We all love the great stories of dogs and cats finding their way home through hundreds of miles of dangerous terrain, but the reality is, that thousands of dogs get lost each year and only a small amount of them make it back home. By taking the proper precautions you can be sure that your dog does not end up a statistic.



Dogs have a natural tendency to follow their nose and sometimes it leads them right into trouble. Some dogs even find their way right out of a fenced yard to follow a great smell. The best protection you can have is to be sure your dog has a collar with an ID tag that includes your dog's name, your phone number and your vet's phone number so that whoever finds your dog can locate you or seek veterinary assistance immediately should that be required.

Of course there are times when a collar may be loose or breaks in which case your dog would still be lost with no way of anyone knowing who he belongs to. You can be prepared for this situation as well. There are ID microchips that can be inserted into your dog that contain any information needed to identify the dog and where he belongs. This method only works in areas where they have the technology for this, but it is becoming more and more common. Another way for your dog to be identified would be through tattooing his ear with an ID number. This works best when done through an organization with a national database so that when your dog is found the number can be looked up and he can be linked back to you. It is important to keep your information current with these organizations if you relocate.

The micro chip IDs are a good way to identify a dog if you have a popular kind of dog and there is a dispute about who may own the dog. Micro chips are virtually tamper free so that there is no question of ownership. This can be helpful to those in the show circuit and to those who have a special breed of dog.

Unfortunately millions of dogs end up in shelters each year because of over breeding and owners' not taking the proper precautions to be sure their dog is identified. The lucky ones get adopted or are discovered and used for service dogs, but most of them get put down. More and more "no kill" shelters are popping up but there will never be enough. It is important for you to do your part to be sure that if your dog is ever lost, it won't be long until he finds his way home because you have identified him properly. This will save both you and your best friend a lot of grief.