One evening I was talking to a dog owner whose dog had been missing for a week or so. Because of his efforts -- handing out fliers and calling around all the shelters he could find -- he and his dog were successfully reunited. A woman who found the dog on the street contacted him after seeing one of the fliers. The dog owner told me that he was very happy he found the dog, and that thanked the woman for contacting him. (He said he had been crying while the dog was missing!)

This is a happy ending story. But unfortunately, there are cases when missing dogs and their owners are never reunited -- in spite of the ID tags, microchips and persistent efforts by the dog owners. An article in the July 2006 issue of DogWatch offers a possible reason.

The article says that "the person who finds the dog is in control of what happens next." From this standpoint, the reason why many pets do not find their way home is due to the pet rescuer's good, but misguided, intentions. Many rescuers, when they see a cowering and skittish dog, mistakenly think that the dog has been beaten or abused. The article continues by saying that if the dog's finder believes that the animal has been mistreated, he/she will often keep the animal or place it "in a good home" rather than contact the owner.

To avoid this potential situation, the article suggests that the pet owner find their pet himself/herself as soon as possible. The longer you wait, the harder the search will become and the wider you must extend the search area. The DogWatch magazine article suggests hiring a pet professional (such as MAR dogs --- Missing-Animal Response dogs. Please go to www.pethunters.com for more information).

In my holistic veterinarian's client's case, the dog owner hired animal communicators, and successfully located her missing dog!