal Ordinances Sections 91.06 and 91.40. Too many strays are ending up in the shelter causing overcrowding conditions which leads to stress and disease. Even using an indelible marker to put a telephone number on a collar will help get a pet returned quicker. While some cats will wear collars with tags, most will readily shed them as soon as possible. This is why microchipping cats becomes a necessity. Often lost cats are so afraid, they remain hidden for weeks. Many times their owners will give up looking and checking at the shelter because the cat has been gone so long. Thus, that cat might be put up for adoption when there is an owner that really would like it back but has given up hope.

The number of lost strays coming into the shelter rose from 907, January 1-August 31, 2022 from 751 the same period in 2021. That’s more than a 20% increase and the year isn’t over yet! More than 85%

of these strays could have been returned quickly to their owners if they had identification.

Do yourself and your pet a favor, provide proper identification so a lost pet can be easily returned. One in 3 pets will go missing in their lifetime. Make an Animal Officer’s day. Provide proper id so if your pet is found, they can be promptly returned.