Part 2 – Where Oh Where Could My Lost Dog Be Held in Cook County?

As a follow-up to our first article, Where Oh Where Could My Lost
Dog Be Held in Cook County, we wanted to share a prime example of hard it is to find your missing dog in Cook County.

Harley went missing in Garfield Ridge. He was taken to Cicero Animal Control by the finder, transferred to Animal Welfare League for placement and then pulled by Trio Animal Foundation (TAF). Luckily TAF created a miracle by taking the extra few minutes to research the chip. They realized Harley didn’t need a new home; he needed to go home. TAF was his advocate! Harley’s story illustrates how broken the current animal control system is.

We feel it is important for our fans to get the total picture of the problem. Why should you care? Let’s start with distinctions. Chicago Animal Control is often confused with Cook County Animal Control. Chicago Animal Care and Control (CACC) is located at 2741 S. Western Avenue in Chicago. Cook County Animal and Rabies Control (CCARC) has no facility. So you may find it as absurd as we do that all the rabies tag money, along with fines, fees, etc. fund Cook County Department of Animal and Rabies Control. The City of Chicago, along with the other municipalities in Cook County, are stuck funding their own services, mostly through taxpayers. City of Chicago Animal Care and Control is funded by taxpayers, fees, fines, and services rendered, etc. If you live anywhere in Cook County, you should demand best practices and better services from both organizations for the betterment of animals and residents alike.

Here are some facts about (1) City of Chicago Animal Care and Control and (2) Cook County Animal and Rabies Control.

City of Chicago Animal Care and Control (CACC)

– Has a dismal return to owner (RTO) rate of 15% for dogs. Some animal control facilities in Illinois have an over 50% RTO for dogs.

– CACC has reduced the stray holding period from 5 days to 3 days meaning owned family dogs will be adopted, transferred or killed quicker.

– Microchips are not registered to the owners at time of adoption and redemption. We believe that CACC should as a service registered the chips to the owners. We are amazed when we provide free scans at events; the majority of owners really don’t understand the nuances of microchips.

Cook County Animal and Rabies Control (CCARC)

– Rabies tag information is kept at their office. Office hours are Monday-Friday (8:30 – 4:30). So if your dog is taken to a vet clinic, City of Chicago Animal Care and Control, Animal Welfare League, etc. or kept by a Good Samaritan, on a Friday night; they are not able to research the tag until Monday morning. This creates more stress for the owner and owner’s dog and if the dog is held in a facility, an owner has to pay more money to reclaim his/her dog.

– Cook County Animal and Rabies Control provide low cost microchip clinics. Chips are not registered to owners. Again, we believe that CCARC should as a service registered the chip for the owners. We are always amazed when we provide free scans at events; the majority of owners really don’t understand the nuances of microchips.

– Cook County has no facility to hold dogs for Cook County.

– Cook County’s stray holding facilities are not listed on their website. This simple step would help the public look for their dogs. http://www.cookcountyil.gov/animal-rabies-control-home/

– There is NO database of photos/descriptions of animals being held in stray holding facilities in Cook County.

How do we resolve the issues of Cook County’s animal control system? Speak out strongly to your local elected officials about this issue. Our pets are family and we deserve the right to know where they are being housed. Simple changes like posting “found” dogs pictures on social media, registering microchips to the owner at the time of adoption or redemption or posting the list of stray holding facilities on each website can make a huge difference to improve Return to Owner rates

Cook County Commissioners

City of Chicago Commissioners

Baby, it’s Cold Outside – Keep Your Dog Safe

With the weather becoming blustery, dog owners might consider the following safety tips:

Keep ID tags on your dog at all times along with a properly fitted collar – personal ID tag, Rabies/license tag, and microchip tag. If your dog gets lost, you want the person who finds your dog to be able to easily contact or find you.
Make sure your dog is microchipped and the chip is registered to you. A microchip is a tiny chip implanted between your dog’s shoulder blades; it can be scanned and used to identify your dog. Don’t forget to update your contact information with the microchip registry if you move. (If you adopted your dog from an animal shelter, he/she may be already microchipped. Check your adoption records or ask your veterinarian to scan your dog for a microchip.)
Use a sturdy, traditional leash; slip the loop of the leash over your right thumb and close your fingers tightly around the loop. Use left hand to hold the leash further down. if she/he tries to bolt, you have both hands on the leash.
When children are walking the dog, they should not only be old enough to understand the safety precautions, but also physically strong enough to handle the dog if he/she attempts to bolt.
If you let your dog out into a fenced yard, check the fence on a routine basis to make sure it is secure. Winds and snow can damage your fence.
Be extra cautious with shy/timid dogs. When walking them, make sure they have a properly fitted martingale collar along with a harness; either hook the harness and collar together with one leash or leash separately. Both collar and harness should have ID tags.

Bundle up and enjoy!

Where Oh Where Could My Lost Dog be Held in Cook County?

Cook County, Illinois, population 5.2 million encompasses 1635 square miles and includes the City of Chicago, the third most populous city in the United States (2.7 million citizens).

If you assume that Cook County residents mirror the national average, then over 65% of households own a pet. With many households owning more than one pet, it can be safely assumed that there are potentially several million owned pets in Cook County, Illinois.

When these pets go missing, where do they go? Where are they taken? That’s where the real mystery begins.

Since dogs and cats have four legs and walk, we can safely assume that many lost pets venture outside of their local “jurisdiction”. There are over 130 municipalities (excluding Chicago) in Cook County. These municipalities have “stray holding” agreements with various facilities including shelters, vet clinics, and police departments. These facilities do not cross-communicate with each other. In fact, most of these facilities do not even post photos online of the lost pets they have impounded. It is also very common for a Good Samaritan who finds a lost pet to take it to the “wrong” facility (outside of the jurisdiction where it was found), complicating matters even further.

Many lost pets go unclaimed because it is virtually impossible for the average citizen to figure out the “system”. The owners are looking, but not in the right place and the shelters make the false assumption that the animal is a “stray” or has been “dumped”. Then factor in that a large percentage of the urban population speak limited English, have limited finances, transportation and computer access. They may work two jobs or shift work, and cannot visit the stray holding facility during normal business hours. If by a stroke of luck, a lost pet IS located, reclaim fees are often so high that the owner can not afford them. (For example, fees at Golf Rose Animal Hospital are as high $35 per night for some contracted cities).

Unfortunately, the outcome for many of these pets is death. “Pet Overpopulation” is blamed, and efforts to increase adoptions and speedy transfers to rescue groups are introduced. These pets don’t need a new home. They already have one. They need to go home.

Here is a limited sampling of some of the stray holding facilities in Cook County. If you live in any of the cities or municipalities that are not listed, please call your local non-emergency police number and ask where a stray animal is held. Then call the facility and ask if they post pictures of impounded pets on their Facebook page or website. When you have gathered this information please email it to us at lostdogsil@gmail.com so we can update our list.

City of Chicago Animal Care and Control. Found pets are posted on Petharbor but not on any social media sites. There is no proactive program in place to get lost pets back home. Owners must wait for guided group “tours” of the facility to see if they recognize their impounded pet.

Cook County Animal and Rabies Control – No facility. No listing on their website to indicate where the lost pets for the over 130 municipalities in Cook County are taken. No database of “found” animal pictures. No pictures on social media.

Animal Welfare League holds “found” animals for the unincorporated section of Cook County and maybe other cities. No listing of which municipalities contract their services are on their website. No pictures of “found” animals on their website or Facebook page.

Golf Rose Animal Hospital is the holding facility for the following:

– Schaumburg – Hoffman Estates

– Palatine – Elgin

– Barrington Hills – South Barrington

– Arlington Heights – Rolling Meadows

– Roselle – Mt. Prospect

– Carpentersville – South Elgin (part time)

– Elk Grove Village (Emergency Medical Only)

– Certain unincorporated areas of Cook County

No pictures are posted on Golf Rose Facebook page or website. As far as we know, there are no pictures posted on any City Facebook pages.

How do we resolve the issues of Cook County’s animal control system? Please speak out strongly to your local elected officials about this issue. They are our pets, and we deserve the right to know where they are being housed. Simple changes like posting “found” dogs pictures on social media/website or posting the list of stray holding facilities website can make a huge difference.

Hoss’s Story – How One Lost German Shepherd Brought Home Another German Shepherd

On May 31, 2013, Dawn and Roger from Michigan received a phone call saying Hoss, who just had been adopted out, had gone missing and had been missing for a week. Immediately Dawn submitted a Lost Dogs Illinois lost dog report. Days, weeks and months passed but they never gave up hope.

Now fast forward to two weeks ago to the North Shore Posse Team (dedicated to finding Holly, the German Shepherd from Wilmette, who went missing in July 2013), which received a sighting of a German Shepherd fitting Holly’s description. They sprung into action; flyered the area and got more sightings. They then set up a trail camera in the area where she has been known to frequent. The camera did show a German shepherd but it was not Holly.

Lea, one of the volunteers, decided to check the Lost Dogs Illinois dog database to see if there were any GSDs fitting the dog on the camera. She found Hoss and posted the picture to the group. Also Hoss had gone missing only 5.5 miles where he was now found. They were pretty sure it was Hoss so they contacted Dawn and Roger who confirmed this was their dog.

Trail camera picture that was used to identify Hoss. 10/24/14

Roger and Dawn then came down the next weekend and camped out with their other dog. Hoss would not approach but the trail camera would catch him after they left. Disappointed Roger and Dawn left for Michigan. The North Shore Posse group continued to keep the feeding station going and distributed the following letter to explain what was needed to be done by the neighborhood.

Cakes and Katie said they would continue to monitor the feeding station and set up the humane trap. They bungeed cord both doors up so Hoss could just walk through the trap to get use to it. Then proceeded to put one door down and leave one door bungeed cord up.

Hoss entering the trap. 10/29/14

Hoss did not like what was on the floor of his trap and removed it. 10/29/14

Hoss almost all the way in the trap. 10/30/14

Within a couple days going back to Michigan, Roger came back down to watch the trap. During those nights, Roger witnessed Hoss dragging the blanket out of trap. He was stealing food from the trap. He was just not ready to be trapped.

During this time, Roger was improvising his own trap. Watching the you tube video of Misty’s trap, he put together his own trap for Hoss. So that night, the humane trap was set and so was Roger’s trap. Early the next morning, Hoss was trapped in Roger’s trap. Roger called Cakes and Katie to have them help him remove Hoss from the trap.

Hoss had only lost 10 lbs thanks to a neighborhood where individuals were throwing out food to him which in turn became his own safe turf.

Hoss at home!

So what are the lessons learned:

– Dogs are survivors! Hoss had been living in this neighborhood even during the polar vortex. He was mostly a nocturnal dog so most people thought he was a coydog. Hoss’s feeding station and trap was setup at a spot he frequented because he would eat the bread a woman threw out for the raccoons.

– Remember not all lost dogs are homeless! If you see a “lost” dog, be sure to check LDI’s website and search their dog database, call your local animal control or shelter to see if anyone has filed a lost dog report.

– Once this dog was sighted, a plan was made and it was followed. Hoss has established his turf and the team worked with him. They didn’t push him; they just let him be. Simply fed him the same time in the same place every single day.

– AND Never Give Up!

Roger wants to thank the neighborhood where Hoss had settled in. The neighborhood rallied around Hoss and Roger. They fed Roger knowing he was monitoring the trap at night. They also let him borrow their tools to build Hoss’s second trap.

Thank you to the North Shore Posse team for not giving up on Holly and making this a team effort to capture Hoss. Thank you, Katie, for leading the team!

Holly’s Facebook Page

Bobbi “Marley” Story

Rescue is never ever what we anticipate.

We have literally been through hell these last few weeks.

We wanted to share with you that as of tonight, Marley (Mia) has been safely reunited with her rightful owners. It is a very long story, but we can assure you that she is safe, loved and so wanted.

We discovered that Marley’s microchip was misread at the shelter when we tried to register her. We learned that she was reported missing during the Polar Vortex in February 2014. We are still reeling in this discovery.

We had a very difficult decision to make. We’ve long been advocates of keeping animals safe and we have also shared countless stories of lost dogs and reunification.
We wanted to do right by Marley. We knew that she was found in deplorable conditions. It was easy for us to assume the worst. It was easier to believe that she was better off in rescue.

We were faced with a moral and ethical decision. We prayed like crazy and knew that we had to do the right thing and it was up to the owner to show us how much they truly searched and cared for this dog.

With the help of CACC and rescue friends…our prayers were answered.
Records of their search were shown via microchip and at the shelter. Mia’s owner just gave birth on October 1st and was still in the hospital when she received our phone call through the shelter. She literally discharged early, with her new baby and drove directly to the shelter to be reunited. There was no mistake that this dog was loved, wanted and missed. We are thankful that we could witness the reunification and feel the out pour of emotion. We are also grateful that they want us to stay in touch and visit this special angel.

Thank you Making A Difference Rescue for sharing Mia (Marley) story.

https://www.facebook.com/Makingadifferencerescue

Contact your local radio stations!

Joint Microchip Clinic with Lost Dogs Illinois and Joliet Township Animal Control – October 4th

Clinic located at Joliet Township Animal Care, Joliet, IL Contact 815-725-0333 for more information

Lexi’s Story – “Tail” of an ID Tag

Yesterday my husband and I were driving to Crystal Lake, Illinois for an appointment. On busy Route 14 we saw a black dog eating trash from a McDonald’s bag on the side of the road. A man had gotten out of his car and was walking towards the dog. We pulled off the road to see if we could help. He asked us if this was our dog, but actually we thought it was his dog.

The dog was so intent on eating the contents of the bag that the man was able to hold onto her collar and pick her up. He said he didn’t have time to find her owners so we took her. Once the dog was in our car, I checked her collar for ID tags. YES! Her name was Lexi and she had an ID tag and a county license tag. I called the number on the ID tag but there was no answer.

My husband informed me we were low on gas and needed to stop to fuel up. At the gas station, I called my friend, Becky, who lives on the same street as Lexi’s family which was on her ID tag. Luckily she was just around the corner doing some shopping so we arranged to meet up and Becky delivered Lexi home.

I got to thinking…. How much would it have cost Lexi’s family to reclaim her from the local animal control if she hadn’t been wearing visible identification?

I pulled up their website:

Redemption Fee: Animals with identification (Id tag, microchips, tattoos), which identifies the owner at their current address – $45.00

Redemption Fee: Animals without identification or identification which does not identify the owner at their current address – $55.00

Boarding fees – $10.00 daily.

Other county fees are different but the point is the same.

Current ID tags and/or a rabies tag will save an owner time and money.

Does your dog have current identification on his/her collar? Your dog is depending on you to make sure he or she gets safely home.

Ten Things You Need to Know Before Hiring a Tracking Dog Service

We often get asked about tracking dog services for missing dogs. Some of these services are good, some are not so good and some are out and out scams. They will cost many hundreds and possibly thousands of dollars depending on where they are located and the distance they have to travel. Most will also charge an initial phone consultation fee. Some services will require that you purchase extra products like flyers and signs. Before you hire a tracking dog service to help find your missing dog, please do your homework. Here are some key points to consider:

Tracking dogs will not capture your dog. They may or may not be able to indicate whether your dog was in an area and the direction of travel. But you will still have to do the work of flyering the area, monitoring sightings, establishing a feeding routine and trapping your dog . Tracking dogs are not a magic pill. If a service guarantees success, they are a scam.
A tracking dog is kept on a long line and can only travel as fast as the handler travels. (consider the fitness level of the human on the other end of the leash). Rough terrain and extreme temperatures will be factors. Most lost dogs will be able to easily outpace a tracking dog and handler. Ask the tracking service if you can accompany them on the search with the handler and the dog. Be suspicious if they say no.
Tracking dogs may be a poor choice for scared, lost dogs that are in survival mode. These dogs need to settle into an area and establish a feeding routine. Tracking dogs may pressure them out of the area that they may have settled in. You will then have to start all over in a new area with flyering and signs to generate sightings.
Be very skeptical of services that tell you they will have to keep coming back to “confirm” a scent. Each of these visits may cost you more money and you risk your dog being pressured again out of an area that he may have settled in. You will then have to start over using flyers and signs to generate new sightings.
There is no accredited school for training scent dogs for finding lost dogs. Trackers often claim success when it was actually flyers or another method of generating sightings that brought the dog home. Check references and successes thoroughly. Personally check with at least five or six references via telephone. Do not rely on online “reviews” or recommendations.
Reputable tracking dog services will have a contract for you to review and sign and will take credit cards. Make sure you have a clear idea up front of what the total cost will be. Never send cash or wire transfer money.
Tracking dogs have much greater success at finding lost cats (who hide when scared) than lost dogs (who run when being pressured). Ask the tracking dog service what their success rate is. If they guarantee they will find your dog, or quote an overly optimistic success rate, they are probably a scam.
Tracking success depends on many things: the weather, the length of time the dog was in the area, the terrain and environment. The service should give you an honest assessment of what you are dealing with. The longer your dog has been missing the less likely the tracking dog will be able to pick up a scent
Search and rescue dogs are certified for human recovery only and will not normally be used for tracking missing pets. If someone tells you they will bring their search and rescue dog to look for your missing dog, be extremely skeptical. Ask to see their training records and their certification.
Some tracking dog services, lost pet services and pet detectives prey on the distraught owner by making unsolicited contact with them from their missing dog flyers. Be VERY careful. Many of these are scams, or at the very least – very expensive services that do what you can do yourself for a fraction of the cost.

Remember, if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is. Stay calm, do your research and spend your money wisely. Generating sightings is the key to a successful recovery. Consider how many flyers, signs, newspaper ads or even billboards could be purchased with the money you would spend on a tracking dog service. Your lost dog is depending on you to bring him safely home.

Our tips, ideas and articles are based on information gathered from thousands of successful lost dog recoveries. Any advice or suggestions made by Lost Dogs of Wisconsin/Lost Dogs Illinois is not paid-for professional advice and should be taken at owner’s discretion.

A Volunteer Chain Reaction; Jaxx’s Journey Home

On July 4^th, 2014 a Chicago family’s dog, Jaxx, went missing from his yard. His family really missed him and wanted him home. Trying to think of ways to help find him, the family finally posted a picture of Jaxx on the Lost Dogs Illinois Facebook page asking if anyone had seen him.

Irene, one of the Lost Dogs Illinois volunteers, saw the family’s plea for help and remembered seeing a listing for a dog that resembled, Jaxx, on the Petharbor website. The listing she remembered on Petharbor was for a dog being held at Chicago Animal Care & Control and had been brought in the same day Jaxx, went missing. Irene checked back on the website, but the dog she remembered was no longer listed. Hoping it wasn’t too late to find the dog and confirm him to be Jaxx, she quickly opened the CACC Transfer Team Facebook page. Thankfully, CACC has a special group of volunteers that work with the dogs that are brought in. They allow them to run a Facebook page representing the dogs at CACC. They use social media as a tool to network the dogs to help find rescues groups, potential foster homes, potential adopters and another avenue that could allow a family to find their missing pet.

As luck would have it, the LDI volunteer did find a video of the dog she saw on Petharbor on the Transfer Teams’ page. Irene contacted her fellow LDI volunteers with a link to the video for a second opinion to see if they also thought the dog was a match for Jaxx. The consensus was an overwhelming, “Yes!”. Irene then was able to send the video to Jaxx’s family and they agreed that, indeed, that was their boy! Obviously, they wanted to know where they could come get him. The problem now was, it seemed that Jaxx was no longer listed on Petharbor because he had already been pulled by a rescue group and was no longer at CACC.

The volunteer chain reaction was already well underway. Through the work that LDI does, some of the volunteers have become friends with some of the CACC volunteers. LDI volunteer, Irene, asked another LDI volunteer, Jackie, if she could help locate Jaxx through her connections with the CACC volunteers. Quickly, Angie, from the Transfer Team page was contacted. Immediately, the CACC volunteer jumped into action to try and find out where and to what rescue group pulled Jaxx. Lo and behold, Jaxx, was now with Retrieve A Golden of Minnesota. Yes, you read that right, Minnesota. Now what? The CACC volunteer asked if more pictures showing different views of Jaxx could be forwarded to her from the family while she gathered the contact information for the rescue. Angie was able to forward those pictures to the rescue and to Jaxx’s foster family. All parties agreed it was a match. Jaxx was now part of Retrieve a Golden and could be adopted out, but the rescue knew that getting Jaxx back to his original family was in his best interest. Now, how to go about doing that is something else that needed to be figured out.

To add another layer to this story was the fact that Jaxx’s foster family was not in Minnesota, they were in Iowa. Yep, Iowa! After dozens of emails, many texts and several phone calls, arrangements were made to meet Jaxx’s family at the Iowa border the following Saturday. The rescue also has volunteers that help drive different transportation legs when they need dogs transported for their rescue. One of those volunteers offered to pick up and drive Jaxx to the Iowa border for the impending reunion.

Jaxx’s family and all of the volunteers involved waited on pins and needles for the day Jaxx would finally be home sweet home. Finally, on the afternoon of July 26^th, it happened. It was obvious that, Jaxx, had been well cared for while on his little adventure. One final volunteer chain reaction happened while they passed around a picture of Jaxx riding happily home in his family’s car, smiling from ear to ear, looking fluffier than ever.

We, at LDI, would like to thank everyone involved in this volunteer chain reaction to get Jaxx back to his rightful family. Remember Jaxx didn’t need a new home; he needed to go home!