Author Archives: Susan

Please Send Our Open Letter to Police Chiefs and Superintendents

We would encourage you to email, mail, or drop off a copy at your local police district or headquarters. Thank you so much for your help! You, our fans, are the ones who help us to make small changes that benefit the animals and families. Don’t ever underestimate the power of one!

Dear Police Chief:

Thank you for helping reunite lost dogs with their families. As you well know, the status of dogs has progressed from the barnyard to the backyard to the home and now most dogs are considered a loved family member.

Even though the status of dogs has been elevated to loved family members, they are considered property according to state law.

Many times finders of lost pets are not doing their due diligence and keeping the pet as their own. That is theft of property as outlined in the state statute below.

(720 ILCS 5/16-2) (from Ch. 38, par. 16-2) Theft of lost or mislaid property.

It is a criminal offense and we are asking the police to help in these matters. Lost Dogs Illinois is encouraging owners to file a police report and bring their evidence of ownership to the police. Sometimes they are not taken serious at various police departments. We would like to see that change so this theft of personal property be considered as the serious offence that it is.

Thank you for taking the time to read our letter. We hope that your department will take these situations seriously and help reunite dogs with their rightful owners.

Regards,

Lost Dogs Illinois

To find out who the Police Chief/Superintendent for your city or district, contact your city government website.

 

Just a reminder….. Rescues and Animal Shelters

On January 1,2016, a new Illinois law was passed to require what is necessary if a rescue, shelter or veterinary clinic  holds a stray animal.  We also confirmed this information with Dr. Mark Ernst, State Veterinarian.

The law is Animal Welfare Section (225 ILCS 605/3.6) of the Illinois State Statutes.

Sec. 3.6. Acceptance of stray dogs and cats.
(a) No animal shelter may accept a stray dog or cat unless the animal is reported by the shelter to the animal control or law enforcement of the county in which the animal is found by the next business day. An animal shelter may accept animals from: (1) the owner of the animal where the owner signs a relinquishment form which states he or she is the owner of the animal; (2) an animal shelter licensed under this Act; or (3) an out-of-state animal control facility, rescue group, or animal shelter that is duly licensed in their state or is a not-for-profit organization.

(b) When stray dogs and cats are accepted by an animal shelter, they must be scanned for the presence of a microchip and examined for other currently-acceptable methods of identification, including, but not limited to, identification tags, tattoos, and rabies license tags. The examination for identification shall be done within 24 hours after the intake of each dog or cat. The animal shelter shall notify the owner and transfer any dog with an identified owner to the animal control or law enforcement agency in the jurisdiction in which it was found or the local animal control agency for redemption.

Definition of animal shelter:

“Animal shelter” means a facility operated, owned, or maintained by a duly incorporated humane society, animal welfare society, or other non-profit organization for the purpose of providing for and promoting the welfare, protection, and humane treatment of animals. “Animal shelter” also means any veterinary hospital or clinic operated by a veterinarian or veterinarians licensed under the Veterinary Medicine and Surgery Practice Act of 2004 which operates for the above mentioned purpose in addition to its customary purposes.

While we understand the reasoning for this law, it still creates a maze of holding facilities for an owner to find his/her lost dog. For example:  If I lost my dog in Chicago.  I would first check City of Chicago Animal Care and Control to see if my dog has been taken there but then I find out my dog could have been taken Animal Welfare League (there are two of them), Animal Care League, Paws Chicago, even some rescues,vet clinics and police dept. hold dogs.

Our solution is to use Pet FBI, a centralized database that Lost Dogs Illinois partners with.  www.petfbi.org  We recommend having a common login account that all of your staff share, allowing any of your staff to access private contact information for pet owners.

2017 Year End Celebration

Together as a community, more than 5,100 dogs were reunited with their families this past year! This is truly a community effort with our fans, LDI volunteers, staff/volunteers at shelters, rescues & animal control facilities, police departments and veterinary clinics all working together to get lost dogs home to their rightful owners.

The Lost Dogs Illinois Community Outreach program provided free microchips, ID tags and collars/harnesses/leashes to over 2,500 dogs. We also extended our outreach to Winnebago County, Lee County, McLean County and Whiteside County.

We believe in the power of compassion for both humans and animals. Your financial support is vital for LDI to continue our community outreach program to keep four legged family members with their loved ones.

Will you please consider making a gift now to help preserve the human/animal bond in 2018?
Donate here: https://goo.gl/PGcNq5

Thank you and may your generosity and kindness return to you many times for a wonderful 2018.

Tips for Returning a Found Dog to the Rightful Owner

You found a loose dog, posted him with with our software partner, Pet FBI and now you’ve received a phone call from a potential owner. Great job! What next? How do you make sure you are returning the dog to the right person?

When someone calls in response to an ad and/or flyer you have posted for the dog you found, ask the caller’s name and telephone number and tell him/her that you will call back right away. This will give you their information in case you need it later.

Call back and then let the person inquiring describe the dog including unique identifying characteristics. (i.e. scars, tattoo, behaviors, color patterns, etc.) If the dog was found with a collar, ask them to describe the collar color and pattern.

Ask the owner to provide Proof of Ownership via email or text which should include some of the following documents:

  • Vet records (call their vet to confirm)
  • Rabies certificate or license
  • Adoption papers, registration papers, transfer of ownership or bill of sale
  • Photos (dated and w/family members)

Make arrangements to meet the owner at your local police parking lot, vet office, or a safe public place in the daylight. Be sure to let a friend or family member know where you are meeting or ask one of them to go along. If you meet at a police station, go into the police station first to inform them of what is happening so they can keep an eye out.

Observe the meeting of the dog and person. Does the dog show familiarity with the person?  Be aware that a dog who has been missing a long time or who were in survival mode may not immediately show familiarity or affection so do not be alarmed if this happens. It may take time for a long-lost dog to recognize their owners or feel comfortable with them.

Thank you for helping reunite a dog with their family. Together we can help more lost dogs get home!

1/23/2021

Finder Keepers – Not!

Finders is NOT keepers.

We have a problem in our region (Illinois). One would hope that most people have a good moral compass. You drop your wallet .. someone returns it to you. You leave your cell behind at a store…someone turns it in. What happens if you find out someone found your lost items and kept them as their own and wouldn’t return them?

Easy. File a police report. Your property is STOLEN.

(720 ILCS 5/16-2) (from Ch. 38, par. 16-2) Theft of lost or mislaid property.

Now let’s apply this scenario to your furry family member.. Fido/Felix.. what are you to do????

This has been a controversial and confusing topic for quite some time. It wasn’t until i met Tial that it all became very clear.

You see… traditionally Animal Service agencies and police departments won’t take reports or assist. The standard answer is “it’s a civil matter”. But wait….. aren’t pets considered property by state statute?

Yes… you are correct. Pets ARE considered property. Additionally, as we learned above, by state statute, one is not allowed to knowingly keep possession of another’s property. So then what’s the recourse for pet owners?

This is where Tial and her Border Collie, Mika come in. Mika got loose through the family’s fencing. Someone picked her up and after becoming aware of Tial, decided to mislead her in an effort to keep Mika.

Enter the village police in the area Mika was being kept. The Chief of Police confirmed that keeping property one knows belongs to someone else can be punishable with a misdemeanor charge. In his opinion, there was enough evidence to warrant opening a criminal investigation. That’s right. CRIMINAL. The first step.. filing a police report.

I also verified with our local State’s Attorney’s Office that this situation was truly a prosecutable offense that given the strength of the evidence, could be brought to trial. He validated that this was indeed the case! Pet owners REJOICE!!!

In the end, public pressure and the fear of prosecution got Mika back to Tial. But i know of 3 other cases occurring at this moment where families are heartbroken knowing the household their pet is in, not able to get them back and feeling like they have no options.

You do. Gather your evidence. Call your police department. Insist on filing a police report. Follow up with the State’s Attorney’s Office with your case number. These are criminal situations. BE PERSISTENT.

And for those of you who choose to knowingly keep pets from their owners… you should reconsider. Consider the public informed.

Happy Reunion!

Thank you Stephanie for going the extra mile to help Mika’s family!

Driveway Drops – What is that?

Time is of the essence to get the message out about your lost dogs.  Many times it is just plain overwhelming when you realize how many houses there are in your area..

A group of women in the Chicagoland area came up with the idea of driveway drops.  This is a  quick and simple way to get the message out

What do you need to get started?

Sandwich bags

Pebbles or rocks

1/4 page flyers that you can make yourself (can use a full page flyer (folded) or even preprinted business cards)

Enlist your neighbors, kids and friends to help you put the driveway drop bags together. Put pebbles and flyer into a sandwich bag.

Finished bag

Easy peasy to make and  to distribute.  Have one person drive and the passenger toss the bags into the driveway.  Some owners have done 500 bags in one night.

Thank you, Kim, Rosanne, Elaine and Colleen for your commitment to bring lost dogs home and idea of driveway drops!

A letter to those missing their pets….

I totally understand see your struggle, this is like missing your child, a part of your family… not knowing if their scared, sick, hot, cold, injured, hungry, thirsty, abused… the horrors and worries going thru your head.

People try to water it down, say it’s not important, not a priority, it’s just a pet, it’s cute, I’m sure someone else is loving it! Why don’t you get another one?

Finders crudely reply,
I don’t need to show you a pic… I know it’s not yours
If it has fleas or is skinny now, it shouldn’t go back to such a bad mom
How did you lose your pet anyways?
I gave it too a good home (as they shrug their shoulders)

A host of thousands of social media and Craigslist pages to check… with barely any finders with a half way close match at least showing respect for your worries in your search. Answering your messages with more than a one word response. You carry on watching finders, sellers, adopters, flippers, breeders…. anything! Anywhere!

People posting found pitiful mangy possibilities playing police, assuming they know the whole story, playing judge as to why no one deserves their dog back.

At the end of the day, you print more fliers, and carefully decide where to try next, and say a prayer tomorrow is better….kinder.

For those missing pets… God Bless You! My thoughts and prayers to you. Your strong! Don’t give up! Keep fighting! 

Thank you Lisa T for sharing.

Lisa’s daughter’s yorkie went missing July 29th.  Phoebe has yet been found.

Link to her posting:  Phoebe

 

 

Raise the Woof with Sarah Lauch interviewing Susan Taney, LDI’s Director

“The hardest thing is the dogs that people do not know what happened to them. I know they are out there, but they just haven’t found them. ”

The work that Lost Dogs Illinois Co-Founder and Director Susan Taney does is so important. There is no worse feeling than losing your dog. We go into great detail about her experiences and what you can do if you have lost or found an animal.

Thank you Sarah Lauch for interviewing LDI’s Director, Susan Taney

That Moment You Are Never Prepared For

It was a typical summer day. All seemed normal in the family’s world – except their boy, Freddy,  wasn’t with them. The family was on a once-in-a-lifetime vacation, and Freddy was staying at a reliable boarding facility. It was one the family felt comfortable leaving their best friend at – 16 years in business, and never a flaw or escape.

Until now.

The call a pet parent never wants to get – the one that shatters your world and turns it upside down – came that afternoon. Freddy had escaped from the facility and was on the run. No collar and no tags (as a safety precaution and to prevent injuries, boarding facilities do not leave collars/tags on), but one redeeming feature: Freddy was microchipped and his contact information was up-to-date.

Over 4,100 miles away with fear and panic setting in, Freddy’s family contacted a friend whose sister lives and breathes Lost Dogs Illinois. The friend called her sister and set into motion events that gave the family a glimmer of hope.

Lost Dogs Illinois has a “5 Things to Do When You Lose a Dog” action plan that the friend and sister deployed immediately. Step 4 of the plan tells pet owners to ask people not to call out to or chase a dog they see if they think it is lost. Instead, ask them to sit or lie down, with no eye contact, and toss out a few pieces of tasty treat to lure the dog to them.

Sure enough, a call came in with a sighting of Freddy. A little food, a little water, and scent items like clothing were taken to the sighting location immediately to lure Freddy in. Now it became a waiting game; someone had to sit a distance away from the location, wait, make no sudden movements and, above all, be patient.

The patience paid off hours later, when one of the boarding facility’s employees spotted Freddy near the site. The mission then shifted from finding Freddy to encouraging him to come to the employee. Freddy’s family’s friend then came up with a genius masterstroke – why not let Freddy’s mom call out to him via Facetime?

It worked! Freddy heard his owner’s familiar voice calling softly to him from 4,100 miles away over the phone, and Freddy followed the voice right into the employee’s arms. Freddy was SAFE!

As a longtime follower of Lost Dogs Illinois, I have learned you can never tell people enough about what this organization does to help recover lost dogs. Spreading the word about Lost Dogs Illinois is the MOST important message you can convey to pet owners – even owners who have never lost a dog – because you just NEVER, EVER know when you or a friend will need LDI’s help and resources.

Freddy LOST 8/10/2017 SAFE 8/10/2017!!

Thank you Evelyn for sharing Freddy’s story!