Attention cat and dog owners, please get your dogs and cats licensed.
For the last week (as of the time I’m writing this) the Barrhead Leader has had an unwelcome guest — a young cat.
Well not exactly unwelcomed.
One of our employees invited the young animal to our place of work after finding a cat caught in a skunk trap on her property. After calling upon her neighbours to see if their family pet had wandered off, she then brought the cat to work in hopes the staff could either find her owners or a good home.
Since then we have made inquires at the local vet clinics, as well as posting the animal, which one of our staff has nicknamed Mrs. Whiskers, on Barrhead, Lost and Found Pets, Facebook page. So far, with no luck.
Mrs. Whiskers has to come from someone, and considering how well socialized she is obviously, at least to me, she has come from a loving home, one we hope (or already has by the time you read this) she will soon be returned to.
Unfortunately as much as the Leader may want to, a business is no place for any pet, and each of our personal situations make it impossible for one of us to adopt her. And if we are not able to find her owners or a permanent home, we will have to consider other options, such as asking Barrhead Animal Rescue Society for help.
However, our efforts could have been aided immensely if the owner had either microchiped or tattooed Mrs. Whiskers or licensed her. Although it is likely she came from a Barrhead County home, which as far as I can tell does not require dogs or cats to be licenced.
The Town of Barrhead, in what I understand was a bit of a controversial decision, passed a bylaw, which requires all dogs and cats to be registered.
It’s something I am in total agreement with and wish other municipalities would consider doing. If Mrs. Whiskers came from a municipality which had a licensing provision, all we would have had to do, assuming she hadn’t lost her collar, is look at the licensing tag and call the appropriate municipality, which would then contact the owner, who would then call us about their lost pet. I have reunited a number of pets and owners this way and it is one of the reasons, aside from it being the law, that I make sure I licence my pets. If someone finds one of my pets who somehow escaped the yard, house or from my control when walking on their leash, whether it be by the town’s bylaw officer or a well meaning resident, a simple phone call will result in a happy reunion.
So for those people who haven’t licensed their pets and have the option of doing so, please do. And for municipalities without pet-licensing provisions, please consider enacting them, as it may help animals like Mrs. Whiskers get home.
