Lost Pets |
| | | | Monday, April 16, 2012 |
The municipal shelter in Palo Alto might be closing its doors for financial reasons. For years, it’s served Palo Alto, Mountain View, Los Altos and Los Altos Hills. Residents in those cities would call if they found a stray dog, aggressive dog or dog stuck in traffic. And, they would visit that shelter if they lost their own pet or had to surrender a pet. And, this shelter’s low-cost spay/neuter clinic has helped thousands of people fix their pets, avoiding unwanted litters. Palo Alto Animal Services has served those cities well with talented, caring staff. Still, Palo Altans could see a future where they need to visit a shelter in San Jose or Santa Clara when their pet is missing. Actually, there are five municipal shelters serving different parts of Santa Clara County. When someone loses a pet, they often visit all five! In Santa Clara County, a stray goes to the shelter that serves the area where the pet was found. By comparison, in San Mateo County, the Peninsula Humane Society & SPCA houses all stray animals and provides field rescues and service for all county residents from our Coyote Point shelter. Still, this far simpler model isn’t without wrinkles. Consider this scenario: a person living in Daly City, close to the Daly City/San Francisco border, loses their pet. If that pet has no identification and is found stray in San Francisco, it will be impounded by San Francisco officers and taken to the San Francisco shelter. For this reason, we urge residents who live near county borders to visit our shelter as well as the shelter that serves their bordering county. Visit every other day and post “Lost Pet” flyers offering a reward in your neighborhood. And, take precautionary steps. Make sure your pet’s identification tags are legible and current and get a microchip. On Mondays, we offer this service for $20, no appointment needed.
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| | Category » Scott Delucchi
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