Lucky Lucy is Missing

February 1st, about 1:45 P.M., Lucky Lucy jumped my fence, disappeared, and my life has been a nightmare ever since.  She frequently jumps the fence, but I am usually outside with her, begin calling her immediately, and she comes back within a few minutes.  But this time I put her out, went to the bathroom, and when I came back out she was gone.  I’m pretty sure she was nabbed in the park.



We’ve combed the neighborhoods, the woods, the highway calling her name.  I laminated and posted about 30 of these flyers around the immediate neighborhoods,  posted on Facebook, Craig’s List, Petfinders, brought copies to Animal Control, Companion Animal Alliance, police and sheriff sub-stations, and am still handing out door to door each day, visiting the pound each week,
All the stuff they say to do, I am doing as fast as I can.  Including offering a reward.  But it’s just a drop in the bucket. It’s a huge city. She could be anywhere.
I’m usually speechless, and when I talk can’t stop crying, and my family is advising me to “get over it” and “get on with my life”, which makes me crazier than ever. 
I don’t want to get over it.  I can’t believe she is gone.  I can’t believe there is such a thin veneer of “protection” surrounding our pets.  It’s ridiculous.  Microchips aren’t worth anything if nobody scans your dog. Collars and tags with phone numbers to call are meaningless if somebody wants to keep your pet for themselves.
I want to revamp the system, which is mostly ineffective, and so cumbersome hardly anyone can do it.  Not everyone has a computer, a camera, a color printer, and lots of time like I do, but even with all the tools available, it’s a drop in the bucket.


I’ve found out some shocking things during this nightmare venture.


DID YOU KNOW that if an animal is found dead on the road or in a ditch, Animal Control does NOT come pick them up.  Nobody scans them for a microchip, take their photo and place it online anywhere.  What happens is that Waste Management is called to come out and remove the carcass.   No attempt is made to ID the animal or contact the owners!


DID YOU KNOW that if someone nabs your dog and is caught, the legal punishment ranges from a $500 fine to a $1500 fine, and a bit of jail time, but it all depends upon "the strength of the bond" between owner and animal, which the OWNER HAS TO PROVE.  Upshot of it is, it's only a crime to steal someone's pet if the owner can prove they care a lot about the animal.


DID YOU KNOW that microchips can "slip" and become hard to detect.


DID YOU KNOW that fewer than 20% of lost pets are ever reunited with their owners.